Run This World with Nicole DeBoom

This is a beautiful episode from Dana Schweitzer. I asked her to write her bio. These are her words. This episode went live on the 10th anniversary of Lakin's death. I am a mom of two beautiful girls, one who I get to watch grow up here in earth and one who watches me from heaven. We lost our youngest daughter Lakin to Myocarditis (a viral infection of the heat). She passed away suddenly on September 10, 2008. If she were still here with us she would be 10 years old. I started running about a year and a half after she passed away as I needed a healthy outlet. I started running using the couch potato to 5k running one minute at a time. I ran my first half marathon in 2009, since then I have completed four full marathons, and nine half marathons. My next race will be the Bismarck Half Marathon which was my first half and full marathon. The race will be on Saturday September 15th. I am never afraid to share our loss with others in hopes of helping someone feel less alone.  I also facilitate the Infant Loss Support Group in Bismarck. My husband and I have been married for 15 years and I work for the State of North Dakota.

Meet the ultimate champion of women, Jill Angie, aka Not Your Average Runner. As implied she is absolutely NOT average in any way, shape or form. First, she’s a self-described fat runner who started running in her late 20s because she believed being thin was the secret to the universe and the path to happiness. What she found after many stops and starts is that the REAL secret to the universe is to understand that the only thing we have control over is our brains and the choices we make. Including the choice to be happy. Jill and I traveled in concentric circles for many years. We came to the worlds of health and fitness in very different ways, but our end-goals are the same. We want to help women find happiness! And men too because when women are happy, let’s face it, men benefit too! When Jill and I finally connected on the phone, it was like a match made in heaven. I felt so special until I realized something. Jill is the kind of human being who makes every single person she comes into contact with feel special. So I felt even more special to have the opportunity to spend an hour with her. This episode is a dual play – we both have podcasts, so we’re both publishing it. Be sure to check out Jill’s other episodes at Not Your Average Runner Podcast. Did I mention she’s also a life coach, so there is a lot to learn from her! Before we start, I have two quick updates. The first is to make sure you get over to skirtsports.com and use the code RTWPODCAST15 for 15% off the best women’s activewear ever in history! We’re going on our 14th bday soon, so lots of energy and excitement in my world! Finally, Jill and I are doing a GIVEAWAY! We’re giving away a Skirt Sports product of your choice AND Jill’s first two books plus a Not Your Average Runner swag bag. Now listen up: Here’s what you have to do. Write a review for both of our podcasts on iTunes. You have to literally go to the itunes app and search our podcasts. When they come up, you’ll see the link to review. But you have to search them first. It’s kind of annoying, but that’s the only way I could figure it out! You can also submit your reviews on Stitcher for non iphone listeners. We'll start tracking new reviews after Sept 3rd to be eligible. If you already wrote a review (cuz you’re awesome), then share the episode on IG and tag us. We’ll look in all of those places to pick a random winner on or around Sept 30th! Today we talk about: Our journeys to health and fitness The REAL secret to the universe Habits Inner Mean Girls Labels Founding principles Being married to athletes on their own quests while we're on ours Skirt Sports genesis Willing it to happen Getting 1 MILLION MORE women running This is one of my favorite episodes. Jill is literally one of my new favorite people who I feel like I’ve known forever and now want to hang with forever. It was also fun sharing some of my key life moments that have been catalysts for change or self-discovery. I hope you found inspiration, joy and even some new ideas on how to tackle life’s challenges. If you are not yet a runner and want to become one, then reach out to Jill, join her community and become one of her 1 Million MORE women running! And at the end of the day, no matter where you are, remember this. You have the power to Choose your thoughts, so choose them wisely! Thanks Jill! Now you know what time it is. It’s time to get out there and Run This World! Have a great workout and I’ll see you next week!

Emma Coburn is delightful. Yes I said delightful. I never call anything delightful. I don’t think of myself as someone who calls things delightful. One of my friends, Jillian Lakritz, founder of Yoee Baby and a previous guest on the podcast, once said, “Wilder was delightful” when she was there for a play date. And it sounded totally natural and I thought I wonder if I’ll ever call anything delightful. Well guess what? Emma Coburn is delightful – pure and simple. She is fundamentally grounded. She admits her flaws and faults and takes ownership and responsibility for them. The flaws make her human and the ownership of them make her likable and relatable. She is clearly a superstar, like a physical specimen of a human being that in my opinion was created to excel in physical activity. But there's so much more than meets the eye. Yes, Emma is drop dead gorgeous. Her body is a beautiful, finely-tuned machine that she treats with love, care and constant attention which she should because it’s the vehicle by which she makes her living. But at the end of the day what is really cool about her is that she has perspective. So many athletes are caught up in the grind when they’re chasing their dreams. They are emotional, easily demoralized and completely consumed by what they are doing, often sacrificing other things that are critically important. They just can’t see it at the time. Not Emma. She is definitely consumed, but she also sees and respects that world around her, it’s not all about Emma all the time. She has remained solid, grounded and yes delightful, even though she has been racing on the international pro circuit since she was 21 years old, has won countless races, an Olympic bronze in 2016 (the first American to medal in steeplechase), and she followed that by becoming the first American to ever win the world championship. I think part of this may be due to her upbringing in both Boulder and Crested Butte. If you think Boulder is a bubble, Crested Butte is undoubtedly even more so. Emma believes so much in what Crested Butte has to offer that she launched the Elk Run 5k to help promote the town and give back to Living Journeys, the local nonprofit that helps so many families deal with cancer. It’s Sept 29th this year – the race itself sounds amazing, but it’s truly about the experience. I highly recommend you get out there – make it a girls weekend! We recorded in the Skirt Sports store after-hours so for a little inspiration, be sure to use the code RTWPODCAST15 for 15% off too! Today we talk about the above and much more: Steeplechase: What the heck is this crazy event Being married to your coach Winning World Champs & then getting beat Raising the bar Growing up in a small mountain town: Crested Butte Rocks! Gaining weight in the off-season Elk Run 5k - be there or be square - Emma will be picking up trash and setting up cones! Surrounding yourself by the right people If you have a chance, pop over to my Youtube channel to see this episode on video! Yes, I’m playing around with that format too. There are always some funny little quirks you can’t catch on the audio version. Finally and very importantly, we’re sending Emma off to kick ass at her biggest race of the year! Follow her on IG and FB – I say we send her a message or post on her page. One thing that you loved about this interview. Do it! It will give her even more confidence and joy that she is surrounding herself by people who have her back; people who really care. Because after all, that’s what makes this life truly special. All photos courtesy of Emma Coburn's Instagram feed!

Emily Harvey's leg was amputated when she was 2 because she had a condition called fibular hemimelia, which means she was missing her fibula bone and her left leg was substantially shorter than her right.  She grew up not really knowing any different, and even asked her grandma at some point when she got her first prosthesis because Emily had it in her head that everyone wore a prosthesis (for the record, her grandma does not wear a prosthesis).  She played t-ball & volleyball, rode bikes, climbed trees (much to her dad’s dismay), and did pretty much everything else her friends were doing. Emily started riding horses when she was about 9 years old, quickly got into 3-day eventing, and eventually rode on her college dressage team.  She didn’t ride much after college, but she started competing in triathlons in 2014 and discovered this to be a new passion. She started with sprint distance triathlons and completed her first Half Ironman in June of 2016.  Shortly after that event, Emily was episode 37 of this podcast and shared her story in depth. She also mentioned that she just may tackle an Ironman someday. That day came in June 2018 as Emily became an "Ironman" with 48 seconds to spare at the relentlessly hot Boulder Ironman. In addition to her athletic pursuits, she is also a disability rights attorney at a nonprofit called Disability Law Colorado, co-founder and President of LIM359 – an activities-based support group for people with limb loss/different, an ambassador captain for Skirt Sports and their #realwomenmove campaign, and a member of TeamMPI.

Sandi Nypaver is an accomplished ultrarunner. She did her first 100 miler at 21 years old and has been on a running journey through life ever since. She recently qualified for the USA's Long Distance Trail Running Worlds team and was injured just days before the race. Most people (including a younger version of Sandi) would be demoralized and have trouble shaking that experience. But when I asked today’s Sandi how she feels about it, she said, “It’s all better…actually I think I’m now running better now (more efficiently) because it happened.” But Sandi didn’t always see the world in a positive way. Her journey to love and acceptance started young and is admittedly ongoing, but the strides she’s taken to pull herself away from self-hate and into self-love are worth sharing for anyone else who believes you are not valuable. Today we talk about: Finding a place of peace in life - the long winding path to self-love What we say matters: How words from others formed her self-image as a young girl The identical twin experience Exercise addiction Social anxiety Cutting to numb the pain How to change your self-image from hatred to love Volunteering gives people purpose Connecting the dots: Each experience leads to greater understanding of yourself Sage: How her boyfriend helps her look at the world in a more positive way This is such a great episode: it's raw and filled with deep emotions yet hopeful that change can happen. Please take a moment to share this episode with someone who needs it, because at the end of the day, we're all in this together. Be sure to follow and connect with Sandi: Sage Running: If you need a coach, look no further! Facebook: @sandi.nypaver Instagram: @sandinypaver Youtube: Vo2Max Productions Sage Running Podcast All right then you know what time it is, it's time to get out there and run this world. Have a great workout and we'll see you next week!

Stacy grew up playing sports and being active, then life happened... Many years ago before Stacy found running After too many years of not focusing on herself, Stacy renewed her love of running in 2009 at the age of 45 - and went back to college that year as well. She started with a couple 5Ks, and then ran her first half marathon in June 2010, and her second half marathon just two weeks later. Today she has almost 50 half marathons, one full marathon, and many shorter distances under her belt. Stacy is planning to run her 55th Half on her 55th birthday in November. She loves the challenge of the distance and runs to improve herself. Today as she plans her 55th Half Marathon - with FRIENDS! She loves the camaraderie of the running community, so many fabulous friends and adventures. Stacy also shares her adventures with her husband of 26 years and is a proud Navy Mom to their 19-year-old Sailor son. She is a Physical Therapist Assistant with a BS in Nutrition. Stacy does her best to help herself and others lead more healthy, active lives. Contact and follow Stacy here: https://www.facebook.com/stacy.klontz https://www.Instagram.com/stacyk.believes

Gwen Jorgensen seems to have realized the true value of happiness – and she has set a path in life toward achieving it – happiness not success that is. The reason I say this is not because of what she says in the interview but how she lights up whenever she talks about anything that is bigger than herself, specifically her journey into motherhood. Gwen is an Olympic gold medalist in the sport of triathlon. She won 17 ITU World cup titles and a gold medal all in the span of 6 short years as a professional triathlete. After the Olympics she entered the New York Marathon for fun and finished in 14th place with a time of 2:41. After that she got pregnant and had a baby, right around the time she declared that she was going after another Olympic spot, this time in the marathon! She sets her goals high and then tells the world so she can’t hide behind anything. Even though we covered some incredible topics today, I am having a little interviewer’s remorse because I wanted to cover more. Like the fact that Gwen chose to give up a wildly successful triathlon career, right after she won a gold medal! And that she is now training for the 2020 Olympic marathon with the Bowerman Track Club and women like Shalane Flanagan. But the truth is that this chapter of her life is still being written, and many of you didn’t know what got her to this point in the first place. So I will be happy with what we did cover and look forward to talking to her again in the future – hopefully after the 2020 Olympic Marathon. Today we talk about: Growing up in theMidwest Violin: How she became very successful even though she didn’t like it Swimming vs running: Hard work vs talent Goals: process based & technique based Running form goals Exceeding the demands of competition in training Nontraditional family roles Active pregnancy when you are an elite athlete Stanley’s birth & Gwen's physical recovery My only wish is that we could have talked longer! I want to know if she already has an inkling of which new sport she’ll go after in 2021! But for now, I'll take it! I loved chatting about her background. I can just envision Gwen as a little girl, working so hard and pushing her perfectionist mentality to the edge. Clearly she’s talented but it takes more than talent to be the best in the world. Hard work and mental toughness round it out and Gwen’s got it all. How to find & follow Gwen! All photos by Talbot Cox. Check him out too!

I met Maria Thomas (of My Life as a Puddle) at the Truthteller Tour in Boulder earlier this year. We were both featured speakers sharing truths about ourselves that were not easy to share. It was an emotional night where the power of sharing painful truths was both liberating and an intense connector to others that we didn’t even know. After the event, Maria realized how sharing her story with others could help so many people, so she reached out and here we are. Maria’s story starts with her early diagnosis of hyperhidrosis but it turns into so much more as she has navigated this journey called life, sometimes with courage and sometimes in fear. We recorded in the Skirt Sports Boulder store, after hours, surrounded by skirts, bras, successes, failures, the past and the future. It was like a glimpse into the deep guts of one world while we literally talked about the guts of another woman’s world. Today we talk about: Hyperhidrosis: Uncontrollable excessive sweating that started for her when she was as young as 6 Marriage: Divorce, Cheating & Forgiveness Faith Gut health / Brain health connection What it feels like to want to kill yourself Her path to a healthy mind & healthy body Some great reads: No Grain, No Pain by Dr. Peter Osborne and Grain Brain & The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan both by Dr. David Perlmutter And so much more I think about what Maria is able to share today and it makes me so proud. And grateful. Grateful that Maria gave herself a wakeup call. Grateful that she is so willing to be open about very difficult topics that many people are too embarrassed to mention. There are so many life situations and so many nuggets in this episode. I’d love to hear your favorites. If you want to connect with Maria be sure to contact her through her website mylifeasapuddle.com – I love her tagline “creating hyperhidrosis hope and awareness one drop at a time.” And I’ll leave you by repeating her final nugget “you have a choice every day whether you are going to rise above or stay below. And just take that one next step to become a better person whatever that might look like for you.” More ways to connect with Maria https://www.instagram.com/mylifeasapuddle/ https://www.facebook.com/mylifeasapuddle/ https://twitter.com/MyLifeAsAPuddle

Meet Sandy Stiner - long-time runner who after many years finds fulfillment and happiness through moving her body forward. She's a retired police officer, Army veteran, wife, and dog mom to Kirby and Zuzu the Border Collies. She works part time at Hansons Running Shop in Michigan and a Trek bicycle store. Sandy loves to run marathons and ultras. She's finished 78 races of marathon distance or longer, including 100 mile races. Sandy is currently working on finishing a marathon in every state, She predicts she will be done in March of 2019. Find, follow & support her here. Sandy rocks! IG/Twitter: @kirbyandzuzu Her blog: TheUltraFreak.blogspot.com Youtube: Kirby and Zuzu the Border Collies

I have known Katy Blakemore (now Evans) since she was 15 or 16 years old; a distance swimmer on the Longmont Redtails Swim Team where I was a coach before I started racing professionally. Katy was the hardest-working kid on the team, she was incredibly talented, and while she wasn’t the best swimmer in the world, she managed to will her way into walking on to Stanford’s Swim Team. I knew from the early days that she would probably become a triathlete someday. She just somehow had the mental fortitude to be great in a sport that requires so much sacrifice plus she was also a really strong runner :) I recently volunteered at the Boulder Ironman. I don’t even keep track of what pros are racing anymore, I was there to support my nonprofit Running Start, so when the leaders started running by, I almost missed Katy until I heard her voice calling for ice. MY Katy Blakemore was in 3rd place at the time, and running stronger than anyone ahead of or behind her. She finished the day in 2nd place, just a couple minutes behind the winner; she was gaining with each stride. In today's episode we talk about how truly amazing and disappointing it is to finish that close to 1st. It’s rare that I get to interview someone I’ve known from adolescence through to major life milestones as an adult. I really enjoyed catching up with Katy and learning how she moved through her life using sport and family as a foundation for many of the decisions she made. Today we talk about: Swimming Growing up in a household with two very loving (and in love) parents Stanford: How she got onto the team and what she brought to the team Legendary coach Richard Quick, "I believe in believing in belief." Delayed gratification & the Training to Glory ratio The Peace Corps in Guatamala: Why we do what we do Her dad Kit's early death due to cancer Being a school teacher - Scaffolding is a thing I'd never heard of! Katy's path to triathlon stardom Getting married & becoming a mama & racing like a rockstar less than a year later! And so much more! After I interviewed Katy, Tim said, “I heard you two laughing in there. It sounded like a fun one.” He couldn't be more right! If you gain anything from this episode, it would be Katy’s final nugget. So beautiful in it’s simplicity: "Do your best. Have fun." Katy is brilliant, charismatic, thoughtful, and practical. I’m so proud of the path she has chosen to take in this world. Please be sure to follow her on Facebook and cheer her along. Because I kind of think that “when Katy wins, we all win!”

You know when you love something so much that you don’t realize how much time has gone by? That’s exactly how I feel about this podcast. I wasn’t sure what would happen when I started. I just reached out to some amazing people to see if they’d come on my show and they did. My first episode was a short explanation of the podcast. The general preface was that I would interview visionaries and people making change in the world in the hopes that it would inspire others and bring us all closer together. I imagined people would listen during their weekend 5k’s, so I planned the podcast around the average time it takes to run a 5k which is 36:38. As you glance through my 100 episodes you’ll see that I end up getting closer to a 10k every time. I just can’t cut the interviews short when every single person has so much to offer. For the 100th episode I decided to do a montage of 10 of my most powerful interviews. I have to start by saying that EVERY SINGLE GUEST on the show has been my favorite. It was very hard for me to choose 10 episodes to feature. They are not necessarily in my top-10 most listened but instead I chose episodes that cover a range of topics from a variety of people. Today you will hear a short snippet from each of these episodes with an explanation for why I chose them. Many of you are just getting started with Run This World and doing crazy marathon sessions listening to my incredible guests. This is a great episode to forward to any friend who isn’t sure where to start! Episode 6 - Erin Carson on training for life Episode 24 - Kara Burns From Prison to 26.2 Episode 37 – Emily Harvey Amputee Athlete on Rocking Your Differences Episode 41 - Siri Lindley World Champion Person on Getting Out of Your Head and Into Your Heart Episode 50 - Colleen Cannon on Chickens, Watermelons and Why Women Will Save the Earth Episode  67 - Janelle Smiley Faced Her Fears & Came To Life Episode 68 - Thirteen Years Ago Erika McDonald had Two Months to Live Episode 70 - Mark Mikel on Loss, Grief and Becoming Whole Again Episode 87 - Kara Goucher Redefines Herself Episode 97 - Mirna & Latoya Uncensored It’s a wrap. The first 100 episodes are in the bag and properly commemorated! I’m so proud of this podcast and all of the incredible guests that have so beautifully put themselves out there – openly, honestly and with such vulnerability - to give all of you even a tiny glimpse of a new way to look at this world. Because in the end, we are not alone and that’s the point. All right then, you know what time it is. It’s time to get out there and Run This World! Have a great workout and I’ll see you next week.

Welcome to Mile Repeats! These are short-form vignettes about people's lives capped with a nugget of inspiration that we can all learn from. Kriss S has been running for 10 years. Running completely changed her life. She has completed 62 half marathons to date and 4 fulls; the half is by far her favorite! Kriss also dabbles with yoga, totally a novice, and enjoys taking yoga classes weekly. Running is her social hour! She can be found running the streets, trails and the track. Kriss is also an ambassador for Skirt Sports for the past three years and cannot say enough wonderful things about the women she has met all because of a skirt! Be sure to check out Kriss' blog and follow her on Instagram at @pinkbetsy.

Meet Dyenna McConnell. I’ve known Dye for a few years. She is a Skirt Sports ambassador with a passion for helping others find health and happiness. On the outside, she is a beautiful, strong, healthy woman who is a natural athlete with a seemingly happy career, a new marriage, and a loving relationship with her children. But as you will hear in this episode, nothing is exactly as it seems. Dye has endured life experiences that most of us will never be able to understand or relate to. She has overcome horrible abuse and neglect and today has created a life path that has so much potential for happiness. Dye, like all of us, is very much still on her journey of healing and seeking her purpose. She has not fully processed her experiences. Part of her hope is that as she does, she can help others who have been hurt and need to know that they too can survive. Today’s episode is tough at times. If children are listening with you, you may want to pre-listen to this conversation. We discuss serious topics including sexual abuse of a child and suicide. But ultimately Dye shows us that no matter how difficult our pasts, our futures can still be beautiful. Today we talk about: Growing up a victim of sexual abuse The foster system Abandonment issues Teenage pregnancy Giving up a child for adoption - and the shame she still feels about it Pumping milk in the bathroom stalls in high school Smoking, Drinking & Drugs Turning your life around Coping by not coping Fitness as a part of the recovery puzzle And more This is a deep episode. Very tough in many ways. My biggest fear is that my daughter will be hurt in the ways that Dye was hurt as a little girl. I personally struggled when Dye said that she still copes by not coping. But I also understand it because Dye didn’t have anyone in her life who had her back. She was all alone through everything. But now she’s not. She’s coming out the other side and it’s like watching a beautiful butterfly emerge slowly. As she says, the most important thing you can do is share your story. You may not know the people you can help. You can find Dye on her blog Run Eat Tri Yoga and please follow her on Facebook and Instagram! That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed this episode and get ready to tune in soon to my next Mile Repeat mini pod. I’m experimenting with that new format and so far so good! All right then you know what time it is. It’s time to get out there and run this world. Have a great workout and I’ll see you next week.

Welcome to my first ever Mile Repeat interview! Mile Repeats are short-form vignettes about people's lives capped with a nugget of inspiration that we can all learn from. Meet Kaeli Lamont, a distance runner of 4 years who enjoys sharing her joy and love of running and how it has truly changed her life by coaching and mentoring new and returning runners. She loves seeing people meet their goals! She's a self proclaimed music junkie, Crazy cat lady, lover of the outdoors and she's always up for a good time with great friends. She is also a women’s health/pelvic floor physical therapist assistant who is passionate about being an advocate for improving the quality of life and health for all women, everywhere.

Meet my old friends Jessica and BJ Gumkowski, the Yogi Triathletes. I first met them many years ago; in fact, Jessica was one of our very first Skirt Sports ambassadors back in 2005ish. At that time, they were a young married couple pursuing a life of triathlon, in the hyper-competitive town of Boulder, measuring their happiness by their successes on the race course and in the workplace. At some point along the way, an ad for tiny homes on BJ's computer screen sparked an "a-ha moment" which ultimately led to a completely new life for them. They quit their jobs, gave away 95% of their stuff and decided to embrace a minimalist lifestyle. Today they have completed rebuilt their lives to be based around mindfulness, meditation and helping others. Their Yogi Triathlete Movement is spreading quickly, with a focus on training the whole athlete, inside and out, mind/body/soul. As they say, before there was mindfulness in coaching, there was Jessica and BJ!  Today we share the mic and essentially interview each other in a dual conversation that hits on so many fun and interesting topics such as: Letting go of our identities when defined by what we do Going from bitch to your best Sober living Anxiety and depression White light pantsuits A difference between men & women; men internalize Ironman Wisconsin Having (or not having) a child: Acceptance both ways The Divine Schedule Maker Going minimal and erasing "Decision fatigue" True happiness  This is such an awesome conversation. One of my biggest regrets is not asking Jessica more about her past life. And also not having them give me a guided meditation! I hope you enjoy - and PLEASE CHECK OUT THEIR PODCAST! For more of the YT's, they have some incredible episodes I'm sure you will enjoy. All right then, you know what time it is. It's time to get out there and Run This World. Have a great workout and I'll see you next week!