Episode 21: Sanjay Raway, The 3100 Mile Transcendence Race, A Running Documentary on Navajo, Buddhist Monks and Kalahari Bushmen

Episode 21 is available on most podcast apps, including Anchor, Apple, Google and Spotify!

Film highlight: Navajo Runner Shaun Martin in Desert Ancestral Lands

Film maker Sanjay Rawal

"3100: Run and Become" film website: https://3100film.com/

Join us on a journey through traditional running cultures and our shared human heritage as runners, from the Kalahari bushmen in Africa to Navajo runners across their ancestral lands, as well as a unique look at Buddhist monks in one of the longest human endurance journeys known to man (previously incorrectly called the "Marathon Monks"). 

Filmmaker Sanjay Rawal examines running as a means of self-transcendence, and particularly in his own practice inspired by following Guru Sri Chinmoy, who in the 70s helped endurance running to grow into what it is in New York and inspired sports and meditation as a peace builders speaking in the United Nations, including the 3100 mile race. Sanjay’s films “3100: Run and Become” (as well as “Food Chains”, based upon Immokalee migrant workers' battle for fair wages and displaying the underside of our agricultural food chain) both help us to think about our place in the world and responsibility to one another and the planet.  Overall, this talk helps us to see our place in a long lineage of runners, and bids us to connect more deeply to the land through "meditation and prayer in every step".

Film website "Food Chains": http://www.foodchainsfilm.com/

Episode 20: 20 Minutes with RunDisney Coach Jeff Galloway: On Injury Prevention, Cross Training and Ideal Run:Walk Ratios

Episode 20: 20 Minutes with Jeff Galloway is available on most podcast apps:  Apple, Google, Spotify, Anchor, etc.

Returning guest Jeff Galloway, the official RunDisney coach for marathon training and founder of the Run:Walk:Run method, sits down to cover some of his most Frequently Asked Questions after his last visit to the podcast.  Among those:
- What do I do to cross train and strength build to prevent injury?
- What exercises are beneficial when I am injured?, and...
- How do I know when I'm doing too much? (What difference in training/mileage buildup should there be for a beginning marathoner vs. experienced runners?)

Going right along with these question, we touch on the ideal "Run:Walk Time Ratio" for various paces and levels, as backed up by current research and data on thousands of runners. Jeff also touches on the importance of adjusting pace according to high temperatures, notably adjusting pace approximately 1 minute/mile slower for every several degrees over 65*.

An extremely useful resource to delve deeper into the above questions is Jeff's flagship book and most up to date with many revisions, "The Run-Walk-Run Method".
PDF quick explanation: http://jeffgalloway.com/pdf/walkbreaks.pdf
Galloway Website, details on training and opportunities:  http://www.jeffgalloway.com/

Episode 19: Peace Corps Running Stories III: Featuring Mike DeLoge, Hallah Wallace and Tobi Hannah-Davies

Peace Corps Running Stories III is available on most podcast apps.

Hannah Wallace is a Pole Vaulter and track runner, and used this to connect with people in her service while in Paraguay recently, from 2017-2019. Honing her craft for over 14 years while in competitive track & field in HS and college, she was used to training but during her service she didn't have the opportunity to work out as she was accustomed, and instead ran whenever she could. 

This led to her first 5k and 10k while in Paraguay!  Using bamboo, which was in abundance, she taught and encouraged students with her unique sport of pole vaulting, creating makeshift vaulting space on a soccer field the first time, and using this and a combo of running/soccer to create a Sports and Health Day Camp, also tackling diabetes prevention and NCD prevention, along with healthy diet/nutritional planning.  

Mike out on the trails!

Due to his experience in the Peace Corps, Mike Deloge became an Ultra Runner and has continued seeking greater challenges back home in the D.C. area, realizing he could do just about anything when he put his mind to it by "taking the long view", as he learns a great deal from "perceived failures" in running & in service. He experienced coastal Colombia near Cartagena during his service, and ran "to make each day productive, even when felt I didn't accomplish much on a given day", something of a trendsetter in his rural areas of service. He later ran in the nation of Georgia as a Peace Corps Response volunteer (a short 6 month stint in an area of vital need, Georgia is a former Russian state in the Caucuses), where he took part in the "Tiblisi Marathon". 

In this episode he explains what he learned from his first few 50K attempts! He also explains how running allowed him to reach more people and connect to his environment in a unique way, to better know the places he has worked and overcome obstacles he had not expected, such as slow progress in his project and many setbacks!

Tobi Hanna-Davies served in Micronesia from 1969-1971 and was a true pioneer in the early days of PC service as a teacher, she also ran/walked barefoot daily following the example of her host community children and adults. In this episode she describes her island and it's geography extensively, as being a "garden of paradise" in terms of sustainability and resources, which unfortunately has been threatened by military testing/bases and tourism in recent history. She learned to serve through teaching and how to advocate for her community, including by sharing with Americans at home what she witnessed. She continues this practice energetically today in her mid-70s, both the advocacy work and "being in touch with the ground/nature", and most days can be spotted outside her home or in her neighborhood in Kalamazoo, Michigan whether barefoot gardening, walking in marches to support equal rights for all, or playing games with local youth. In this unique vignette, she also explains some of the tumultuous times of the late 60s and early 70s along with the power of the Vietnam draft in encouraging Peace Corps recruits, as her PC stories/service experience in this episode reveal the very nature of political and military power exerted against genuinely open and giving native cultures.

This map should help, Tobi covers quite a bit of geography!

Episode 17: Trail Running Unedited with Andy Mathews of "The Croom / A1 Ultra Events"

Episode 17:  Trail Running Unedited with Andy Mathews of "The Croom" & A1 Trail Racing

Find the episode on most podcast apps, including Apple, Spotify, Google, Anchor

A1 Ultra Events Facebook Page

In this unedited episode, we dive into the adventurous and somewhat crazy history of trail running in the US, and connect with Andy through some of his most personal stories and experiences from iconic 100-milers, running Western States three times, and his continued commitment to the trail running community.  Among many other accolades, he explains what it's like to train for and finish 35 100 mile races, and perhaps even more difficult: organizing ultra races and trail running events for the trail running community! We talk about how volunteering and getting involved builds up the running community, and has lead him to some great opportunities & friendships along the way.

We also discuss the "vibe" or overall spirit of the trail running community, of it's continual pursuit of more difficult terrain and and more daunting challenges to push the limits of human capacity.  Wrapped into his story, as with most ultra runners, is injury and willingness of the mind and spirit to see failure as a learning opportunity- maybe not failure at all?  "In fact, sometimes quitting is the best way to avoid injury and allow you to run happy into the future.  Finishing is the goal, and that could be next time."  We also talk about growing older as a runner and the magic of being content with good "jogging", and yet still setting goals. 

Last but not least, we touch on the trail vs. pavement question, and how they can ideally be combined (with proper support and moderation) to improve running on both, with the right attitude and crossover friendships helping in the process.  If you want to do a trail run in Florida, or really anywhere, you will definitely hear about some of the best ones in this episode, learn about the terrain and some fun ones coming up this year you may want to add to your bucket list, from 5Ks to 100 milers!