795. Jinger Gottschall, New Balance Director of Sports Research

"It felt like, I’m figuring out what these things look like for me. Not, what’s everyone doing or what should I be doing or what’s expected of me?" There's nowhere I'd rather be on the third Monday in April than at the Boston Marathon finish line! This year, I was honored to be asked back to perform a variety of roles in Boston. I was one of the start and finish line announcers at the B.A.A. 5K and invitational miles, I hosted a live show with Keira D'Amato at Glossier's new store on Newbury Street, I was one of the race announcers at the finish on Marathon Monday, and I was the finish line reporter for the world feed broadcast. (Big Papi!!!) It was a fun, rewarding weekend that included run-ins with Eliud Kipchoge (and his content team), a hair-braiding party with one of the best milers in the country, and so much more. SPONSORS: Tracksmith: New customers, use code ALINEW for $15 off your first Tracksmith order over $75. Returning customers, use code ALIGIVE for free shipping, plus a portion of the proceeds from your order will be donated to Moms Demand Action. Sidekick: Use code ONTHERUN for 15% off your next order. What you’ll get on this episode: A big-picture recap from my weekend in Boston (3:00) Thursday, April 13: the arrival, the errands, and the first run-in with the NN content team (19:00) Friday, April 14: the run “with” Kipchoge, the press conference, the expo live show, and the welcome reception (26:05) Saturday, April 15: the 5K, the elite miles, and the Keira D’Amato live show (40:05) Sunday, April 16: the long run, the hair-braiding party, and the broadcast production meetings (57:30) Monday, April 17: Marathon Monday! (1:08:10) Tuesday, April 18: the last run (1:25:15) For more, check out: Ali on the Run Show Episode 591: The Life-Changing Date Night Episode, Five Years Later Ali on the Run Show Episode 632: LIVE at the Boston Marathon with Sara Hall, Aliphine Tuliamuk, & Sara Vaughn Ali on the Run Show Episode 633: Run Your Way with Emma Bates A Runner's Weekend - Boston Marathon 2023, via Kofuzi on YouTube Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

25 Apr 20231h 30min

"Do the damn thing." Emma Bates! All eyes were on professional runner Emma Bates throughout Monday's Boston Marathon. In a shock to some, Emma found herself leading the race for many of the middle miles, including up the infamous Newton hills. But Emma? And her coach, Joe Bosshard? Not shocked. Emma ended up finishing fifth, as the top American woman, and with a personal best time of 2:22:10. In this conversation, Emma talks about her fitness and her confidence heading into the 2023 Boston Marathon, including the pre-race conversation she had with Joe where he told her she was in American Record shape. She talks about her all-too-relatable pre-race breakdown and how she dealt with it, and about what it was like leading the deepest professional women's field in Boston Marathon history. Plus, how she celebrated, how she's feeling now, and what's next. SPONSOR: New Balance. Click here to shop New Balance’s latest releases for the season. (The SuperComp Trainer is my favorite shoe!) For more, check out: Emma Bates on Episode 547 of the Ali on the Run Show Emma Bates on Episode 527 of the Ali on the Run Show Emma Bates on Episode 490 of the Ali on the Run Show Emma Bates on Episode 444 of the Ali on the Run Show Follow Emma: Instagram @emmajanelbates Twitter @emmajbates Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

21 Apr 202356min

Let the Boston Marathon recaps begin! First up: We went live! I hosted a live show at the Boston Marathon Expo on Friday, April 14, in front of a massive, awesome, standing-ovation-ready crowd. The topic: marathons and motherhood. The guests: three women who know it well. Welcome returning favorites — all three of whom went on to race Boston three days later — Sara Hall, Sara Vaughn, and Aliphine Tuliamuk. SPONSORS: UCAN: Click here to get a FREE Edge sample pack (you’ll just pay the cost of shipping), and use code ALI23 for 20% off your next UCAN order. Vacation Races: Use code ONTHERUN200 for $200 off any Global Adventures trip, or code ONTHERUN15 for 15% off any half marathon or ultra marathon registration. Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

20 Apr 202355min

"I feel like a train, or a minivan — I can go anywhere, I can go forever! I can’t go as fast as I used to, but I can do it!" Alexi Pappas kicked off 2023 by running — on a whim — a 100K trail race. Last month, she ran the L.A. Marathon with Diplo. Now, she's getting ready to run the Boston Marathon as a guide to Lisa Thompson, the visually impaired runner Alexi ran with in Boston last year. (Lisa won her para division last year, and is back for the win this year!) Today, we're catching up on all of it (including, yes, the Diplo "running on LSD" thing). Alexi talks about finding meaning, passion, and purpose in the sport in a way that looks different than it did during her most competitive years, and talks about her hesitancy to show up as her fullest self at the races for fear of judgment. Plus, what Alexi's training is like these days, how her fellow pros have responded to her sparkles and glitter on the run, and her takes on why people are like planets and she's like a minivan. SPONSORS: Bandit Running: Use code ONTHERUN15 to get 15% off your entire Bandit order. UCAN: Click here to get a FREE Edge sample pack (you’ll just pay the cost of shipping), and use code ALI23 for 20% off your next UCAN order. Check out: Alexi Pappas on Episode 452 of the Ali on the Run Show Alexi Pappas on Episode 330 of the Ali on the Run Show Alexi Pappas on Episode 296 of the Ali on the Run Show Alexi Pappas on Episode 163 of the Ali on the Run Show Follow Alexi: Instagram @alexipappas Twitter @alexipappas Facebook Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

13 Apr 202352min

"This is not an easy question for many reasons!" Welcome back to “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know!” I’ve worked in the running industry in some capacity for roughly a decade now, and as much as I’ve immersed myself, there’s still so much I don’t know or understand. So if I, a relative industry insider, am still confused about things like shoe contracts, drug testing, waterfall starts on the track, and the Diamond Leagues, surely I’m not alone. I put out the ask — What’s something you don’t understand or have always wanted to ask about the running industry? — and the responses came pouring in with great questions. So today, former professional runner and founder of The Lap Count (and track and field’s biggest fan and hype guy) Kyle Merber is here to answer all of your questions about the track, the roads, the big leagues, and more. Lane assignments and Olympic standards and “Why are there so many U.S. National Championships?” and world rankings, oh my! (Listen to part one of this series — all about the business of running — here.) SPONSORS:  Tracksmith. New customers, use code ALINEW for $15 off your first Tracksmith order over $75. Returning customers, use code ALIGIVE for free shipping, plus a portion of the proceeds from your order will be donated to Moms Demand Action. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race: Register TODAY (before the price increase on April 12!) for the world’s largest and most iconic 10K road race, taking place in Atlanta, GA, on July 4, 2023. Follow Kyle: Instagram @kylemerber Twitter @TheRealMerb Subscribe to The Lap Count Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

11 Apr 20231h

"You go out there, and you have to trust that you’re going to do what you’ve trained to do. Your body is ready to race. But if your mind isn’t? It does not matter." Chloe Abbott is an On Running-sponsored professional runner who specializes in the 400m and trains with renowned coach Bobby Kersee and the Formula Kersee team in L.A. (which includes Sydney McLaughlin, Athing Mu, and Jenna Prandini). Most recently, Chloe took her talents off the track and competed on The Voice! In this conversation, Chloe talks about the benefits of being a singer and a runner, and how her passions work in tandem. She gives all the behind-the-scenes scoop about what it's like being on a reality singing competition — including whether or not she got to keep the clothes, and why it was important to her to have her coach there in the wings. Plus, she shares the lessons she learned from former teammate Allyson Felix, dishes on her big dreams on the track and onstage, and talks about what it's like training with world-class athletes every day. SPONSOR: New Balance. Click here to shop New Balance’s latest releases for the season. (The SuperComp Trainer is my favorite shoe!) What you’ll get on this episode: Chloe reflects on her experience on The Voice (2:35) The road to The Voice (4:45) All about the blind auditions, and what it was like performing on the Voice stage (17:45) On being coachable, and finding that flow state onstage and on the run (24:30) What it’s like working with coach Bobby Kersee (29:40) On asking Bobby to be at Chloe’s audition for The Voice (37:00) How being on The Voice has changed Chloe’s life and her running (43:00) Chloe’s outlook for her next race: a 4x4 at Mount Sac next weekend (54:50) Chloe’s greatest takeaways from her time training with Allyson Felix (57:40) All about the Formula Kersee team vibe (1:03:45) What’s on Chloe’s “watch me do this” list? (1:07:30) What does it mean to run the Chloe Abbott way? (1:10:00) Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

7 Apr 20231h 14min

"None of my friends explained this to me!" Becs Gentry is a 2:32 marathoner, a Peloton tread and strength instructor, and, as of October 22, 2022, a mom! Becs returns to the Ali on the Run Show today to talk about her road to motherhood. She talks about getting pregnant after experiencing a miscarriage (she was pregnant during last year's live show — but no one knew yet!), and about what running was like throughout her pregnancy. She shares her birth story (all the details!), reflects on the first few months of motherhood, and talks about how she approached her return to running and movement. Plus, what it was like coaching Ashton Kutcher as he trained for the 2022 New York City Marathon, and the 12-mile run that brought Becs back to life in the best way possible. SPONSORS: UCAN: Click here to get a FREE Edge sample pack (you’ll just pay the cost of shipping), and use code ALI23 for 20% off your next UCAN order. Vuori: Click here for 20% off your first Vuori purchase. What you’ll get on this episode: All about Becs’s run today (3:00) Becs’s journey to getting pregnant, and what it was like sharing that news with the world (8:00) Expectation vs. reality: “running while pregnant” edition (17:25) What it was like coaching Ashton Kutcher to run the 2022 New York City Marathon (23:50) Becs’s message to anyone whose training hasn’t gone perfectly (28:15) Becs shares Tallulah’s birth story — all the details! (33:50) What postpartum life has looked like for Becs (1:00:30) How Becs approached her return to running and movement (1:08:05) Becs says she’s “ready to get training” — for what?! (1:17:40) What it was like returning to work, to teaching, and to the Peloton community (1:20:00) Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

6 Apr 20231h 28min

"So much power had been taken away from me. My safety, everything, and all the medical stuff. It was so empowering to see what my body could do after all that, through all that. And I really think everyone can hear that and say, 'I can do it' too.' If I can do it? I know anybody else can. You can do so much more than you think you’re able to do and have the power to do. You just have to listen to that tiny whisper inside. That whisper — it’s a truth-teller, for sure. We should listen to it more often." Kim Mantle has been through it. The mom of three girls lives in Birmingham, AL, and she's gearing up for the Boston Marathon in just a few weeks. But the road to Boston hasn't been an easy one for Kim. In this conversation, she talks about the health challenges, struggles, surgeries, setbacks, and scary diagnoses she's faced over the past decade. Last year, with her health fully in check, Kim was days away from completing her first marathon. And then, while picking up dinner for her family in New Orleans (where they lived at the time), Kim — a teacher at the time — was shot in an attempted carjacking. (Yes, there's an important gun control conversation in this episode. Stick around.) SPONSOR: goodr: Use code ONTHERUN for free shipping on your entire order What you’ll get on this episode: All about Kim’s run today, and how Boston training is going (4:00) How Kim found her coach: professional runner Lindsay Flanagan! (6:00) How Kim is feeling heading into Boston (9:25) How Kim became a runner (10:35) When Kim fits running into her life and her days (14:30) Kim talks about the health struggles and scary diagnoses she’s experienced over the years (18:20) On the decision to run the Houston Marathon — and the shooting that changed everything (29:45) Why Kim and her family left New Orleans and moved to Birmingham, AL (44:20) How Kim’s relationship with running has evolved over the past decade (53:20) For more, check out: Moms Demand Action The Emily in Paris Buzzfeed quiz The Longest Race, by Kara Goucher Let Your Mind Run, by Deena Kastor Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Subscribe to the newsletter Blog Strava SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

4 Apr 20231h 12min