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Guest: Shannon Spencer
Show Notes:
Shannon Spencer and I met when we were randomly paired to run a 5K together for Ainsley's Angels. In the short time we were together, I knew I needed to get to know her better.
During this episode, sponsored by Amazfit, we talked about:
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How her husband is a fire fighter
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Meeting at the Hit the Bricks 5K in Zionsville through Ainsley’s Angels
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How she’s the running influencer in her CrossFit gym in Kokomo
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Running the Marine Corps Marathon and the Air Force Marathon with Ainsley’s Angels
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Celebrating milestone birthdays
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The 4x4x48 she organizes every year to raise money for Ainsley's Angels
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How she first got into running in fifth grade
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Running marathons in 13 different states with one of her best friends
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More about her family - she’s a mom and a grandma (Noni)
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How she became an average skydiver
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Her breast cancer diagnosis in 2009 shortly after she was divorced and when she didn’t have healthcare
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The “race that got away” in Spencer, Indiana (get it…Shannon Spencer)
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Running with her kids and grandkids
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How she met her husband, Josh
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The community she’s found in CrossFit
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How she doesn’t like to repeat races she’s already done
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Our shared love of saunas
Sponsor Details:
- Amazfit - Use ALLYB for 10% off
- Galentine's Day Run Registration
This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
Episode Transcript:
[00:00:00] This is a Sandy Boy Productions podcast.
Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones, a podcast for everyday runners. I'm your host, Ally Brettnacher, and if you run, you're a runner and every runner has a story. Join me each week as I share these stories and we celebrate finish lines and milestones together. This week's episode is brought to you by our friends at Amazfit Amazfit has been around since 2015, and they're a global, smart wearable brand that designs smartwatches, fitness trackers, and health technology for active lifestyles like ours. I personally have their balance two smartwatch, and the battery life is my favorite thing by far.
21 days of battery life. I charge it when I'm in the shower and that's it. Whereas with my Garmin, didn't have the battery life I needed, I would always stress and worry about it being charged.
And the other great thing [00:01:00] is the price point. It is a lot less expensive than other watches out there. So if you are looking to uplevel your watch, but you don't wanna spend a thousand dollars, you can check out Amazfit. And for example, my balance two is 2 99. Whereas for the same functionality, you might spend double or more of that.
So if in this new year you're looking for a new watch, go to Amazfit.com and you can use code ALLYB for 10% off your order. Again, amaz fit.com, A-M-A-Z-F-I-T. And thank you so much to Amazfit for supporting this podcast. This week's episode is my friend Shannon Spencer. Shannon and I met at a race last September with Ainsley's Angels.
So we're gonna talk a lot about the Ainsley's Angels organization today. As Shannon says in her words, she has a servant's heart. I was so inspired by all the things that Shannon does, and it was crazy. During this interview, she had to leave because she happens to be the [00:02:00] president of the local chapter of Meals on Wheels, and she was the backup driver and had to go give somebody their food for the day.
So there were some technical difficulties with this interview, but all in all, it worked out pretty well. The audio in the middles a little weird on my side, and then the video is there, but can also be a little weird. But it was a wonderful conversation. She not only does Ainsley's Angels Meals on Wheels, but she also works with the Kokomo Symphony and an organization called 100 People Who Care.
She's almost 49 and gonna be 50 next year. She's a grandma and a mom. She's a marathoner, ultra marathoner, CrossFitter, you're just gonna be so incredibly inspired by Shannon's attitude. I certainly. Was myself. So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Shannon Spencer.
Ally: Good morning, Shannon.
Shannon: Good morning.
Ally: Oh, we are recording in the midst of the blizzard, or the aftermath, I should say, of the blizzard.
Shannon: Yes, absolutely.
Ally: And you're sitting in Kokomo, Indiana, [00:03:00] which is about, I dunno, 40, 45 minutes north of where I am in Carmel. How much snow did you get up there?
Shannon: They're saying about eight to 10 inches, so maybe
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: I'll go in the middle.
Ally: Yeah. And your husband is a firefighter, which I find so interesting. So what's the last 48 hours been like for him?
Shannon: Well, he works, 24 on and 24 off. So he worked Friday and Sunday, so he had Saturday
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: it was kind of coming down. and then Sunday, you know, when everybody wanted to drive and things like that.
Ally: Oh my gosh, what an adventure. So he is kind of an endurance athlete in his own right?
Shannon: oh yeah. Yeah. With no sleep too.
Ally: Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's pretty amazing. Well, we are so grateful for people like him during times like this, that's for sure. could not survive without that. I've been hearing sirens all the last couple days. We live really close to a firehouse, so whenever they're going out, we, we hear them.
Shannon: see 'em at the grocery store and they're like, oh, you're shopping. You [00:04:00] know? But what they don't understand is just like you and I with our jobs that we have, we're responsible for our food too. So they have to go to the grocery store usually on a daily basis and figure out, you know, what they wanna eat.
they have, you know, things in the. the cabinets, cupboards, whatever you wanna call them, but they still need, you know, daily things like hamburger, chicken, whatever it might be, but so they pay for their own food and so they go to the grocery store. A lot of people think the city pays for that, but it's out of their own pocket.
Ally: That's so interesting, and I'm assuming they don't have anybody like cooking for them at the at the station, so they're just fending for themselves on no sleep.
Shannon: They cook for themselves three meals a day or
Ally: I.
Shannon: they decide they want to eat.
Ally: Wow, that's so, that's so interesting. So you and I, you and I met in person last September and we were just randomly paired together for hit the bricks 5K.
Shannon: Yes.
Ally: It was awesome. I, I thought it was so funny how, you know, you just get paired with a [00:05:00] stranger and like within whatever 20 minutes we're off and you and I are both like, oh yeah, we'll just like, kind of take it easy. Until Christie said, Hey, I'd really love you guys to win with Kendall Jade.
Shannon: I mean, it's hard to say no when, you know, something like that. I had just ran the Air Force Marathon and then you were training for a marathon.
Ally: Yeah, I remember saying to you, thinking like, oh, I, you know, I'm such a badass. I was like, I ran 20 miles yesterday and so I don't know how this is gonna go today. And you're like, well, I just, I just pushed for a marathon last weekend. It's just like, oh my gosh. So both of us were somewhat wounded going in, but we somehow.
Flew through that three miles at least it felt like it was, you were dragging me, I should say.
Shannon: I think it's, um, the competitor in me knowing that, you know, I've ran with Kendall Jade before and you know how it is to be first in something,
Ally: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, kind of, I don't, I don't really get to experience that much these days, so
Shannon: same.
Ally: it was, it was [00:06:00] great. So for people listening. They've probably, if they listen to this podcast, they've heard me talk about Ainsley's Angels. But it's possible that somebody listening doesn't know what Ainsley's Angels is, or when we're talking about pushing, they're like, what are you, what are you talking about?
So, will you give a quick overview of what Ainsley's Angels is and then how you got involved with the organization?
Shannon: Yeah, so Ansley's Angels is an organization that supports inclusion through, helping disabled children, even adults become, athletes through maybe a five KA half marathon or even a triathlon now. so yeah, so when we talk about pushing, we're pushing a specially designed chair. we like to call them chariots. this chariot allows for us to push our angel athlete, the distance. So some are built a little bit different than others because every athlete needs something different. my favorite would be the Hoyt. It is a racing chair, so, it allows you to, get up and go maybe a little [00:07:00] bit more. but some of the other chairs are, you know, just as good. I actually, many moons ago, had a friend run into Christie at Planet Fitness and she asked, my friend if she was a runner, and she was like, yes. And so she told her a little bit about it. And then they were doing a fundraiser for a chili, Cookoff in, I think it was February, and asked if, uh, my organization at the time wanted to donate a basket and we said, yeah.
So that was kind of, you know, how we met.
Ally: Wow. I just love knowing Christie. It's so great knowing she's hustling in that Planet Fitness, finding people to, to be part of the organization. I just, I really love her. For people who don't know Christie, she is the VP of Education for all of Ainsley's Angels now, but she lives where you live in Kokomo.
I've gotten to meet her at the Indie Mini, uh, the last few years and of course, um, out at Marine Corps, but we'll get there. So that's how you got involved. What was your first race? Do you remember?
Shannon: Oh gosh, [00:08:00] I don't remember. It's been so long. The very first time though, we all met at Morrow Park, and we did like a little test run, so it's a one mile loop around the course. And so you just push an athlete and so that was my very first, I wanna say trial experience.
Ally: people always tell me, they're like, oh my gosh, how do you do that? That's so hard. But what I think people don't realize, like you just said about the Hoyt chair, is that these chariots are designed for this purpose. it's even easier than a stroller, in my opinion. So tell people that they can do this.
Shannon: Absolutely. You know, I CrossFit and so CrossFitters hate running. and so one thing I. I kind of pride myself on is, um, I feel like I'm an influencer in the gym and the fact that I, we even have a CrossFit Kokomo run club right now because so many of them have decided to run. But the really cool thing is, three years ago, Kevin [00:09:00] took this, um, and allowed me to bring it to his gym. And CrossFitters are like, wow, this is something to lean onto. or, you know, they're like, this is a lot easier than what I thought it would be. And it takes your mind off of the actual fact of running. So yeah, anybody can do it.
Ally: Yeah, and I mean, you can do a 5K, you can walk and push if you want. Like I think people don't understand how approachable it really is. And I think that's so cool because again, the organization's about inclusion, so they're not looking for the fastest runners to run. They, they just wanna include everybody.
Shannon: Yeah, absolutely. Um, with the triathlons, I mean, people swim, bike, run. I mean, you don't have to be a fast swimmer or a fast biker either.
Ally: Yeah, so incredible. And now I've seen, you know, some trail races. They have like adventure tra uh, chairs with these, you know, huge wheels. And it's just really, really cool to see what they continue to come up with to include athletes in all kinds of different sports or terrains.
Shannon: [00:10:00] Yeah, exactly.
Ally: Yeah. yeah. So how many races do you think you've done with Ainsley's Angels, if you know, how about Marine Corps?
How many times have you done Marine Corps?
Shannon: that was my very
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: pushing, by myself for 26.2 miles and I pushed Owen. yeah. So that, that was a feat all on its own.
Ally: Yeah. So. I, I was supposed to push alone solo for 26.2 miles at Marine Corps last year, and it freaked me out like so much so that I was panic messaging a stranger on the internet who ended up running the entire marathon with me. Like without him, the race would've been a lot different for me. So I applaud you for doing it solo.
for me, I just had this fear that I wouldn't be able to do it, even though I had trained for it. But I, I know I, I could have, but it was great to be able to share the miles, uh, with somebody else. Um, my athlete, uh, Melissa was [00:11:00] nonverbal too, so it's, it can be lonely if you're by yourself.
tell us a little bit about Owen. I've heard his name before. I've never met him. I don't think
Shannon: so, and actually I pushed by myself, but I did have a friend run with me, so, I.
Ally: that's helpful.
Shannon: wanted to push, but my friend
Ally: I.
Shannon: there. So at the time Owen was 16 and Owen doesn't have any legs and when he was three, I'll give you the short story. he was burned 98% of his body. I met Owen, probably. Six years ago, maybe five years ago, somewhere in there. And he did the four by four by 48 with me. we just became good friends. and his mom, again, all through Christie and Ramsey, uh, meeting Owen and Ramsey had a heart attack. So this is what he does to me. He's like, Hey Shannon, you
Ally: My gosh,
Shannon: Corps marathon with Owen and I, and, you know, I really think [00:12:00] you'd like it.
And I was like, sure, I'd love to go to Washington DC And then he goes and has a heart attack on me. I mean, who does that?
Ally: Ramsey. Tell people who Ramsey is.
Shannon: Ramsey is, Ramsey Grace's, Christie high's brother-in-law, which is Kendall Jade's uncle.
Ally: So he has been at almost every single race that I've been at with Ainsley's Angels. he is there, he had a heart attack. How, long before the race did that happen?
Shannon: This was maybe like, don't quote me, maybe like June the race is
Ally: Okay. I.
Shannon: It might have even been August. but
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: a little bit, and it just wasn't a good idea. His doctor said, after they put a stint in, you know, for him to go that distance, he did come, they, him and, Christie and Misty. Misty being his Christie's sister, his wife, they were all there, cheering me on tears, you know, at the end and at the beginning, because we were all sad that, you know, Ramsey [00:13:00] wasn't gonna be there with us, but he was there with us every mile I
Ally: That's cool. Of,
Shannon: He was in my head.
Ally: yeah. Right. Like, come on, do this for, for Ramsey. And where is Owen from? Where does he live?
Shannon: Um, he lives in Brownsburg,
Ally: Okay. Are there multiple Owens maybe I've heard of? Uh, I don't know. ' cause Matt may, uh, have you met Matt May?
Shannon: I don't think so.
Ally: Matt lives in Louisiana and he was recently on my podcast. I met him at Marine Corps and he became a friend through the internet first. Then we met in person and he was saving grace for me, certainly the morning of and leading up to the race.
but he has pushed an Owen before as well, so I don't know if it's the same Owen or if there's multiple, there's so many athletes and angel runners. In this organization that it's hard to keep track and it's so inspiring to hear all the stories about whether it's the athlete in the chariot or whoever's pushing like why they're there.
It's just truly incredible.
Shannon: Yeah, [00:14:00] mean the Marine Corps was amazing, you know, being able to push Owen and finishing, the Marines yelling at, you know, at you up the hill, up that hill. Owen has, uh, he has some artificial legs that he can put on and he can finish some of the races in and sometimes he does that. so
Ally: Wow.
Shannon: neat.
Ally: That is really special. Out of the four or maybe five finish lines I've had with Ainsley's Angels, now I've had one athlete that was able to get out and run. It was Lyn. She is one of two twins and they have Down Syndrome 16 years old, and oh my gosh, Shannon, I had to sprint after her.
Shannon: Oh yeah.
Ally: It was amazing.
But that, that, that's really cool to be able to, you know, watch your athlete cross the finish line if they're able, uh, is really special too.
Shannon: Uh, The Air Force. I pushed Camden Fogelman.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: he, he's,
Ally: I.
Shannon: I've pushed him at the Indy many too. And when he gets out, you gotta be ready. You better have those sprinting legs on because you're sprinting that finish.
Ally: Oh [00:15:00] yeah. Tell people a little bit about the Air Force Marathon. I have never been, I don't know much about it.
Shannon: Yeah, so you're on an active base, so completely different from the Marine Corps. You're actually on the base. We had to be like wandered and you had to pass security to be able to get on the base, first of all. So here you are, you know, six o'clock in the morning going through something like that. So that was really neat. but yeah, so I actually. Had talked a fellow friend who had never ran a marathon before, into pushing with me. So her very first marathon, Alicia, not only did she run, but she also pushed. So there were three of us. we do have a, a thing when you run with Ansley's that nobody gets left behind. Have you ever done a Tough Mudder? of the same aspect.
Ally: I have not.
Shannon: No
Ally: Mm-hmm.
Shannon: left behind, but, we'd already kind of talked about it and we knew, you know, where we were. And so Christie's okay with it as long as we have that understanding. [00:16:00] So we started
Ally: Mm-hmm.
Shannon: us, and then Lynn, we knew like at the half that we were probably gonna part ways. So at the half, Alicia and I finished, the second half together.
Ally: Okay. And it's in Ohio? Correct.
Shannon: at the right pass, the Patterson Base. Yeah.
Ally: Okay. Wow. I, Alicia, props. Props to you if you're listening. My goodness. Your first marathon. And for people listening again who are like, I could never do that. It's like, well try doing it for your first marathon ever.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: That's pretty amazing.
Shannon: and I just wanna throw this out there. I will be 49 in a couple weeks, but Alicia's 50 and my other running partner is 62. age is just a number.
Ally: Amen. when you wrote that in the email to me that you were gonna be 49, I was like, no, you're not. And all the grandkids you have, I mean, I wanna be like you when I grow up, which is not too much further away. I'm 40 this year, so
Shannon: That's a big one. You got some big plans.
Ally: [00:17:00] No, actually I don't know what I'm gonna do yet. I've talked about going to Louisiana for the Sunset 5K with Ainsley's because it's my birthday weekend.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: but then the other side of me is like, or do my husband and I get away somewhere. It's a great excuse to do that. So I've kind of. Going back and forth.
I gotta figure it out 'cause it's, you know, January, February, when this comes out, I or just before. So I gotta gotta figure that out. But yeah. What about you for your milestone of 50 next year?
Shannon: I mean, this year I'd like to run a 50 mile race, and next year I'd like to run a hundred. So,
Ally: Geez, Shannon. Wow. Okay. Before we leave Ainsley's Angels, I'm sure we'll talk about it still throughout our conversation, but I do wanna talk about the four by four by 48. ' cause that is coming up. And so for people who are local, I want them to know everything about it. cause you, you organize that entire race.
Is that right? Wow.
Shannon: So. when COVID happened, Christie couldn't do the chili Cookoff So we all have these, people that we look up to, right? So, [00:18:00] David Goggins, you know, Navy Seal, who I think almost everybody knows, but if you don't, he's a little out there. my family says I'm crazy because I really have always lived by that motto when they wanna give me excuse, I'm tired, my legs hurt, whatever I always have, you know, something for them. so they're, they get frustrated. But David Goggins the same way, you know, so he had started, the four by four, by 48.
You run four miles every four hours for 48 hours. And he encouraged you to find a nonprofit and raise money for him. You could do it at home or whatever. So at the time, I was driving back and forth to Lafayette and listening to podcasts and I called Christie and I said, I got this crazy idea you can't host this and we run, I would really love to run 48 miles.
And she thought probably just what you're thinking. That's crazy. but she said, let's do it. So she took a leap of faith on me, um, really [00:19:00] that, you know, I'd be willing to do this and I was actually gonna go through with it. So that's what we did. We, this is gonna be our sixth year. I can't believe it saying it six years.
That we've done it.
Ally: Wow.
Shannon: And I mean, our mayor runs with us. Tyler Moore. He's amazing. we've had our, fire chief Chris Frazier, he's, he's not our fire chief now, but at the time he was, run with us. I've had police officers, . Nurses, doctors. I mean, it's just really neat that the community comes together and you don't, again, back to the, you don't have to run the whole 48. don't even have to run the whole four miles. I have people, my husband, he's not a runner. He bikes the 48.
Ally: Gonna ask you that. Okay.
Shannon: He bikes the 48 miles with me. So he gets up in the middle of the night. We, we spend the night at the gym because we want it to be a big deal. So, um, people in the community bake us things, bring us breakfast [00:20:00] donuts, like no food shortage. So it'll start at six o'clock on Friday night, March 6th. Maybe we can do some six, seven in there somehow. I don't know. so it starts March 6th at 6:00 PM and we run four miles. So I don't run 'em fast because it is 48 miles. I'm running and running on no sleep and I don't wanna be injured. Um, so we run about 10, 10 30 minute pace somewhere in there um, get back and then. Do it again at 10 and then do it again at two and do it again at six. so we just go through that whole process. back to that, my husband rides, my best friend Lynn, her, uh, she started. The 48 with me, she's 62.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: she,
Ally: Wow.
Shannon: she runs it with me too and her husband Doug Bikes. So and I have done it all six years, and our husbands, along the way, we've had a few friends [00:21:00] kind of come alongside and do all 48 with us. But, um, we're the, the, we, we started it and here we are six years later.
Ally: So cool. How, what's the format like, where do you run? Is it a loop? Like what does that look like?
Shannon: my CrossFit gym just happens to be right next to our trail. So
Ally: Perfect.
Shannon: just go up, maybe. 800, um, maybe a little over 800, to the trail. And then we take the trail, we go two miles out and then we come back down. so it's an out and back course. that, is on Dixon, which is kind of a main road for us. So, we either stay on the sidewalk or, the mayor's been great to blocking one lane off, um, when it gets big. so at two o'clock on the 7th of March, we will do a proclamation. The mayor comes and we've lost a few angels along our way, unfortunately, angel writers. And so he'll do a proclamation and we honor them, [00:22:00] which is really cool to do. they're local
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: So
Ally: Oh yeah.
Shannon: the, the bigger ones don't matter, but it does show a greater impact, you know, for those people coming and families.
Ally: Yeah, absolutely. So for this four by four, by 48, is it all Ainsley's Angels? Like is everybody Ainsley's Angels teams or are there other runners that are solo? I.
Shannon: we, it's been kind of exciting because we will get random people show up and say, Hey, we just wanted to come and check things out. We hear about this, over the years, channel 13, Fox 59, and the newspaper had picked it up. So that's been exciting. And so it's brought some coverage, you know, to that.
So I encourage anybody, you just need to put four miles in that day. or maybe you, wanna try 12 and so you come and do three legs of four with us, which would be awesome. uh, we have a bounce house for the kids. We bring, um, Christie had a petting zoo come last [00:23:00] year, which was fun.
Ally: Oh yeah.
Shannon: It wouldn't be a race or a run of any kind if there wasn't apparel.
So just like my shirt I have on today, Christie brings the trailer, which is full of merchandise, so you can, uh, get your apparel there so you can get a run and a t-shirt. And actually this year, our first time ever, we have a special four by four by 48 challenge t-shirts. So I'm excited about that.
Ally: That's cool.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: I love that. Yeah. I should make stickers for you. I just made some stickers for Christie. I should make you some stickers.
Shannon: that would be great.
Ally: yeah.
Shannon: so I mean, just
Ally: I.
Shannon: race, you can come buy a t-shirt, um, you can donate. we, you know, our goal is 25,000. This is our biggest fundraiser. this helps maintain chairs, buy chairs, angel athletes that, are looking to maybe do their first marathon. not. Because there goes so much into [00:24:00] healthcare. you know, so not everybody has that extra money to, you know, get to a race or pay for a race. So I really love the fact that some of the money used can be done to that and then it all stays local. rooster doesn't say, Hey, you gotta send us the 25,000 and we'll put you on a budget. that stays right here in our local ambassadorship.
So. When we do the
Ally: That's cool.
Shannon: care of all of that.
Ally: Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. So for people who are local, what we we're, the North central Indiana is the name of our, of our ambassadorship, and also Rooster is Ainsley's dad. For anybody who does not know, and he was on this podcast, so go listen to his episode was so good.
I got to meet Rooster last year at the Indie Mini. and I met him and I was just like, oh my gosh, I didn't know he was gonna be there. I had already signed up for Marine Corps at that time. So it just was so special to be able to meet him. I also wanted to talk about the Indie Mini, because I'm assuming you're doing it this year and I'll be there as well.
how many times have you run the Indie Mini with the Ainsleys
Shannon: Gosh, you got, you. You [00:25:00] ask a lot of questions that I,
Ally: y
Shannon: always
Ally: was like, you don't have a spreadsheet like I do.
Shannon: do you really have a spreadsheet?
Ally: Oh, I have a spreadsheet, Shannon.
Shannon: my gosh, I can't even tell you. I can tell you, I don't know. I've been running with them since almost 10 years now. Just since like, Christie began maybe a year or two after she began. So, I don't know, maybe five, five or six of
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: minis I've done, countless five Ks, two marathons now. gosh, I'm trying to think what else. I'm not a swimmer, so, when I was younger I had a near death experience in a swimming pool, and so if you come on the seventh, you will meet, or I don't know if you've met Kelly Wright, but Kelly and I traveled.
Ally: so.
Shannon: We traveled, the US we've probably done five or six states together. Marathon wise. We would pick a state and go do a marathon. Um, she had a daughter, who passed [00:26:00] away. and. We ran together, but she was an angel rider. So Kelly and I got this great idea before she had kids that we would do a triathlon and neither one of us were great swimmers. We were like, I don't know the fist to last person out of the water when we did it. we did the Cicero one we made up for it in the, in the run. But, but yeah, her daughter Bella passed away and so last year she passed away January 10th. And so, last year we honored Bella during our four by four, by 48. and I have been friends for, oh my gosh, my daughter is 32 today, and Kelly was her fifth grade teacher. So we've been friends that long.
Ally: What? Wow.
Shannon: not
Ally: is
Shannon: but my husband did CPR on Bella downfall to living in a small town. so that
Ally: Wow.
Shannon: tough one.
Ally: Yeah. And is this Bella Rose?
Shannon: Yeah, [00:27:00] yeah.
Ally: Yeah. my niece is Bella Rose, and so I think I was on Facebook in the Ainsley's Angels group and saw earlier this month them honoring Bella Rose. What a beautiful, beautiful girl. Yeah. I'm so, so sorry for your loss. Ugh.
Shannon: Yeah, that was a
Ally: Is that is so hard.
Shannon: it was great to be able to, her and Kelly were going to run, last year for the first time, the entire 48. they've ran with us before, but not the entire 48. So last year she ran the, 48, with us. So, and she lives right down the street from the gym. So she didn't spend the night with us, but she came each time.
Ally: Yeah, that's, wow. What a special way to, to honor Bella. Yeah,
Shannon: It
Ally: man. Ooh. Um, so yeah, it's like, okay, let's, uh, ooh. Yeah, there's so many stories like that, you know, through the Ainsley's Angels family, and it's, it's so inspiring to be able to run for more than just yourself. I tell people, the reason I got into Ainsley's Angels is because, you know, I, [00:28:00] I run so many races.
I'm like, you know, I should just give back to somebody else who doesn't get to have this experience all the time. And so it's been really incredible to be a part of it. So, yeah, we'll see if I can come up to Kokomo on, that weekend. I would love to be involved for sure.
Shannon: Yeah, we'd love to have you come do a leg or two with us and, see what it's about. Bring your daughters,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: have them ride their
Ally: Right.
Shannon: if they want, you know, or they can run too. so we make it a family affair. grandkids
Ally: I love that. I still can't believe you have grandkids. Okay, so let's, let's go back because you've been running Shannon for about 30 years. That's, that's a long time. So how did you get into the sport of running? How did you find running?
Shannon: So, I was in fifth grade and we had track call out and I, have always kind of been athletic, but not really much for, team sports. Just, you can't [00:29:00] always count on somebody. And so if I messed up, I wanted it to be because of something I did, not because of somebody else. So, running is just that, it's just you. so yeah, I did track, short distance. Most of my, actually all of my, my high school life I did track, you know, and then, Mr. Bennett, who, Kenny Bennett, who was my track coach growing up, he was a distance person and he was like, I think you should really try, you know, some long distance. I did, uh, my first marathon was Chicago, early 2000. and then I just.
Ally: Oh, and how old were you when you did your first marathon?
Shannon: You know, I think maybe I take advantage or I, I don't, I don't know. So 2000, I was born in 77.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: I wish I was like you. I saw you guys yesterday putting together your bibs and times and I [00:30:00] just, I can't, I would even have to go back and look online somewhere to tell you what my time was even
Ally: Yeah. Oh man. Yeah, I mean, I feel like it's either that's the way you are or you're to the extreme. I don't know how much, you know, in between There is, but so Chicago was your first? Chicago was my first 10. 10 10
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: was my first marathon. so when you, if you remember. That first marathon, it seems like since you've been running for so long, you were kind of hooked from that point, or were you like never again and took a big break, or what did that, that evolution look like?
Shannon: No, no, we were hooked. So, I say we, because Kelly ran it with me. we went to Utah, Colorado. we decided, hey, we're gonna travel and, hit a different marathon in every state.
Ally: Oh my gosh, I love that so much. Before kids, I had this group of women that I would do that with and it was, ugh, the best. Just the best. Gotta get back at it. Now that our kids are getting a little bit older, it's easier to get away.
I love that. [00:31:00] How many states have you done, or do you know? Shannon?
Shannon: do know that 13, 13 states,
Ally: Okay, so you're, are you going for all 50? I would assume
Shannon: Well, I mean, I would like to, 'cause you know, you get a letter from the president and you know, all that good stuff,
Ally: you do.
Shannon: yeah.
Ally: I did not know that.
Shannon: His name is Earl Strong and he ran a marathon in all 50 states.
Ally: Oh, that's cool. So are you part of the club then?
Shannon: I used to be a part of the club Kokomo, um, Roadrunners, but know, life, things like that
Ally: I've never been part of a run club
Shannon: really.
Ally: the years that I've been running. Yeah, because also just kids and I just run. Just when I can get it in. And I'm lucky enough to do that usually during the day. So,
Shannon: I
Ally: yeah.
Shannon: you with your girlfriends or your, the girls you run with, you know, on the trail. Is that the monan?
Ally: Yes. Yep,
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: yep. So what, out of those 18, what are some standout experiences that you've had?
Shannon: [00:32:00] Utah, my first experience with real cowboys, on horses, corralling the cows across where we were running.
Ally: Okay. Across like you had to stop.
Shannon: Yep. Yeah. And the hurdle of cows were going across. So you waited for them to go and then you went.
Ally: Okay. Well I hope you weren't going for time. For me, the type A, that would be like, I would freak out.
Shannon: It was kind of unexpected, so I don't think they were like expecting and cows to be crossing the same path at the same time. So,
Ally: Okay. That's wild.
Shannon: so they bust you all the way, 26.2 miles out. It was Logan, Utah, and then you had to run it.
Ally: Okay. I did a race in Utah where they bust you to the top of a mountain and then you run down.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: was pretty cool. No cows to be seen, but it was my PR for quite a while because of gravity. I almost felt like it was cheating, which is why they probably changed the Boston qualifier stuff for those types of races.
Shannon: [00:33:00] Yeah, exactly.
Ally: Okay. So, and have you done some of the 18, are those races you've done multiple times? Like have you gone back to Chicago?
Shannon: Nope. Never been back to Chicago, but like the monumental, I've ran like four times.
Ally: Oh my gosh, I'm surprised. It's so funny, our paths have crossed a lot. Like you've probably been at the Indie Mini the last two years that I've been there with Ainsley's Angels and we just never met.
Shannon: That's so crazy. Yeah.
Ally: Yeah. So crazy. And with monumental as well, so. Let's talk about family a little bit too in the mix of all this, because not only are you a mom, but you're also a grandma, which is crazy.
Do you have a specific grandma name?
Shannon: Yes. I go by Nani.
Ally: Noni. How is that spelled? NONI.
Shannon: Yep.
Ally: Okay. Where did that come from?
Shannon: I have a friend, her name is Terry Rose, and she went by Nonni, I guess it's Italian for grandma, maybe something like that.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: And she was a younger grandma and I was like, yeah, I really like that. I'm just not a grandma. typical
Ally: Right. Yeah. [00:34:00] You're certainly not, it's just to me, yeah. Wrapping my head around the fact that you're, About to turn 50 and you're a grandma. Kind of blows my mind. I'm sure you get that a lot. You probably surprise the heck out of people.
Shannon: It's, it's like, um, have you ever played that icebreaker? Two truths and a lie.
Ally: Oh yeah.
Shannon: I was an average skydiver for a while, so I'd always say like skydiving, I'm a grandma, and I would say like, I have a pet lizard.
Ally: That's so, that's crazy, Shannon. I love that.
we left off, we were talking about family Nani, and then You also casually mentioned that you were an average skydiver.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: will you tell people what that, means?
Shannon: You take an eight hour course, and you do accelerated free fall. So I actually pulled my own shoot. This is my
Ally: Wow.
Shannon: time, and here I am landing. Let's see.
Ally: What does accelerated free fall mean?
Shannon: it just means that you do it all on your own. It's [00:35:00] accelerated. So the class was all about acceleration of the free fall. So you learn about your altimeter, um, when you pull your chute about your back chute. Yeah, so I, I was like, I wanna do it. And then I was, was kind of addicted.
Ally: Yeah, that's insane. So. you were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. That's what kind of, you know, inspired you to do the skydiving stuff. how did you find the cancer?
Shannon: So, , I went for a routine doctor's appointment, but
Ally: Oh my gosh.
Shannon: like I had, had some tenderness and, you know, 2009, You know, I'm not very old at that point in time. I don't even know, to be honest. I just remember the year,
And I just remember being like, was tender.
I knew it wasn't supposed to be. And so we did a mammogram. I was newly divorced and I did not have healthcare.
Ally: Oh my gosh.
Shannon: So I, those parts of my, that [00:36:00] year was a lot of learning, realizing how important healthcare is. I went on to get my master's degree in public administration and healthcare because I realized that, you know, healthcare is super important, but I also kind of became a journal and junkie during that time too. Um. But I had a lumpectomy. I did, oral chemo. I opted not for, intravenous chemo, and then I opted not to do radiation as well.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: Just after doing some, like reading on that, and once you do radiation in that spot, you can't ever do it again. They felt like, my doctors felt like they had got the tissue and the surrounding tissue. and so I felt like I was blessed to find her early. I,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: and then I have two daughters, so they have since, tested for the BRCA gene,
Ally: Uh,
Shannon: and are negative, so that's a positive.
Ally: yes.
Shannon: My oldest daughter is a nurse practitioner, so she went into healthcare [00:37:00] and my other daughter went into psychology, so,
Ally: Okay. Yeah,
Shannon: yeah, a lot in there.
Sorry.
Ally: no, that is a lot though, especially to just be coming off of a divorce, getting this crazy news, having to navigate the healthcare system. Like can you get healthcare once you have a diagnosis like that? Because obviously that's. You know, factors into to that.
Shannon: Yeah, so the answer was no. And the other problem was I sold real estate at that time. And so, I couldn't get it through my employer because I was an independent contractor. yeah. So during, you know, 2009, those were kind of different years. Things are probably a little bit different now. and then I made too much money for like Medicaid and things like that.
Ally: So did you just have to pay outright?
Shannon: I did. unfortunately I had, I had a new, uh, Jeep Wrangler at the time. I had to sell it. I went down to a Mazda three. and, you know, I used to do a lot of traveling and things like that, so [00:38:00] things changed,
Ally: Yeah,
Shannon: because you're, I mean, I was literally, I mean, oral chemo at the time you're talking. Almost $4,000 a month, in medicine. Yeah,
Ally: I mean, wow. I mean, you could just do anything, Shannon. See, I mean, resilience clearly. that had to be crazy. So how long was your treatment period?
Shannon: about a year.
Ally: Okay. Yeah. Wow. And then how often do you go back for scans? I,
Shannon: So I go back every year, just like a normal, um, at first it was three months, six months, nine months in a
Ally: okay.
Shannon: and then, so now I just go back yearly. I've had a few issues like pre-cancer cells they've found. it has been, you know, maybe talked to about maybe doing a double mastectomy.
Ally: Hmm.
Shannon: And yeah, as a woman, that's a big, it's a big thing.
So I don't know that I'm there yet,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: maybe in the [00:39:00] future.
Ally: Yeah. Wow. So does that. Drive a lot of what you do. I mean, it seems like you're just so passionate about doing things that are crazy that you, you know, adrenaline junkie, and then also you're just so passionate about giving back to the community in so many different ways. Like, do you think that started with that period of your life, or was it already there?
Shannon: I think I've always wanted to do something. I always talk about when, I guess speak for things that I feel like I really have a servant's heart.
Ally: Hmm mm-hmm.
Shannon: I think I'm a leader in that aspect too, and I feel like I make a good leader because I know how to serve first. And I think in order to
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: to know how to serve.
Ally: Amen.
Shannon: And so I think a lot of our leaders don't do that now. They
Ally: No
Shannon: yeah.
Ally: people around and think that's leadership.
Shannon: so I think because I do a lot of serving and I don't need a title to be recognized, I feel like that, allows me to do a lot. I carry a lot of titles, but I just really am [00:40:00] Shannon Spencer, community Catalyst maybe.
Ally: Yeah. I mean, community Catalyst. Yeah. I, I don't even know if that's, I mean, it's strong enough of a word. So what do you do now for work, your professional side of things?
Ally Brettnacher: Quick break in the show to make you aware of an upcoming event that I'm hosting that will be both in person and virtual. It is a Galentine's Day run, so either on Galentine's Day, which is Friday the 13th, or all throughout the month of February. Run a 10 K in honor of the organization Free to Move.
If you listen to the recent episode with Abby Lokits, you'll know that
free To Move is an organization with a mission to foster a safer and stronger world for women focusing on their safety, empowerment, and education. It was founded in honor of Dr. Alyssa Lokits, and if you want to support this organization or simply just. Get together, run a 10 k four Galetine's day. I will put a link to the race in the show notes. It's [00:41:00] free. you have the option of donating between five and $20 if you'd like. All those funds will go to free to move. Otherwise, it's just a way to raise awareness for this amazing organization
Women should be able to run safely wherever and whenever they want. So check out the link in the show notes or follow me on Instagram. @allytbrett_runs. I'll be sharing about it a lot there as well. If you do the virtual, please be sure to share.
the awareness of this is, is a big part of it. So, alright, now back to the show.
Ally: So what do you do now for work, your professional side of things?
Shannon: So I work in healthcare, so I work for, angels of Mercy Home Health, so they're a licensed home health agency.
Ally: Wow.
Shannon: and so I'm the account executive, . So I go to doctor's offices and my son says I have a boring job. One day he went to work with me. He's like, all you do is drive around, go in and talk to people, and then go to the next place and do the same thing. was like, [00:42:00] yeah, that's what I
Ally: Yeah, basically. Yeah. And oh gosh, yeah, that, well that's also an important job to have 'cause it serves the community in such a, an important way. 'cause you know, I've had aging grandparents and know, my parents are certainly getting older and it's important.
Shannon: And then it goes back to insurance. you know. You get, I mean, October of every year, you get insurance salespeople calling your parents if they're over 65 trying to get them to change Medicare, Humana Advantage plans like traditional Medicare, that's where it's at.
Ally: Yeah. Yeah, I know nothing yet. So, okay. So have you done anything special related to breast cancer, like runs or walks or things like that?
Shannon: You know, I did this Susan b Koman a few times. this is gonna sound weird, maybe, I don't know. I feel like I had ductal, cancer, so many women end up with mastectomies or, mean so many other bad things. And I feel like. I was blessed to get it as such a [00:43:00] young and early stage my story doesn't even compare to some of theirs. I know I shouldn't feel that way,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: but sometimes I do. So I also think maybe because been such a blessing that I have, that I didn't, you know, go through so much that I wanna give back to others that maybe did have.
Ally: Yeah, I mean I can see that. I mean, it's i's still cancer, but
Shannon: Yeah. Yeah.
Ally: obviously there are, are varying degrees, but. But still, then you became a skydiver, which is, I still am. Just like, okay.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: And what else, what else was on that kind of bucket list for you?
Shannon: um, let's see. I mean, really just the, I really. Two years ago I went to Spencer, Indiana and it's called the, the Toughest Trail race. and you could do the 50 K or the 50 miler. I signed up for the 50 miler and they were like, I really think that you should, because it was my [00:44:00] first year. Have,
Ally: Hmm.
Shannon: familiar with this race?
Ally: I don't think so. I'd have to Google it to make sure I haven't seen it, but I don't, I don't recall.
Shannon: Yeah, it's on a horse trail, so like the horse trail is not very big and it's Spencer, Indiana, so I was like, oh, Shannon Spencer, you know?
Ally: Right. Cute. Yes.
Shannon: so that's kind of my race that got away from me because I let them talk me into the 50 K, which was fine. I still was like only one of 18 finishers.
Ally: Wow. Wow.
Shannon: I was like number 14 or 13, something like that.
I'd have to go back and look. but it is really one of the toughest. but anyway, they had got like monsoon rain and weather
Ally: Ugh.
Shannon: like the day before and they were just like, it's gonna be really bad. they were like, we want you to be able to finish. So I was like,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: I did that. So I would really, really love to do a 50 mile race.
that's something I really wanna do. But I feel like, bucket, you know, I travel, I went to Ireland and I did a
Ally: Mm.
Shannon: in [00:45:00] Ireland. Um,
Ally: that's cool.
Shannon: I, I feel, you know, skydiving, that was something I really, I had my fear of swimming, so I did a, a triathlon. I think once I maybe hit. The 50 mile race and the a hundred mile race,
Ally: Then you'll be like, I did it.
Shannon: Yeah. I feel like, yeah.
Ally: Yeah. As, as someone who has, has yet to tackle a 50 K, which I never thought I'd even have interest in doing. the, the 50 mile and a hundred mile just seems that much crazier. But you know, the more people I talk to in this community, the more approachable it feels, you know, even though it sounds insane, it's like people do it.
Shannon: Have you ever done like an eight hour race?
Ally: Okay. No, I was gonna ask you about yours 'cause you've done that also a couple of times.
Shannon: Yeah. in Danville, Illinois, they have what's called the how at the moon, and it's
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: race. you have to register, you still got time. You can make this your
Ally: Oh,
Shannon: on Earth Day is when they open up. and that's your registration. And then I think it's in August.
Ally: okay.
Shannon: But I've done that [00:46:00] twice. I didn't get to 50 miles, but, there's some people that, do get to 50 miles during that time.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: just run a half marathon or a marathon. what about the Beast? Have you done that?
Ally: What is that?
Shannon: so Ansley's Angels does it,
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: a 12 hour race
Ally: Oh my gosh.
Shannon: it's, it's a loop that you do. I did it. This is my second time to do it, but I usually just do a marathon and stop. So, so I was thinking this year, 'cause I think it's in, it was, it's super hot, so maybe it's in like July or August to
Ally: okay.
Shannon: try doing the full 12, the full 12 hours this year and, and not stop
Ally: Yeah. Gosh. I mean. I'm trying to think of the closest thing I've done. The closest thing I've done to that is a Ragnar Relay. Have you done a Ragnar?
Shannon: I have not. I would like
Ally: Okay, that would be so fun. I think Ainsley's Angels does, has done Ragnars. I don't know if they do them consistently every [00:47:00] year, but it's like you have two vans, you got 12 people total, six a per van, and it was like 200 and something miles.
We went from Traverse City to Muskegon
and so that, you know, that gave me the experience of like. Running on little sleep, I didn't have to run in the middle of the night, but others did. and it was kind of gave that kind of the vibe of how people are doing these crazy races where they're up for even longer than that and running further, like I think collectively, I only ran like 18 miles over the course of the weekend.
So some of those races just seem crazy. I don't know how
Shannon: That seems cool though. I, that would,
Ally: it's.
Shannon: for that.
Ally: It is fun because they assign different legs to each runner. And so in a, you know, in advance, you know exactly how much is assigned to you. but I do like the idea of the eight hour, 12 hour concept where you're just doing as much as you possibly can.
we have a, have you ever done a backyard Ultra?
Shannon: Huh.
Ally: So you would love, there's this Backyard Ultra [00:48:00] in September, in Noblesville, Indiana called Prairie on Fire. They just released a documentary on YouTube.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: there were four women last year who got to a hundred miles and the winner of the females got to 112 miles.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: Um, but it's every hour on the hour, you run 4.167 miles, you know, as fast or as slow as you want, but at the top of every hour you have to be back at the start line. Uh, and you just do as many as you want. You could do one if you want, and they call 'em yards. You can do one, you can do, I forget. math is hard.
I forget. It's like 20 some for a hundred. I, I can't remember. and then some people like, I think the record is like almost 500 miles like that. Somebody's gone, not, not here in Indiana, but in other places. So, anyway, that sounds right up your alley. I, it's top of mind. 'cause I just watched that as many as you want.
Shannon: As many as you want. Okay.
Ally: Or as many as you can physically do so, um,
Shannon: hour period of time?
Ally: no, and it can go longer than that. So every hour on the hour [00:49:00] and the race doesn't end until there's only one runner left.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: So, so I forget what the, who, how many the winner ran, but it was like over 24 hours that the race was happening. So you just go as many as you can.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: Which the concept to me is just so interesting because certainly finishing a marathon, most of those finish lines, if not every single one I've gave all that I could give or so it felt like. Right. And so thinking about turning around and doing that again, but I felt that way about the half marathon before I did a marathon.
So it's kind of like, you know, you train for it.
Shannon: Mm-hmm.
Ally: Yeah. Yeah. okay. And then. we talked a little bit about your kids. Um, we didn't talk much about your grandkids, but I, I wanted to talk about running, with your kids. So do your, do your daughters run, do your grandkids run? Tell us a little bit about that.
And your son, of course, does he run?
Shannon: Yeah. So, in their younger days, yes, we would do five Ks together all the time. then they became soccer players
Ally: Hm.
Shannon: and I think a lot because of [00:50:00] the running. and just recently, Tay Ray Tetra passed away. I don't know if you've ever heard of him.
Ally: Huh.
Shannon: a, he's a pastor here, but he also started Coyote Kids.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: And I'm trying to think, I wish I would be better at this year thing, but I would say maybe 20 plus years ago, right around in there, he started it and it's a free running program for the kids.
Ally: Uh
Shannon: gosh. It's amazing.
Ally: uh,
Shannon: yard dash for like kids, two years old.
Ally: yeah. Yes.
Shannon: a quarter, you know, for those that are one.
And you see the parents out there, everybody gets a ribbon. and a Popsicle. So I love that. So my daughters, I think they were, they were probably like 10 or something when that started. Six and 10. And so they did that for several years. And then now my grandkids do it,
Ally: Ugh.
Shannon: which I think this year they're up to a mile.
So this year they'll run a mile.
Ally: That's so cool. So how does that work? Is it [00:51:00] once a year? Is it like a weekly thing? How does that work?
Shannon: it's six weeks. It's during the summer.
Ally: Oh, okay.
Shannon: they take the 4th of July off. and it's in the evening. It starts at like six o'clock. And they get lots of, sponsors around the community.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: neat to see, oh, the kids get a time, they get a little chip, as they're older. and it's laid out in Jackson, Morrow Park, so it's a lot of fun. it's just exciting and it's free. Like, you know, all you have to do is get there, show up, you get a Popsicle. Now, I mean, I'm competitive, so I'm not a huge fan of everybody getting a ribbon. I'm pro I might offend somebody, but it is cute for the little kids,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: that they, you know, you're one years old, two years old, and you got this little coyote kid ribbon. it's pretty cool. The ribbons don't mean anything, just that you participated.
Ally: Yeah. Yeah. I want my girls to run, I, my oldest, there's a mile race every year that we have in the summer from beyond [00:52:00] monumental the organization I'm a part of. Yeah, it's just so fun to share my love of running with them. my eight and a half year old is getting interested in doing like a 5K something a little bit more, but I also just wanna be so cautious of, you know, I don't want them to feel like they have to just because I do, but I wish we had more programs around here for younger kids.
'cause once they get old enough, there's other programs around. But for my eight and a half year old, there's not really much for her to, to do. I wish there was,
Shannon: You could start Coyote Kids where you're at.
Ally: I, I mean, just believe me, Shannon, there's so many things I wanna do and I'm like, okay, I can't do it all sadly. But I would love for somebody listening to start that or tell me that something exists that I didn't know about. 'cause that would be great too. Yeah.
Shannon: live on seven acres and so we live in a rectangle and when I, be 49, February 21st, and
Ally: Oh gosh.
Shannon: 1 31 events down at Eagle Creek has, the. Oh, the winter [00:53:00] trail run or whatever. So I'll do
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: But since it's kind of trail ish in our yard, I have a little trail. If you do two laps around, then it's one mile. So
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: that is six, she'll do that with me in the summertime
Ally: Oh, that's so cute.
Shannon: and.
Ally: the best.
Shannon: Yes. And my son, he does not like running. he wrestles, so I tell him he has to run to keep his weight down, you know, so,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: so I'm like, you can run with me. So on occasion, he'll, run around the yard with me. we live on a country road too, so I know if I go down and back once is two miles, so he'll get on his bike. cause a lot of times, I mean, my husband is gone 24 hours at a time,
Ally: Right.
Shannon: it's just him and I in the evening, you know,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: just staring at each other, we try to find things to do.
Ally: Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's fair. Um, how did you meet Josh, your husband?
Shannon: Oh, I met him at Dairy Queen.
Ally: Naturally?
Shannon: Yeah. Yeah, [00:54:00] my daughters and I were in Indian ice cream and he was in with his brother. I didn't like him at first. and he was, he, he hid on me in front of the girls. And it's funny 'cause he is like, don't I know you? was like, no I don't. And he's like, at the time I sold real estate and I had a billboard up.
And he was like, oh, you have a billboard. Um. He stole my phone number from the billboard and text me.
Ally: aw. Well that's kind of cute.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: What made you, what? What was the turning point where you're like, okay, I do like this guy.
Shannon: I don't, maybe his persistence because,
Ally: wore you down.
Shannon: because actually too, I'm actually almost nine years older than him.
Ally: Oh, wow. Yeah. That's crazy.
Shannon: Yeah. He just
Ally: I love it. Okay.
Shannon: So
Ally: And then,
Shannon: son through in vitro because I was a, I wasn't able to have him natural. the chemo just didn't work out very well, so we did [00:55:00] in vitro to have him.
Ally: Wow. Did it take a long time for that?
Shannon: You know what? I cannot say enough about God and just how I owe him everything, because at the end of the day, he's blessed me. again, I feel horrible, but it was only one time. we had three embryos, two took. we lost our second embryo about nine weeks into it. but we have Leland. you know, Dr. Gentry was my doctor and he just kept saying, only need one embryo, Shannon, how many are you? And I was like, one. he was absolutely just amazing in that, in that process. So again, I feel bad because I know people unfortunately struggle with fertility, never get to be a mom, I was blessed for whatever reason, within that first time.
So,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: perfect.
Ally: where does his name come from? Leland.
Shannon: So the other things he does is race. So he
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: midgets, which he goes about 40, 50 miles an hour around a track he has for, [00:56:00] since he was like
Ally: Okay. Wait, what is, what is a quarter midget? What is that?
Shannon: Um,
Ally: Oh,
Shannon: I am trying, I don't even have a picture of it in here. a sprint car. So a sprint car. Are you familiar
Ally: I have seen picture. I've seen pictures of this on your Instagram now that you say it. Yes.
Shannon: Yeah, so a sprint car. So a quarter midget is a quarter of a sprint car.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: So he races, now why was I telling you that?
Ally: Because of his name. His name, Leland.
Shannon: So my husband, he's raced for 28 years. he's friends with people like Kyle Larson and NASCAR or Chris Bell.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: Leland McSpadden, he is called the Tempe Tornado and he's a race car driver.
Ally: Oh my gosh. Okay. That is, that's pretty cool.
Shannon: yeah.
Ally: Yeah, that's, you gotta be fast. Then I guess you're named after a race car driver. It's, it's gotta, that's a little pressure.
Shannon: yeah, and it's super scary for me. Like two
Ally: Mm-hmm.
Shannon: I jumped the fence at the race car track. They told me I couldn't do that anymore.[00:57:00]
Ally: You're like, I will like watch me.
Shannon: Yes.
Ally: I'm a mom. Like, you have to understand that that's just what's gonna happen. Wow. Oh. Yeah. And we didn't, we have mentioned CrossFit a couple of times, but it seems to be such a big part of your life. How long have you been CrossFitting?
Shannon: at the gym that I'm at right now, almost three years. I've done it at another gym prior to that, but, um, this gym is a real community. I don't, do
Ally: Hmm.
Shannon: CrossFitters or talk
Ally: So I, I used to CrossFit, when my husband and I before kids, we lived in broad pool, and there was a gym called the Broad Pool Fit Club.
just this lovely couple owned it. Jeff and Jesse. And they built a community. So when you say that, I like, totally resonate with that because CrossFit was scary.
I thought it was just gonna be all these jacked Jim Bros who were like not, not very friendly, you know? And instead it was, it was quite the opposite. So, yeah. So I get it a little bit. I do miss that. it's been a long time.
Shannon: Yeah, I mean, I love it. 6:00 AM. [00:58:00] That's the class I go to, 5:00 AM we run, we run five miles, and then we do our 6:00 AM CrossFit class. That's like weekly routine. they're amazing. I mean, they pick you up when you're down. they cheer you on, you know, when you're having a good time. the support is unreal when I do the four by four by 48.
Ally: Hmm.
Shannon: I mean, the CrossFitters are like, oh, I don't wanna run. But then the kids show up and it's like, I can't even explain it. The feeling you get is just like overwhelming because you know these kids are hugging you and you're making them become an athlete and they're like,
Ally: Hmm.
Shannon: cool. So a lot of parents that would never get to experience like their kid crossing the finish line.
Can you imagine your daughter's. Like
Ally: Yeah. No.
Shannon: or even just not even being able to experience that with him.
Ally: Yeah, yeah,
Shannon: when my son wins a race and he does a cage stand, it's where they stand up on the top of their car. [00:59:00] Like it's an overwhelming feeling like, Hey, that's my son. He just won
Ally: yeah.
Shannon: When you're pushing them across that finish line, I mean, they get to
Ally: Yes, Yeah. It's so amazing. I cannot wait for the Indie Mini and maybe even before that for the four by four, by 48.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: signed up to do any other races this year? You mentioned the 50 miles that you want. Wanna look for anything else that you're, you do every year.
Shannon: I'm doing the, that I told you that trail run for my birthday.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: that's just,
Ally: Oh yeah. The Winter Trail. Frosty. Yep.
Shannon: The, it's 13.1. and then the indie many, I mean, that's the 50th running, you know,
Ally: I know. I'm so pumped.
Shannon: I even have one of our CrossFit coaches, and our gym owner is thinking about, you know, running it. So I think being the 50th is
Ally: Yeah.
Yeah.
Shannon: , I'd like to throw another marathon in there somewhere. do you like running in the heat? Are you a hot Yeah.
Ally: I don't like running in the heat or the extreme cold. I mean, it'd be great if it was just [01:00:00] nice, like the perfect weather, but I would prefer running in the cold to the heat.
Shannon: exactly. Yes. I love it.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: The cold, so if I could, if I find one, maybe October, November, I'd like to maybe, you know, I don't like repeating the same race I have the monumental because it's local and everybody wants to do it.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: How about the Flying Pig? Have you done that?
Ally: Hmm. I've been asked that a lot. It's, uh, it's something on my list because it's always the day after the Indie Mini. Right. So I do the Indie Mini every year.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: of a non-negotiable. If I, if I'm, if I can do it, I'm gonna do it. I think I missed, I've missed it twice, since 2007. but I've seen people do both like that.
Literally, they, they, they're running the mini, they've got a Flying Pig shirt on and I'm like, Hey, you running tomorrow? And they're like, yep. So, you know, it's not out of the question that I could just pack up and then go the next day and run in Cincinnati. But have you done it?
Shannon: Um, years ago before I started doing the Indie Mini. Yes, it's hilly.
Ally: Okay. Yeah. So I've, that's another thing you're like, oh, okay, [01:01:00] well I like my flat and fast, but
Shannon: So it's
Ally: you know,
Shannon: What about, um, I mean Disney, I really would love to do the 5K, 10 k half,
Ally: oh yeah.
Shannon: I'd like to do
Ally: Yeah, I, I've a lot of friends who have done the dopey. Yeah.
Shannon: Is that what it's called? Doy?
Ally: Yep. You, that would be right up your alley. Yeah, right. You're like super dumb to do this. Um, the problem, it's so hard, like a lot of these races are just getting so hard to get into, like the Disney stuff. You have to kind of know, you have to know exactly what you're doing to get in at the right time.
So for me, I've just kind of been like, eh. And my 4-year-old does not wanna go to Disney, if you can believe that
Shannon: Wow.
Ally: is. She is terrified of mascots, terrified. So she knows that there'll be mascots of characters and she wants nothing to do with that. So we'll see if that changes as she gets older. But yeah.
Shannon: the New York? You know, I would like to, I think it's March or April. That is something that I am trying to maybe do this year, [01:02:00] is fundraise for it. I would
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: for it. Do you know anybody that's got into that or done it?
Ally: Yeah, so I have 2018. I ran for Alex's Lemonade stand
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: then, one of my recent guests, Halle Patel, she ran her first marathon last year at New York.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: and she, who she fundraise for the therapist Beyond Borders.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: and then her husband, she's gonna coach him to run it this year and he's running for team, for kids.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: So there's a lot of nonprofits, great causes to support at New York. it was an amazing experience. Not one that I necessarily would do again, maybe for the right time in my life, but it was just the logistics are as you would expect for the biggest marathon in the world.
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: So, yeah. yeah, we'll see. yeah, you've gotta do that.
Shannon: Everything I read says like March, April, they open up.
Ally: I forget wonder, New York Marathon.
The drawing is in February, so if you [01:03:00] wanna enter the lottery. You can do that from February 4th to 25th, and then March 4th is when people will find out.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: And then Official charity partners will be announced in the spring.
So yeah, come, you're right, like March, April, they'll say which charities are, fundraising, which teams you could join. So there you go. Go do it.
Shannon: I just figure marathon wise, my past few I've pushed, so there are four hours. I'm not gonna be fast enough to qualify.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: you know what I mean? So I just figured, hey, charity, I love helping others, and if I could find one, that aligned with what, you know, I liked I would like to do that.
I've never
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: a charity race like that before.
Ally: Yeah. you know, for me I didn't, I did it kind of to get in, like I, my friend was doing it through this charity and I was like, well, if you're gonna run, I wanna run. I think it'd be even more special to run for an organization that, you know, either you're involved in or that has like a really personal, you know, tie for me, of course, like running for [01:04:00] kids that have cancer.
I was like, well, if I'm hurting, I'm just gonna think about the kids that have cancer. 'cause that, for their parents and for the kids is, Hard, much harder than running a marathon,
Shannon: Yeah.
Ally: yeah.
Shannon: Kind of
Ally: So,
Shannon: Kendall Jade.
Ally: yeah. Right. Oh my gosh. I still, I still, like we were, I remember that morning, it's like. We look at each other, we're just kinda like, okay, well I had no idea how fast or slow you ran.
You had no idea like what kind of runner I was. I don't, we just kind of figured it out
Shannon: Yep.
Ally: and I had never pushed for a 5K before. And so it's like, well, it's a pretty short amount of time. I'm pretty sure I pushed for the first mile and then you pushed, I think the rest of the time because by the time we got to mile three, I was just trying to keep up.
So it was so fun though.
Shannon: We
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: It was good.
Ally: We did, we did make a good team. Absolutely. So, alright. what didn't we talk about that you perhaps wanna share or wanna talk more about?
Shannon: I mean really just, you know, Ansley's Angels in the four by four, by 48, just reminding [01:05:00] people that, even like you just said, a 5K, I mean 3.1 miles. It seems like a lot, you, and I together, we, we could probably run for a couple hours just talking.
Ally: For sure. Yeah.
Shannon: speed, you know what I mean?
Ally: Yes.
Shannon: I, I think that's two. in my younger days that was all I thought about. I gotta be a 1 45, I gotta be a three 40.
Ally: Yeah,
Shannon: and once I hit those, I was like, now what?
Ally: exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
Shannon: I just, I wanna enjoy the moment. You know,
Ally: Yes,
Shannon: a video, and you said if you wear your earbuds, you couldn't hear this.
Ally: yes.
Shannon: same concept of if you are just hitting the pavement to hurry up and knock those miles out. You don't get to enjoy the beauty around you,
Ally: Yeah,
Shannon: your thoughts. Sometimes I come up with some great ideas.
Ally: so do I, if only my memory was good enough to remember them by the time I got home.
Shannon: Exactly,
Ally: [01:06:00] Yeah. I love that. I relate to that a lot. I haven't hit the times that I want, yet. I would love to go to Boston, but what I've decided and what I've talked to my coach about is, you know, I wanna train hard, but, I'm not gonna be going after PRS all the time.
And so last year was a no PR year on purpose. I just wanted to enjoy my experiences like going to Marine Corps. Um, and then this year I haven't really decided what I wanna do yet. So, you know, I'll just maybe go for some. Distance. Now that I'm turning 40, maybe there's an ultra marathon that I, you know, might do before or after.
I haven't committed to anything. It feels like on the internet. Everybody knows what they're doing
Shannon: Mm-hmm.
Ally: the whole calendar year. Like here are all the races I'm doing. I'm like, I have, I don't know. I'm trying to just get through Q1 here. You know,
Shannon: I saw you a big calendar though. That's That's a
Ally: I do have my. I like to know when races are, it's kind of nice to have that like snapshot of like, oh yeah, what, what? When is that race? Not necessarily ones that I'm doing, that's for sure. If only
Shannon: besides Boston, what's a race that you are [01:07:00] like, yeah, I could, I could get behind that.
Ally: you're asking me such good questions. It's so nice of you to ask questions back to me. I appreciate it.
Shannon: I
Ally: I'm so used to, I'm not used to people asking me the questions. probably Sydney, Australia, because my oldest daughter is named Sydney, so. You know, not something I would, I, I would wanna do until maybe she's old enough to perhaps do it with me or, you know, really enjoy the trip, and remember it.
So that would be, that'd be a bucket list. I've been to Sydney, it's been probably 20 years since I've been there, so definitely wanna go back there. I've not done an international race at all, so,
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: yeah.
Shannon: Not even a
Ally: Yep.
Shannon: when you went there.
Ally: No, not even a 5K.
Shannon: you, would you do a marathon or if you went there, would it just be a.
Ally: You know, I would love to do the marathon 'cause it's a world major now, but, it wouldn't have to be that. Yeah. There's plenty of other races there too, I'm sure.
Shannon: I'll just say one more question. Like, I love Sarah Hall. Like she's just, she's just someone I just, I could meet her, Ryan, [01:08:00] I would love it. Like who's someone like that you, you know, I don't like. The word idolize or you know, who's
Ally: Hmm.
Shannon: that like you really like their story, you enjoy watching them and seeing them.
Ally: it would, I just finished her book. And so it, at this moment in time, Dina Castor would be up there. She has a book, called, let Your Mind Run or something like that, like where she talks a ton about the mental side of the sport and what worked for her, and just her whole kind of running career.
I didn't know much about it. Frankly, I haven't followed the sport that closely. I'm starting to get more interested in it now, it being such a big part of my life. But yeah, she'd probably be up there. Uh, I did get to meet Sarah Hall two years ago at Monumental. Uh, I got to interview her, which was, insane.
I blacked out. So I don't, I have no idea what happened, but it did happen.
Shannon: I'm so jealous.
Ally: Yeah, she was very sweet and I can't wait till her book. I don't know if her book's coming out this year, but I know she's writing one, so I'm excited to. Okay.
Shannon: Yep.
Ally: There we go.
okay. And one more [01:09:00] thing, you also have a sauna. I almost forgot about that because I just got a sauna.
So tell me about your sauna.
Shannon: Um, it's a two person sauna, so my
Ally: Awesome.
Shannon: so if you really, dig deep into saunas, like it's really great for firefighters. There's
Ally: Hmm,
Shannon: vitamins that he takes before he gets in it, and really helps like detox that. am not an ice plunge girl.
Ally: hmm.
Shannon: I have done it, but I do indie cryo freeze.
Where you get in the
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: I
Ally: I've done that. Yeah.
Shannon: but, um, I love my sauna. I mean, it's three, four times a week.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: has one too, so I love that. But, uh, yes, I mean, my back would ache. You get in there,
Ally: Oh yeah.
Shannon: Stretch in there. So I'll do some stretching in there. because you know, as runners, we never stretch anyway.
Ally: stretch. Yeah. Yeah. It's very true.
Shannon: Do you
Ally: Yeah. Love it. I'm obsessed. Yeah, it's, I'm so spoiled, so lucky to have one and it's, it's really nice. [01:10:00] Really nice, especially right now when it's so cold.
Shannon: Yes.
Ally: I like had to wait for a while to get in it after the run I did in like Sub-Zero temperatures. 'cause I was afraid that it would like shock my body too much.
going from the extreme cold to extreme heat. Although I think that's part of what some of that stuff is, is like doing the ice and then going in the sauna. But I, I didn't know enough, so I was too afraid.
Shannon: Yeah, people at the gym, they go from the ice bath to the sauna,
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: or they do sauna, ice bath, sauna. No thanks.
Ally: Yeah, yeah. Uh uh. Okay. Um, so if people wanna get involved in the four by four, by 48, is there a registration? Do you go register? Do you just come as you are? Is there both? What does that look like?
Shannon: so, both Christie, if you go to the Ansley's Angels, org, uh, Facebook page, north Central Indiana, I think it is,
Ally: Mm-hmm.
Shannon: pinned up there.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: I think it's actually through run sign up too.
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: you could, you could do that. That makes it easy because we have [01:11:00] riders sometimes, like 20 riders, and we don't have enough people to push.
Can you imagine showing up and then not getting pushed?
Ally: Yeah. No awful. Yeah.
Shannon: So, if you register as a runner, again, it's all free. Um, and this is only our second year registering 'cause we're learning as long as we go.
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: offering a The T-shirt's $25. but again, other, you can just show up and not pay anything, just, you know, get to know the people and see what it is we offer. But you go to Facebook, um, you can call me. Um, I'll give you my phone number,
Ally: Okay.
Shannon: 437-9149. you can call me and I'll help walk you through. you can get ahold of Christie High on Facebook too. so any of those ways we would just love for you to come knock out four miles anyway. Run, ride your bike. My son, he rides at 10, two and six on both days with me and
Ally: That's awesome. [01:12:00] That's amazing.
Shannon: he'll be like, come on, mom, run faster.
Ally: All right. I'm gonna link that. I'll link the Facebook group in the notes for this so that people can just go look at that or even the run signup, but there's a link to that. I'll link it. Okay.
Shannon: of those. Yeah. And invite your friends. I'd love for you and your daughters to
Ally: I know I wanna go. Yeah, I'll have to look at, uh, our calendar, but yeah, getting up to Kokomo is not too bad from here.
Shannon: Yeah. Yeah. Straight shot, right?
Ally: Straight shot. Yep. Yep.
Shannon: So, yeah, so I mean, I'd like for everybody to know that. I mean, obviously if you're a woman, uh, breast cancer wise, do yourself checks. and if you don't have insurance, I always preach about find
Ally: Oh my God.
Shannon: So those
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: three of my hot topics.
Ally: There we go. Three big takeaways. Yeah.
Shannon: do something for somebody else. Breast cancer awareness, and insurance, if you don't have it. talk to somebody, call me. I'll help walk you through whatever. I think
Ally: Yeah.
Shannon: some important things.
Ally: Yeah. Okay. Well I'm gonna ask you the end of the [01:13:00] podcast questions now.
Shannon: Okay.
Ally: there's just two, what is your favorite running song and or mantra?
Shannon: So yeah, Rocky, have the tiger.
Ally: I love it too.
Shannon: I think it's, just all about, you know, being an underdog, rising up. and so I always just kind of think of that.
Ally: that played Shannon, when I was walking up the Veno Bridge to start the New York City Marathon, I of the tiger was blaring and I'll just never forget it.
Shannon: Oh
Ally: So that song gets me going. do you have a mantra, like anything you say to yourself when things are hard?
Shannon: this is gonna be funny, but I used to follow a lot of Muhammad Ali too. and when I'm running sometimes and I'm like, I can't do it anymore, he always says, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Ally: Hmm.
Shannon: And if you think about anything like that in life floating like a butterfly, you're enjoying life.
You know what I mean? And there's gonna be so many things in life that aren't positive that ends up singing you like a bee, but it makes you go. So, sometimes I, I just say those things.
Ally: Hmm. I like [01:14:00] that. Okay. And then your next finish line or milestone, we've kind of talked about both, right? Like the four by four by 48, and then a big milestone will be next year when you turn 50, which again, hard to believe. Any other finish lines or milestones we missed?
Shannon: No, I, I think we, we nailed 'em all. Thanks for the opportunity to
Ally: Oh. Yeah, absolutely. Again, I'm bummed we didn't do this in person, but at least I know I get to see you soon, so that helps. thank you so much for doing this and thank you for everybody who has listened and happy running.
Shannon: thanks.
Ally: Okay. We did it.
If you enjoyed this episode of Finish Lines and Milestones from Sandy Boy Productions, please share rate review. Head to sandy Boy productions.com check out the other running shows in this network. Thank you so much to Amaz fit for supporting this podcast. And be sure to check out the show notes again for that Galentine's Day event.
Thanks so much. I will see you next week. Bye.