I Quit ____ and Started Running

In today's Episode, I am excited to introduce you to some of my favorite people on the planet. This is my running, cycling, triathlon TriBe (get it?) Erin, Staci and Sophie. Carol, unfortunately, was unable to join us this time but we hope to have her on in the future. I was introduced to Erin Devincenzi in 2012 when I moved to Sonoma County after I had run my first and only marathon in Big Sur, in 2012. She received a well-deserved shoutout in my trailer for this podcast on coaching me to an age group 3rd place in my very first triathlon in 2013. Not only is Erin an incredible athlete and coach but also a mother of 3 and 4th grade teacher. Staci Fricker is in corporate finance and went from weighing 300lbs to completing 7 half and a full Ironman. Sophie Marion is a Mom of 2, a certified nutritionist and teaches French to pre-school kids. She is a beast of an athlete but just beginning to fight her way back after a very tough 2020…. This episode is the recording of a live Zoom we did on Sunday. Keep in mind, I haven’t seen Erin or Staci at all and Sophie only twice in over 18 months. Our plans to get together for a holiday gathering were foiled by the latest stay-at-home-orders in California so this is what we came up with. What a wonderful reunion it was – like no time has passed at all. While so much has happened in our lives over the most recent months, we did not miss a beat. With this, I invite you to tune in to our very personal, fun and lively catch up session, exchanging our stories of how we got into running and endurance sports, our friendship and plans for training and future races together. Contact Info:quitxstartrunning@gmail.com

Welcome to Episode 3 of the “MY RACE series”.  Have you ever heard of the World Marathon Challenge? In this race, you get to run 7 marathons in 7 days across all 7 continents. 7 consecutive days, that is. That’s over 183 miles within a 168 hour window. Runners cross 16 timezones and only have time to recover in between races on their flight to the next location. I had not heard about this race that starts in Antarctica and ends in Miami until I prepped for my interview with BethAnn Telford. I was so fascinated with this World Marathon Challenge that I wanted to dedicate a My Race episode to it. And who better to tell the story of this incredible adventure than BethAnn herself. She ran the World Marathon Challenge in 2017 to raise funds and awareness for pediatric brain cancer research and dedicated all 183 miles to children battling with brain cancer. The 2017 itinerary started in Antarctica, then continued to Punta Arenas in Chile, followed by Miami, Madrid, Marrakech, Dubai and concluded with the final race in Sydney. I am so excited to welcome BethAnn back to recount her epic 2017 World Marathon Challenge. Her story was featured in Womens' Health magazine and countless news outlets before and after the race.  If you haven’t listened to my first interview with BethAnn, I encourage you to re-visit Episode 203 “BethAnn Telford: Running with Brain Cancer". You can also read up on her online, on her website teambt.org and follow her on Instagram @hope.is.my.word. If you have any extraordinary race experiences you would like to share as a guest on this podcast, please email us at QuitxStartRunning@gmail.com or leave us a voice message with a brief introduction and an overview of your race story. On Facebook, head over to the I Quit X and started Running Podcast page and/or join the Quit Something Start Running! group to follow and share stories. It’s a great place to be inspired and inspire others with your transformation. Womens' Health Article on BethAnn: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/g19950462/world-marathon-challenge-bethann-telford/ BethAnn on ABC News:  https://www.abc27.com/news/cumberland-valley-grad-to-run-world-marathon-challenge/?fbclid=IwAR1kxLirjYpVbvqsiNs2GrUJgzH80znkm99a7vpOzisOpFRATbjeyjdTrSU https://www.abc27.com/news/telford-successfully-completes-world-marathon-challenge/?fbclid=IwAR0UmpnHIhf3dKIDtBUFpMlFnILQa-LyvMDHLMxfU7OpHjaxL1zCkYmutYA World Marathon Challenge: worldmarathonchallenge.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/qxsr/message

BethAnn Telford from Fairfax, VA has been an athlete her whole life and started running when she moved to Washington DC for her job. While running the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon, she felt a popping sensation in her head at mile nineteen. The diagnosis was dire; she was told she had a malignant brain tumor, and was forced to take a time out from her normally active lifestyle to undergo surgery. Immediately after the surgery, although she had to teach herself how to walk again, BethAnn was determined to run again. A month after surgery, BethAnn entered a local 5K race, the first in what would be a long string of acts that would prove her unique strength and determination. A few months later, BethAnn completed the Marine Corps Marathon. Since then, she has not missed an MCM, completed several Ironman triathlons, including the Kona IronMan World Championships and was the only female with cancer to finish the World Marathon Challenge. Through her nonprofit fundraising organization Team BT, she raises money for the National Brain Tumor Society. To learn more about this podcast and my guests' stories, head over to the I Quit X and started Running Facebook page and join the Quit Something | Start Running group to follow and share stories. It’s a great place to be inspired and inspire others with your transformation and express interest in joining me as a guest on my podcast. Or you can simply email your story to quitxstartrunning@gmail.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/qxsr/message

Kevin Maijer from Bunschoten, the Netherlands is 28 years old and earlier this year, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Damage to areas of the CNS (central nervous system) may produce a variety of neurological symptoms that can vary among people with MS in type and severity. In Kevin’s case, the part of the CNS that was damaged was his optic nerves. Within just a few months, he has lost 88% of this vision. Now, almost blind, Kevin is not only coping with adjusting to his new circumstances but he’s doing it with a positive attitude and by inspiring others with his experiences. He recently started a YouTube channel in which he documents his journey navigating MS through running with his guide runner and friend Leon, Crossfit and other exercise and daily tasks. Not only are his videos well made, they are informative, fun to watch and very inspiring! You can also follow Kevin on Instagram @kmaijer! If you have had challenges in your life, that you have conquered by getting into running and/or have an extraordinary race experience you would like to share as a guest on this podcast, please email us at QuitxStartRunning@gmail.com or post your story in the Quit Something | Start Running Facebook Group. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/qxsr/message

Kicking off Season 2 is today's guest, Noel Mulkey from Tulsa, OK. If you follow Noel on social media, you know the kind of athlete that he is. In only 5 years doing triathlon, he holds multiple Olympic Distance overall wins and course records in the south Midwest region. He was awarded All American triathlete for the past 3 years in a row and on his very first attempt at a Half Ironman distance, he qualified for the 2019 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice. And it all started with running in an attempt to lose weight and find himself again after detox and recovery from a hard battle with heroin abuse at a very young age. To follow Noel, check him out on Instagram at @noelmulkey and Tik Tok at @noelmulk0. If you have had challenges in your life, that you have conquered by getting into running and/or have an extraordinary race experience you would like to share as a guest on this podcast, please email us at QuitxStartRunning@gmail.com or post your story in the Quit Something | Start Running Facebook Group. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/qxsr/message

On the morning of May 16, 2010, Ken Byk headed out of his house in Menlo Park to run the 99th Bay to Breakers, an annual 12K in San Francisco that stretches across the city from the SF Bay to the Ocean. The B2B is an iconic footrace that attracts over 60,000 participants every year, and for many, is more of a party than a running race. Ken had run this race with friends for years and, as he had every year, that morning, pulled on an orange Bucknell University T-shirt and dropped off his Golden Retriever Riley at a friend's house in the city before heading to the start area. Unlike other years, however, not only did his friends not run with him this time, Ken has no memory of this particular race. He may have had good reason to bail on the race as well. He recalls that he had gotten winded on one of his training runs. He wasn't too concerned though, since it occurred while running in Tahoe at over 6,000 feet of elevation and he had run a number of 12Ks before. And so he ran those 12K at the Bay to Breakers on May 16, 2010 but something terrible happened right after he crossed into the finish area.... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/qxsr/message

I don’t think I could find a better story to close out season 1 of I Quit ___ and Started Running. Craig from Blackburn, UK ended up in the hospital 2 years ago weighing in at a whopping 462lb with dangerous health conditions resulting from his self-proclaimed addiction to food. When medical staff told Craig that he was eating himself to death, he decided then an there to embark on his incredible weight loss journey. No pills, no coaching, no surgery, only iron willpower and discipline led him to lose half his bodyweight within only 12 months. His story even made the paper. As soon as got to a weight where he could run, he did and when he went on to complete his first Half Marathon in memory of his late father, the local paper wrote about him again. Now Craig is an active member in his local running group and is hooked on running and running races. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/qxsr/message

Jake is 27 years old and up until recently has battled with alcoholism fueled by anxiety that, according to him, was most likely related to his abusive childhood. From an early age on, he always enjoyed exercise as a way to get catch a break from the volatile home situation and cope with the stress that came with it. But it wasn’t until recently that he discovered the healing power of running - it surprised him.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/qxsr/message