Run For Your Life Podcast

Sarah talks with Mark and four local friends who tell their tales of running the inaugural Rim to River 100 in West Virginia's New River Gorge. Join us as we talk about everything from training when you're the mom of six kids, what causes a vasovagal syncope, dad jokes, and trash pandas.

Sarah Hodder and Katie Thompson are no strangers to the podcast but are well-known in the local running community through their involvement at Two Rivers Treads and Freedoms Run events. Sarah and Katie took advantage of the quiet race schedule in 2020 to push their limits and attempt fastest known time records in the Four-State Challenge and a 100+ section of Shenandoah National Park. In this episode, we hear about their high, lows, and favorite memories from their adventures. We also learn what keeps them from the urge to sit on a rock and cry...

Chris Looney stopped by Two Rivers Treads to share stories of his adventures thru-hiking and running on the Appalachian Trail, and how creativity has enabled him to find adventures this year even when races are cancelled. From running a marathon in his backyard (literally!) to creating his own 100mi trail run, this quieter time has created space to try something new.

Mark and Sarah are back to talk through how COVID-19 has affected Two Rivers Treads and race schedules. Mark also debunks some myths about how COVID-19 spreads, specifically for running groups, and give some tips on how to boost your immune system. The show wraps up with listener questions about the right pace for a new runner and how long it takes to build a marathon base.

Mark and Sarah sit down with Mikala as she shares about the gear, nutrition, and attitude that got her through pulling a sled over 135 miles of Minnesota in January.

Betsy Hartley joins Mark Cucuzzella and Sarah Hodder to talk about her story of managing Type 2 diabetes by losing 220 Lbs, getting off of insulin and other medications, and running. We talk about glucose monitoring technology, finding low-carb race fuel, and the amazing support found in the trail running community.

Dr. Mark opens with comments on the RED-S Syndrome which is getting press time with the Nike controversy involving Mary Cain, known as "the fastest girl in America" until being abusively pressured to lose weight. Then, we continue interviewing Thunder Squad store ambassadors. This month's guests are Chris Price and Jake Hall. Chris is an Air Force veteran, rock climbing guide, and small business owner who has pushed his nephew with disabilities through marathons. Jake is a local runner who records and posts the Run for Your Life podcast, who also runs marathons as a push team with his son. Learn about how their paths crossed and their adventures.

September was a crazy month! We're getting back in the swing of things and sharing our adventures - Dr. Mark's travels around the globe sharing his medical expertise, another amazing Freedom's Run event, and Sarah's PR at the 2019 Grindstone 100 miler. We also talk about the direction performance-enhancing shoes is taking the sport of running in light of the recently set (albeit, unofficial) marathon world record time and the (very official) women's marathon record time. Then we get a chance to chat it up with local Thunder Squad TRT ambassador Casey Fisher about his recent finishes on the No Business 100, Freedom's Run, Miner's Lady, and some DNFs along the way. It was super helpful to hear his take on post-ultra recovery too.

Zach Chupa is no stranger to pushing the limits on speed and endurance, yet he's had to learn the hard way how to leverage a balance of running, rest, and community to fight depression.

Jessica Wiant is expecting her fourth son any day now and tells us how being an active mom is part of setting an example for her kids of having a healthy lifestyle. She shares encouragement for parents who feel they are too busy to exercise and how running builds a base of fitness that opens the way to other family adventures. Also, we talk about finding the best shoe size (it may be larger than you think!)

Meet "Barefoot Kent": Husband, father, Deadhead, vegetarian, runner. Learn about his running adventures that find him dropping 70 pounds, pushing his son, Ben who is developmentally disabled, and finding the joy in running naturally.

Dr. Mark shares some race highlights after completing his 25th Boston Marathon and then gives a recap of his trip to New Zealand where he helped at a coaching and sports nutrition conference with long-time friend Dr. Keith Livingston. He may be the longest documented survivor with advanced Glioblastoma Multiforme. He's survived through this for 12 yrs and 3 brain surgeries now. His book “Staring Down the Beast” which describes his unique approach to battling disease. The picture is Dr Keith and 2 other friends and legends in the running space now devoting their lives to the health of children- Olympic Medalists Rod Dixon and Lorraine Moller. Rob also won the epic 1983 NYC marathon and Lorraine took the Boston title in 1984. Both are native NZ and now living in the USA. Rod has shared his kids running program with over ½ million LA youth. https://tworiverstreads.com/blogs/run-for-your-life-podcast/episode-9-boston-and-new-zealand-recap

In this episode, we talk with one of our ambassadors, Colin Trower. This is Colin’s second year being one of our “Thunder Squad Ambassadors," and Colin describes how running and revamping his nutrition has dramatically improved his quality of life. We hear about how he left a corporate job in Pennsylvania to travel in a RV for the last three years with his wife and sons as they looked for adventure, ran ultramarathons, and fell in love with Silverton, Colorado. During the Q&A with Dr. Mark, we discuss warm-up exercises to keep you loose and limber (see "A, B, C, D Skips videos in the show notes for examples: https://tworiverstreads.com/blogs/run-for-your-life-podcast/episode-8-thunder-squad-interviews-colin-trower)

In January 2019, Paul ran his fourth HURT 100 miler. We learn all about his wet and muddy adventure out in Hawaii, the difference between a "business mode" and "party mode" mindset in ultra endurance running, and the effects a low-carb diet has had on his running performance. During the Q&A with Dr. Mark, we cover questions about staying in running shape when life gets too busy to rack up the miles, and how to know if you're burning fat when you run.

Happy New Year! With a new year come resolutions for health, but how do you build new habits for being healthy that last? Listen to John "Bacon" Carter share his story about changing from being an overweight retiree to being an avid runner (39 races last year!) During the Q&A with Dr. Mark, we cover questions about training for a sub 3-hour marathon, training for a 4:45 marathon, and myths and tips for running during pregnancy.