627. The Everyday Runner, Kim Mantle

"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.)

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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

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