Passing the Baton - Tina Muir and Sinead Haughey

Fare Thee Well, Tina Muir - Welcome, Sinead Haughey

This is a bittersweet episode, to be sure, for today we bid the fondest of farewells to our host for the last 2 years, Tina Muir, and introduce the new host for Run To The Top, Sinead Haughey.

Most recently, Sinead was the Director of Premium for RunnersConnect having been a 2-time NCAA Championship qualifier in the 10K at Furman University. Sinead shares her background with us, which includes running professionally for Zap Fitness and Reebok.

As the torch is passed from Tina to Sinead, Tina gives us a preview of her new venture: Running For Real. Every runner goes through a mentally rough stretch with running at some point, but very few are willing to share their challenges openly. With Running For Real, Tina is creating a safe environment for runners so they don't have to suffer in silence with their struggles - whether it's frustration with training, race results, or injury.

While we are all going to miss Tina and her contributions here, we wish her nothing but the absolute best as she blazes this new trail. And we are equally excited to welcome Sinead as the new host and voice of Run To The Top.

Here are some of the topics we'll discuss today:

• Getting to know new host Sinead Haughey
• An inside look at Zap Fitness
• RunnersConnect premium content and various ways to access it
• Tina's new focus: Running For Real
• Why Tina is so passionate about the mental side of running that no one else is talking about

Questions Sinead is asked:

3:10 What was your collegiate and post-collegiate running experience?

4:33 What is an elite runner's typical day at Zap Fitness like?

6:10 Why did you choose to run at Zap?

8:33 How does having a dedicated chef at Zap work?

9:33 What were some of the things you didn't like about your post-collegiate experiences?

11:45 Before taking over the role as new host for Run To The Top, what were you doing for RunnersConnect?

14:25 How does the RunnersConnect Premium Content work? How can people get access to the Coach Chat?

16:21 The passing of the baton...

Questions Tina is asked

18:20 What are your post-RunnersConnect plans?

23:55 Do you find middle-aged runners more open about their running struggles than younger runners?

27:58 Will you be offering anything beyond your new podcast?

31:23 What's one tactic people can use to remain mentally tough during a race?

36:17 How often did you use your 'Mental Bottles'?

39:35 The Final Kick Rounds (double feature)

Quotes by Tina and Sinead:

• "Something that I'm going to have to accept as a post-collegiate runner is that I'm not trying to score points for anybody anymore." (Sinead)
• "I think there's definitely a pressure when you are younger to give off this vibe of being superhuman and never admitting that you need help. I think the elite world is even worse." (Tina)
• "Especially for new runners something they might find kind of intimidating coming into the sport is that there are just so many bad days, but once you get a good day it makes it all worth it." (Sinead)
• "I want to make sure that I do this right and I want to make it so that it can actually change people's running lives forever rather than just be something they learn and then two races later they forget it and need something else." (Tina)
• "I love helping people with the mental side of things because that is something that is just so often neglected and it makes SUCH a big difference." (Tina)
• "You could be the fittest you've ever been in your life and you could still run the worst race of your life because your mental side could really break you apart."

Take a Listen on Your Next Run

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Mentioned in this podcast:

Zap Fitness

Evie Serventi on Run To The Top

Scott Fauble's blog

Good Gut - Prebiotic

#running4real hashtag on Twitter

Images about #Running4Real tag on instagram

Deliciously Stella (@deliciouslystella) • Instagram

Tina's blog

Follow Tina on Instagram

Running For Real Facebook page

tina@tinamuir.com

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