Finish Lines & Milestones: Episode 76

Here's a link to listen to this week's episode.

Guest: Mark Glover @therealglover

Show Notes: 

Mark Glover⁠ is 51 but you'd never believe it. He has the energy (and speed) of men half his age.

During this episode, sponsored by ⁠Athlete Bouquets⁠, we talk about:

• How Mark and I met
• The fact that Mark has a problem with going to fast
• His PR at the Geist Half Marathon despite the hills
• Qualifying for the Boston Marathon and his Boston experience running with the Boston Police Department the year of the Boston bombing
• His first sales gig at the age of 9 and why he didn’t finish college
• Why he didn’t run in school… the girls liked football players
• How a decade of partying with celebrities in LA took a huge toll on his body
• Becoming a dad six months to the day after September 11th
• The “mirror talk” that saved his life
• How he did 95% of his first marathon training on a treadmill
• Listening to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem on repeat during his first race
• Becoming a full time single dad and moving to Indiana
• Living and running with Crohn's disease
• ⁠REGNR8 Rx⁠ and learning a lot about how to upkeep his body and focus on longevity
• Doing ⁠Hood to Coast⁠ for the first time
• Losing one of his best LA friends who took the path he would have taken if it hadn’t been for running
• Running for the abs, the medals and the times vs. the awards

Episode Transcript

0:00

Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones with Ally Brett Knocker.

Incredible stories and tales of triumphs with everyday people achieving their goals and fitness.

This podcast brought to you by Athlete Bouquets.

Celebrate finish lines and milestones of the people that you love by visiting athletebouquets.com.

0:21

Hello, and welcome to episode 76.

This is Ally Brett Knocker.

And it's finally October, and I feel like the weather is starting to cooperate with being October.

And that makes me so happy.

And it also makes me happy that the Chicago Marathon is coming up.

0:38

Sadly, I did not get into the lottery, but Chicago is the marathon I've done the most.

I've run Chicago four times, my first time being 10/10/10, so 14 years ago, which is kind of wild.

I've been running marathons for 14 years, but good luck to everybody who's tapering for that.

0:57

I myself am training for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, which is on November 9th, and I'm just have a couple more big runs and then I get to taper too.

So I am looking forward to that.

I'm also looking forward to something exciting happening later this month, October 25th, An exciting announcement to come about the podcast.

1:18

So stay tuned.

And then this weekend, the Indianapolis Monumental, our organization called Beyond Monumental, hosts 1/2 marathon, 10K and 5K out at Fort Bend in Lawrence.

1:33

And I'm running for, I think it's the third year, third time, third or fourth time, and the weather is looking amazing.

This week's guest actually didn't have it on his calendar until after we recorded, and he sent me a message saying that he is going to be running as part of the Indiana Elite Club with the USATF Masters division.

1:53

Honestly, I don't know exactly what that means, but Mark Glover, ladies and gentlemen, is incredible.

If you can't tell already, he's super speedy by what I just told you.

But he has so many incredible stories, many of them inspiring, some of them unbelievable, and I'm really excited to introduce you to Mark.

2:15

Mark and I met via the Internet.

He splits his time between the Fishers area and LA, Los Angeles, CA, and I feel so lucky that Indianapolis and our community, especially the running community, gets to share him with Cali.

So without further ado, enjoy my conversation with the Mark Glover.

2:37

Hey.

Hello, Mark.

What's up, Ellie?

How are you?

How are you?

I'm good.

Thanks for being here.

I love it.

Finally, all right?

I'm excited about it.

Finally, I know after I wonder how long we've been friends on the Internet.

A couple.

2:53

Years.

Yeah, I mean it hard not to follow.

I mean, you got that, that crazy smile and you'll just talk about running and.

So there you go.

Yeah, back at you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I'm glad we finally now, well, we met in person before this.

We met at Carmel, I believe, briefly.

3:10

No, we met at like a couple thought we met first at Geist a couple years ago, but you were just handed stuff out.

Was that?

I think it was a Carmel.

I ran the Geist but I don't think I saw you there really.

Yeah, I thought you were at the Expo.

3:28

I thought you were at the Expo.

I haven't done the Geist Expo only Carmel was my very first Expo this year, so that's where.

You got.

That's it.

Yeah, that's it.

All right.

And you're like, hey, what's?

Up I just you just I guess maybe it's just so familiar like you're it was easy Yeah well that's just to walk up.

3:44

I was like oh I've seen her she's been my friend forever like right.

OK good.

Makes sense I.

Was so happy to finally do that all.

Right.

Yeah.

And then we got a chance we had.

Yeah.

And then we had a chance to talk after.

Carmel, We had talked out to Carmel Yep.

And then I saw you at the Mini.

Yep.

And I started running with you at the Mini.

4:00

Then I passed you at the Mini, but then like I was yelling at you.

Hey, how you doing?

Flew by me.

I don't know if I was flying, I mean, because I, I actually started that race really slow.

I ran with a friend of mine, came in from LA and he was hurting.

Yeah.

And.

What's really slow for you, Mark?

Tell the people so we can all be like.

4:19

I I think we started this is bad.

I think we started like 7:15.

Yeah, wow.

For us, my body, man.

I know it's all relative.

Yeah, I mean, it's funny because we'll get into that too, because it's a different way how I train now, but it's yeah, I mean you, you just, I'm just always competitive, you know, so no matter what.

4:44

So even when I, when we did the mini this year, my friend was coming in from an injury.

We had run I think 4 races up to then, you know, Los Angeles, you know, in Boston we had, he had Berlin or not Berlin, he had, I think London or Tokyo, excuse me, Tokyo.

5:05

And then we had the Rose Bowl in LA.

So we had run a whole bunch of races and he was hurt.

So it was like we're going to take it slow but didn't realize how slow he was going to go or how hurt he was.

And so for that first, and he knows how fast I go, like I just, I have a problem.

5:26

And so I was trying to get really slow and he started to get in that, you know, so somewhere around like we got, I was like, OK, it was his new experience.

So I'm like, get you to the get you to the track because of the experience of the track.

And when I saw this is like the, you know, the competitiveness, I saw the 135 pace group pass me and I was like, dude, I got to go, right.

5:53

So I broke the negative split, ended up 127.

I think it was one 27126 somebody, 127 somebody.

Yeah, the 126.

And so I got to pass the 135 pace group and the 130 pace group and clip them up on the on the on the negative.

6:11

So it was still a good race, but I still get to run with my friend.

Yeah, there you go.

So that was, yeah, it was fun.

What's your half PR?

119 A guys.

Hot damn.

That was like, that's a crazy story, right?

6:27

I mean, I literally, I think it was a couple years ago.

It was the last time that they ran it in the spring.

OK.

Right, so that'll they run the guys half in the fall.

They just did it this two weekends ago and I think the week before or two weeks before was the mini.

6:45

Right.

Yeah.

So and the mini I ran like a one 25126 something like that or 1:25 and I was like, you know, the mini is really flat and speedy etcetera.

And I was like, I still I felt that like I left something out there, but I was like, Oh well, I'm I'm signed up for you guys half, you know, I'm not going to beat that because guys, it's hilly.

7:09

I mean, it's crazy hilly and I don't know, for some reason I felt it and I was just coming off and, and I, you know, I have this thing in my ear because I use the Apple Watch and then I use the Bluetooth.

There's like mile 612, mile, 610 mile.

7:25

I'm like, huh.

I mean, and before I knew it, I was at mile 10 and I'm still mile 613, mile 60.

I mean, like I'm still running, right.

Well, and then I came off that bridge and I, you know, I kind of looked behind me and I was like, nobody's there.

7:41

And I saw Geyer in front of like way in front of me.

And I was like, I'm actually running with Geyer.

And so, yeah, I came in fifth overall.

Damn.

Yeah, and I was 49.

7:58

I was.

Going to say.

Yeah, I was so at the at the end of the race, I mean, the the first guy that came in here was like, I was like, how old are you?

And he goes 21.

And the second guy that came in and goes, I said, how old are you?

He's like, I'm 23.

And the third guy was Mark, I think.

8:16

And he's, he was 36 at the time, I think.

And then asked the fourth guy, he was like, oh, I'm 27.

Yeah.

Like how old are you?

I'm like 49.

And.

They're all like holy shit.

Yeah, it made me feel a little bit better.

I'm like, I doubled.

I doubled some of you guys age and I still came in like you know.

8:35

In APR on that course.

Yeah, I was.

I was shocked too.

Yeah.

But so I have a special place in my heart for guys.

I do love guys.

I used to do it every year until my husband and I got married the weekend when they did it in the spring.

And so then it was our anniversary weekend.

8:50

So then I kind of stopped doing it because we'd do something for our anniversary, but now that they moved it.

Yeah, I started running it in 2010.

Whatever.

Year.

I think I missed the first year they did it.

What was that the first year before?

What was the first year?

9:05

I don't.

Remember, I don't know.

But I, I, I think I started running like a 2010 when I first got here or 2011 and from then on when I was here I just ran it because it was pretty.

Yeah, it's a beautiful course.

And it and it's community driven, like community comes out.

9:22

I mean, back then, I mean, I noticed that the buses aren't there anymore because I heard they had an accident.

But what?

Oh, I didn't.

Know that I heard like a couple years ago that's why I don't have the best buses anymore but the buses would come out and the community would come out and the finish line was different right The finish line was right there at the like the the dock yeah the Marina the Marina at the.

9:46

Restaurant.

Yeah, you should.

Know that I forget what it's called too, but it was it was just pretty.

It was just a huge I don't know it's kind of cool mini festival, you know, so I liked it and it it it set up the stages.

So that one in the mini are probably my favorite.

Well, Carmel has a special place in my heart too.

10:03

Carmel full, because that's my first, first time I qualify for Boston.

OK, That's what got me to Boston is I should say this is the first time I qualify for Boston.

That's the one that got me accepted to Boston, right?

10:20

Because I what a topical.

Because I've, I've, I've, you know, my qualifying time back then was 3/15.

I would do 3/14 or 3/14, 50 and I wouldn't get it in Boston, right.

10:37

And then, then I ran Carmel.

It's like the second year they did it, I think maybe.

And I ran three O 6, right?

So I had three O 6 and it was 2000.

No, it was 2012, OK.

10:53

I was going to I.

Forget 2012 because the year they bombed Boston was 2013, right?

So that was the first year ran Boston.

You were there.

Yeah, that was.

My dad was there.

He ran.

I was there and I finished like an hour before the bombing.

11:11

Yeah, I think it was 4/4/19 or something, 418 when the bomb went off.

And ironically, I was running with the as a member of the Boston Police Department.

Really.

Running club.

Elite running club and I had so I had got I got escorted into the bus with, you know, just a limited group of people to the starting line and we are bus sat right next to the starting line with police and everything.

11:39

And so we had, you know, a marker that we could find the police van at the end of the race.

And so you know, I finished and you know, part of that is that they pick you up and they escort you back to this policeman ball auditorium, food waiting, etcetera.

11:58

You take a shower, you come out and you know they take care of you.

The police, you know, instead of funny.

The police then take you to back to your hotel and like.

A in a cop car.

Well, that's my picture.

Yeah.

I mean that for you, your hotel, that wouldn't have been as fun, but be kind of cool.

12:16

Well, as long as you weren't here for you.

That's fair.

OK, Good point.

Good point, Mark.

You know, I am a runner.

Yeah, but there was a it's, it's more of a escorting police vehicle bus.

OK, gotcha.

Van so I got back to my hotel and it was like our Mark, I remember that Mark we got to go and I heard on the radio there's a bomb scare and then immediately after reports of a bomb going off and like I was in that cop it's Mark, we got to go.

12:50

Go have a good one.

And you know, it was kind of surreal.

And the interesting part about that one was where those bombs went off.

I remember distinctly running the finish line that race and that that left rail, right when you're coming down that left rail, I remember I was hurting so bad.

13:13

I was coming up around that that corner to the left rail.

I was like, I'm not even going out to the middle.

I'm not going out, you know, to the middle of the road.

I am hugging the left rail of this race so I can get to the finish line because I was like, this is the race was just so hard.

13:35

I mean, but then of course, I forget all about the race really after what happened, you know, but coming down that left rail, I mean, just thinking how I mean, when I say was hugging it, I was like within a foot of the rail.

That was just crazy.

And like I was thinking, well, it it could have gone off an hour early, you know, you never know.

13:55

So.

Jeez, that's wild.

And just to think like you're running by those, well, the guys I guess weren't there yet, but you.

Ran.

I don't know if they were.

Probably ran by people that you know, obviously were injured.

Or right that had been there sitting and waiting that would be there for another hour.

I mean, I were they there?

14:11

I didn't know I.

Don't.

I don't think they.

Waited.

Around for very long once they got.

There.

But I'm not 100% sure.

On that right.

But I mean, yeah, I don't know if stuff could have been there.

You never, I don't know, you know people, you know.

It's very, it was very surreal.

Though yeah, I my dad ran that year yeah and he finished around 4 hours and.

14:33

So right before.

I was at a conference in Chicago for work and I forget how I found out.

Oh, my husband's old roommate called me.

He lived in Boston and he called me because he knew my dad was racing and he called me.

He says ally's your have you talked to your dad?

And I was like, why?

14:50

Like first of all, this guy is.

Never.

Right.

Right, Right, Right.

And and I was like, no, I have not.

And he's like, well, try to get in touch with them.

There's been an explosion at the finish line.

And so, yeah, long story.

Sorry.

I did.

I ended up talking to my mom and she was confused because she was at the mall.

She's like, I'm at the finish line at the mall.

15:06

There's there's nothing going on.

I'm like, mom, you're at the freaking Boston Marathon.

She's like, oh, so.

And she had already talked to him so I knew he was OK.

But.

Yeah, it's just such a surreal day.

Yeah, it's interesting thing about that.

It was that it similar thing happened to me in the aspect.

15:22

So I was working for a company here, monster.com.

Oh yeah.

And they were headquartered in Boston and be interesting enough, they had kind of semi sponsored me.

You know, I was the guy in the office or like hundreds of people, that guy in the office that ran every day at lunch, right?

15:42

Whether it's winter or whatever.

I was, I was that nuts, right?

And yeah, I had that reputation.

It doesn't make a difference.

I go, I'd run from Monsters on 96th St. and I'd run from Monster and I'd run to the Mona, up to Mona and pack 7 miles every single day at lunch, right?

15:58

Take a quick shower and go back into to work.

And if I ate, I ate at my desk.

I was known as that guy.

So they said my sponsor me and it was interesting that they they couldn't find me.

They had no idea I was in my hotel room, but they were couldn't find me.

16:13

The phones were down and literally the CEO of the company at the time, you know, it was so funny how crazy they went.

Executive were trying to find their employee that was running the Boston Marathon, who I didn't even think.

I didn't think it was relevant either.

You know, I was like, yeah, what do you mean?

What do you mean the CEO's trying to get in touch with you?

16:30

I'm like, what did I do?

You know, it was like, no, it just wants to make you safe.

And it was like, yeah, I'm good.

So I knew when I got back to Indianapolis, as you can imagine, on my plane, there were only three people.

We wear our jackets, right?

So I didn't leave that night.

16:47

I left the next day, left the next morning.

And, you know, there's a lot of people that have been calling it what I mean, I was coaching in Fishers at the time.

And my my team, you know, was worried about me and, you know, the little leagues.

And I remember as soon as I got off, there was a camera in my face.

17:06

There's a camera in my face.

And, you know, a news reporter.

And I was like, yeah.

And then next I got home, I was all over the news.

And then literally a week later I'm.

Sure, I saw you on the.

News was the Carmel Marathon a week later?

Was the karma.

17:22

I think it was a week later, if I'm not mistake, it was a Carmel Marathon.

What's his name?

Who started the Carmel Marathon?

Todd Oliver.

Todd Oliver.

He had me pacing the four hour Group A week later.

So that was Saturday.

I paced the four hour group and I did it in my, you know, shirt my my Boston shirt.

17:43

And I remember that because the next day on Sunday, I was on the front page of the indie star.

You were.

Yeah.

All because this dude used to just bomb the marathon.

But it was like, I was one of the still have that.

17:59

I still have that obviously article.

Yeah, I it's a indie star and yeah, I want to see that.

It was crazy.

It's pretty cool.

Yeah, that's that means weird, but it's pretty.

Cool, right?

You're like, well, I hate that.

That's why I was on the.

Front page but I hit my mark.

At the same time, you're also like.

Yeah, but I hit my mark.

Yeah.

18:14

I mean, I got sub sub four for the team, you know, which is cool.

That's actually when I realized I could run 2 marathons of the week.

Jesus, yeah, that's crazy to me.

Kind of cool.

So I are you, so you're not from India originally?

18:32

No so from Potomac MD originally.

OK.

East Coast, yeah.

I grew up in Washington DC area, originally moved to Los Angeles in 94, something like that.

OK.

Did you go to school out on the East Coast?

Yeah, I went to school on the East Coast.

18:48

I never finished college, but you know, my my father interesting looked at me and he said, so I was working when I was at school and I was making my dad worked at, you know, federal government, Department of Defense, Pentagon, all to read, you know, and he's pretty high level architect for the DoD.

19:10

And at a really young age going into college, you know, I had a job and I was in sales and literally I was making a lot of money, you know, and my dad looked at me and he was like, why, Why do I pay for college?

19:28

You make more money than me.

My and considerably my dad is pretty was pretty well off my mother.

Was pretty well off.

And you found your gift, right.

So, you know, he wasn't wrong.

You know, I, I, you know, I, I just always been good at sales.

19:46

I've always been good at maybe talking to anyone, talking to people, you know, learning that craft.

And when I say sales, I don't mean like, oh, car salesman or something like that.

I mean like understanding a need and a benefit of what somebody wants, right?

And then, you know, finding the correct product for them instead of ramming something down their throat that they don't need, right?

20:06

And that can relate to a lot of different things.

And unfortunately with me, I, I have to believe in what I'm selling or believe in product or service or whatever, you know, that I'm doing or to sell it.

But, you know, that's where I, you know, had it all.

20:21

And I had.

Theatrical ambitions, right?

I was really into movies, and so when I went, I worked for years in DC or Maryland.

What was your first sales gig like?

What we What was your first?

First sales gig was probably 9 I.

20:38

Mean.

Yeah.

Well, there you go.

So I mean, when I was nine years old, my mom paid me $0.10 to call.

My mom was a real estate broker and she used to pay me $0.10 a phone call for every on Saturdays to call the phone book to see if anybody wanted me, anyone to sell their homes, right.

20:59

And so after a while, I'm, I was like, you're gonna pay me 10 at that age.

I was like, you'll pay me $0.10 for every call.

I'll sit here all day.

And I did.

And after a while, my mom was like, OK, we, we have to have a limit on how many people you call because I would.

You'd be like, fine, Mom.

How much?

21:14

Yeah.

It would become easy for me to talk to people.

And then from there I also, I used to play trumpet in the inner city.

I used to live out of the suburbs, Potomac.

It's coming to the inner city that had this program called the DC Youth Orchestra.

And I used to play trumpet and on my breaks I used to go to the quarter store in DC and they had candy.

21:41

This is where I learned margins were.

So they had candy in these little stores for like 5 set and $0.10 and I would see them and the same candy that couldn't be gotten out in the suburbs, right?

21:57

They didn't sell this candy, right?

But they loved it.

They wanted it.

And I was like, I could take this candy for $0.10 and sell it out there for a dollar, right?

So I used to, you know, grab a bunch of candy, I'll save my money, grab a bunch of candy and then go back in the week during the week and sell it to all the suburban kids at the at my school for like a dollar $1.25.

22:20

And I remember what they were, they were, they were now laters.

They're a little small packs of now laters.

And then there was Boston baked beans, Lemonheads.

I don't do.

Those, but I like the noun laters red.

Hots.

Yeah, Red.

Hots, yeah, Red Hots.

So it was like 5 cents, $0.10 back then and I would sell them.

22:35

Now you can't do it because they put $0.25 on the pack.

So.

But that's one of the earliest gigs of sales.

But then after that, I, you know, when I became after school, I was going into college, I worked for a company called Bally's, a health fitness company.

22:53

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that was before there was 24 Hour Fitness.

That was before there was any other health club.

And they sold memberships like loans.

OK.

So literally I was 18, you know, professor to college and working there and the other sales people, this was their careers, right?

23:15

They're literally selling instalment loans to people for like $8000 a year to be a member of Bally's Holiday Spa or health club.

So it was like $8000 a year for a membership, OK.

And it would go on your credit, right?

It was a loan and so I just jumped right into it with no problem.

23:37

I understood how to, you know, talk to people, etcetera.

I became their top salesperson.

I mean, they were the largest health club associated with the casinos in the country.

And I was, I became all of these people's careers, I mean, a target on my back because the, you know, the big wigs were like this guy's 18 years old and he's kicked, right.

23:58

Exactly.

God damn it.

And then I would win all the, I mean, I would win all the awards.

And then they have the consortiums, which were trips.

I remember my first time I went to Vegas, right, because I couldn't even choose that Bally's.

But I wasn't allowed to be a Vegas because I wasn't 21 yet, but I was with Ballys, but because I had won this national sales trip.

24:22

And I remember because like Fred Tarkenton and Tony, Jesus Christ, train of thought, what's what's the big motivational speaker?

Oh yeah, yeah.

Tony Benioff's friend.

24:39

Tony.

Robbins.

Tony Robbins, they gave me an award.

And I, you know, it's too young to even understand.

Who are these people from Target?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, they gave me a word for like top sales person in the greater Washington area, etcetera.

And I was like, all right, I mean, this is cool, just gambling the Bally's right.

24:57

They, they knew who I was was with Bally's or like you got, I mean part of the consortium award is like you get, you got a $500 in chips.

OK.

I'm like, OK, I don't know.

What's this for?

Wow.

Right.

And they knew I was under 21, but I was with Bally's.

25:12

Yeah.

So it was like the light and I was making, if you imagine you're selling $8000 loans, two year memberships, so you're selling like $15,000.

Yeah, you're making a considerable amount of money for somebody like me.

I mean, the rest of these people is 30 years old.

25:28

They're 30 year old careers, right?

So I wonder you didn't finish college, right?

And then, you know, that's when my dad was like.

What's the what?

What's the point, right?

What else?

You know what you're doing.

So I mean, he was wrong.

I mean you know a lot of St. smarts over the years too, which helped, but Dang, I mean if I was a kid now I'd go, but I don't actually think that many interesting thing now.

25:54

I think the top 200 companies in the world all announce it.

That's not a requirement for employment anymore, right?

So it just funny how it comes full circle.

It's like, you know, college degree isn't required for employment.

And if the top 200 companies in the world do it, imagine the companies underneath of them, are they going to compete for we're going to require it.

26:17

So, you know, like Apple, Google, all these companies, they don't require anymore, but street smart and experience it does.

My father was right, street smart, experience, relationship building, be able to talk to somebody, you know, understand them, you know, and communicate, which is also something that's missing these days.

26:39

Communicate was really all you need.

If you have that gift, you could do it.

And that's what he said.

Mark, you have the gift.

Yeah, one of the best sales guys I've ever worked with at Salesforce.

I worked at Exact Target and then it was Salesforce.

Before I.

Left and yeah, this guy I worked with, he sold furniture and then they took a chance on him.

27:00

He never, he didn't have a college degree and he now is like an AVP or S VP, I don't know.

He's worked his way up and he's the one of the most talented people I've ever worked with.

It's funny, that happened to me here at Monster.

Like literally I went through it took me a year and a half to get hired by Monster, went through 16 interviews and Monster and 16 interviews and they didn't hire me and I finally got they offered me a role and I crushed everyone.

27:31

That was probably motivation too, but very competitive.

But after that, I remember they, I crushed everything.

And then when I got transferred, that's when I left to go back to LA because one of the vice presidents of Monster was like, you know, I had a little notoriety after the Boston thing.

27:49

And now that I was not just known for, OK, I was known as the Boston guy.

But I also, oh, he's he's also really talented.

Yeah.

He's a top performer, too.

And then I remember, you know, future boss.

Her name was Amanda Sanchez.

She was a vice president over there at the time.

28:05

She was like, I want him.

And it was very interesting because I felt like I went through 16 interviews to get this job performed great.

And during those year and a half, nobody would hire me.

Like none of these managers would hire me at Monster.

28:23

And now this.

Now I crushed the numbers and they don't want to let me go.

Like they were like trying to block my transfer to go back to LA.

And this the other, it was a promotion and it felt good.

But at the same time, they were like, you know, you didn't hire me for like 60 times and now you're doing everything in your power to keep me here.

28:47

Yeah.

And, you know, so, I mean, it was, it was a win, win.

You know, I've still touched with those guys.

But yeah, that's all wild.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I just, I love nine years old in the phone book.

Man, that's really freaking cool.

So at nine years old, you're already cold calling, essentially.

29:05

And did you play sports while you're growing up?

Yeah.

Like where did you get your competitive spirit?

So the interesting thing is that I did play sports growing up.

I so yes and no, right?

So I would say that I learned to read my so my mother, I would say my mother is probably the most competitive but silent with it, right?

29:31

My mother has 5° from 5 different colleges right and Catholic University, Maryland University, American University, Howard University, and University of Mexico and one of her duties was library science.

29:47

So at the age of 2nd grade I had like an 11th grade reading level, 10th and 11th grade media level because 1.

I had an aunt that owned a preschool so I started preschool at 2:00.

My mom always worked, so she's.

30:05

Like.

Right.

For most people, there was no place to put the kid at two years old.

My family's a big family.

My mom lives 1212 of 14 children on her side. 14.

Yeah, and they all worked.

30:22

You know, half of them are women.

They all had jobs.

They were all educated, whether they're military, you name it.

I mean it.

Just, you know, and big family.

And so my, one of my aunts owned a preschool kindergarten, first grade at the age of two, 2 1/2, I was in, I was there.

30:39

So I learned how to read.

I learned how to write really early.

So when I got to 1st grade in a normal school, in elementary school, I was like bored, you know, I was like, I would get into trouble, you know, so everything was competitive.

But then they had, you know, my parents.

30:56

My mom was like shielding me.

She was like, we're going to put them in.

I learned how to cook in first grade because she didn't want me to play sports, right.

I played the trumpet.

I learned how to cook.

You know, I read 1000 books before by the end of first grade, you know, I, I would I was in school plays right, even at the younger age.

31:19

I don't know how to recite at a young age to like a massive crowd.

And so that I think instilled in me, I really don't, I could talk to anybody care what everybody thinks.

I mean, I talked to three other people.

I see all these people and I can learn really quickly.

31:35

And so that's, I think what really it's still probably the competitive nature.

But then there's thing called field day, those ribbons, man.

Yeah, exactly.

And then, you know, and, and believe it or not, I was a kid that was picked on, you know, and 1st grade, first grade, 5th grade, but it was the only place that I excelled.

31:58

I mean, it was like could beat me in the jump rope, could beat me in the basketball.

You couldn't beat me and running.

And even though I was getting picked on, that was my my one day, right?

And after that I went to after 5th grade, I went to the 4th grade excuse, you know, 5th grade, I started private school because I was getting in trouble.

32:23

When you get picked on, you get in trouble, right?

It was just it is you start to rebel and all this in the private school, that's even worse.

You're sending me to school with a whole bunch of, you know, stuck up kids, right, that are privileged, right.

What do you think they're going to do to me?

Right.

Yeah.

Great.

32:38

So private school, ironically, I went to bullish prep the same, you know, the track star that the youngest track star in the Olympics this year was also went.

There.

Yeah, he went to bullish prep in Maryland.

Then he got kicked out, right, we kicked off for fighting and you know, and I still look back and wouldn't my fault.

33:00

I mean, I was still picked on and then I went to oh, but that's where my sports started.

So private school to give the kid a lot more responsibility and you know, I guess.

33:16

Yeah, a lot more responsibility.

And so, like you have an account, you know, these are all pretty well to do kids.

And you know, to be honest, I was the only black kid in school, very wealthy neighborhood and prominent.

And I it's one of the reasons I got picked on and being honest back then.

33:36

But we got fight and I I remember going there because I was good at tennis, tennis.

My dad taught me how to play tennis and I was the one thing was sport, But that was your flavor because it was it's not.

33:54

And then get hurt, we'll get banged up, that kind of thing.

And I was like, you know what, They weren't let me play.

I remember I went to school and I was like, but football was first.

It was like, you know, I think I got goaded into signing up for football.

34:10

Like, well, you're not going to play football.

Like, oh, sure, I'll sign up.

So I signed up for football and I signed my mom's name to it, right, Because I knew they were going to let me.

And so aside right main to it, that means all of the gear, football pads, everything went to my mom's account, my mom and dad, my mom and dad's account, right, But they're not going to find out to the end of the quarter.

34:29

Well, they found out quick because like second game broke my leg.

They get a call.

It's like your your son's on his way to the hospital.

They're like on the hospital for what?

Well, he broke his leg at the modern day game.

What modern day game, football game.

34:45

He's plays football.

I was like, but from then on it's like, you know, they wouldn't let me play tennis.

So I ended up playing at the school.

They wouldn't play tennis.

So I ended up playing baseball.

I was good at that, right?

And you know, I was always good at running.

35:02

I mean fast, right?

And so I played football, baseball, football, baseball, but I got kicked out of the school.

Then I got sent to public school in the area, which is actually probably still ranked as one of the the high school and junior high is probably ranked as a top 100 in the country, right?

35:24

But Joe, Mick and I met this kid, you know, look like me, Sugar Ray Leonard's son, right?

I'm like, OK, I mean, I knew who he was, obviously, I mean, back then.

So we became fast friends.

And I remember even us being friends that first week of that new school get picked on again and I had enough, just fought back, got suspended for fighting.

35:53

But I stood my ground right previous before I got picked on and it was I just get blamed and beat up.

This time I was like, I had enough and I fought back and I came back to school and there was a little bit like we're not going to mess with them.

36:11

But then like right after that was sports tryouts for intramural football and things like that.

And I got a lot of respect to that.

That could run fast, right?

I got like, whoa, he could play, he could play sports.

36:30

He's got he's got grit.

And I learned right then and there that was respected, right?

I had a good friend now, which is really good.

I've never really had.

And then I had gained the respect of people because they just saw that I could play sports where I could run really fast, whether it was football, basketball.

36:49

And I got it started being accepted.

So The funny thing is that's that's probably my being accepted was probably my entry level into being competitive, really competitive sports, competitive playing.

37:05

And it's just funny how that works, right, right.

The better.

You are, the more you're accepted, so you just start.

Well, I mean, kids can be cruel, you know, especially back then.

But think about, I mean, I don't think it's much has changed today.

Like, I mean, you agree ugly, you could be fat, you could be sorry.

37:22

But guess what?

I mean, if you're an awesome lineman, right, he's awesome, right?

And it's just funny to me.

And that's not how it should be, then you'd be wrong.

And you know, The funny thing is, is that one of the thing that we prided ourselves on in my high school football team, in our sports teams, is we prided ourselves looking out for the little guy, right?

37:48

I mean, all that cliche of the jocks picking on the smaller guys.

We we there was also a group of people that would pick on the smaller guy that weren't quote, UN quote, you know, athletic enough to be jocks or cool enough to be jocks.

So we wouldn't let we wouldn't let those people pick on lower kids, right.

38:07

So we actually, you know, from junior high to high school, but full circle.

All right, So, you know, and I, I got in my trouble in high school.

I was the rebel.

I got in a lot of trouble.

But the one thing I could do, like I'm still friends with Ray Leonard junior today.

38:24

Actually, we work together.

I work for Leonard sports right now and you know, the one thing he'll tell you is that, you know, we would, you know, be waiting for him because of course he had a bodyguard at school back then because his dad was a champion.

And we we had this like who's had this run for fun or these these big events, which is run, see who wins.

38:47

Just as long as you can run, just as long as you run.

And Ray would.

I mean, he and he was a fast runner.

He was a he was end up playing in Ohio University, actually Ohio State, Ohio University goes scholarship football.

So he was fast.

He played on the football team as well as I did.

But it'll tell you is that we would be like Mark, let's go.

39:06

We want to go, go to his house to get the pool.

And I would just still be running, all right, until I was done every day.

They'd be like Mark, let's go.

I'd be just running and running.

I just I was always good at it.

And finally it's like, all right, fine, get in trouble, let's go.

But that was my, you know, I just wanted to be #1 when I was doing that.

39:28

And two was the year, the presidential fitness test every year is that you had to run a mile, I think it was.

And I just had to be #1 in my school with that, I just.

Yeah.

But I just realized that that was my outlet, the competitiveness, playing sports, that was my outlet.

39:49

A lot of the stuff I learned in school I had already learned.

Remember, I had a second grade in second grade at a 12th grade reading level, right?

So it's like I was, I was ADHD.

This stuff was really boring to me.

Math really wasn't my thing.

40:06

I knew I'd learned so much about, so I'd read so many books.

I knew about social studies and history, you know, I knew about black history thanks to my parents, too.

I knew about Jewish history thanks to my, you know, family.

I mean, I knew.

You know, I'm not saying I knew everything, but it was just boring the way it was delivered at that period of time, Right.

40:25

And having ADHD at the right, you're just, it's like, I can't sit still because this is boring to me.

I'm not interested in and, you know, kind of sucked.

Yeah.

So why not track her cross country?

Because chicks didn't dig crack tracker cross country, right And and that's probably that I mean, that's honestly why I mean, I did a cheerleader school, you know, there's no cheerleaders for cross country, right?

40:51

I mean, and, and in hindsight, you know, and you know, I'm sure a lot of people say this.

Oh, I could have been this.

I've been that in hindsight, Joe, here's an interesting thing.

Public high school and this is we always be in the back of my mind because the cross country coach wrote a letter behind the football coach's back to my parents and said your son's mile time was the best mile time in this school has ever had.

41:25

He would excel in cross country and we would love to have him come and be a part of the cross country team.

Now, mind you, I was a starter on the football team, right?

And the football team is pretty prominent football team.

We've gone to state.

I mean, you know, a couple years before, you know, and he wasn't wrong, right?

41:47

But he wrote that letter to my dad.

My dad was like, you want to and.

You're like, no.

I don't wear shorts, shorts and run around, you know, it's like, I mean, I, I mean, I'm playing football and I've got a cheerleader girlfriend.

And like in hindsight, I would have been, if I think about it, a discipline that I have today, I probably could have competed on a high level running.

42:12

I mean, I have to think that because at my age today where I'm competing now.

Yeah.

In right training at that age, I have to believe that I probably could have done something greater.

And I still think it's true that it's still the most scholarship sport there is because, well, because there's no overhead, right?

42:34

Right.

So when you have, when I tell people that are running and they were kids and like do cross country, right?

Because any school will pick you up and give you a scholarship.

Why?

Because they have nothing.

They're paying nothing.

42:51

They're filling A-Team.

They supply you with shoes.

You go run, right.

There's no stadium.

There's no, you know, there's a they'll let you.

They already have a gym.

You could drive in the weight gym, I mean.

So run and go and get a scholarship.

43:09

Yeah.

You know, I mean, so hindsight, yeah.

I wish I'd have done that differently, but there you go.

I got into running like, oh, this is running way late, you know, so.

I mean, which is interesting because it's probably one of your next questions, right?

43:28

Right.

Yeah.

How do you go from?

I got fat.

I went to LA.

Got fat.

Yeah, I went to LA.

Oh, I lived it up in Lai mean, you probably noticed.

I mean, I I have a lot of celebrities, you know.

Yeah, I saw some of those.

In in that feed.

43:43

Yeah, I, I've been, you know, I, I've known a lot of celebrities over the year and, and, you know, worked in a film industry for a long time.

It's for, you know, both sales and also behind the scene, behind the camera.

And you know that out there in LA 20s, you know, that 20s, that lifestyle, it's just like party, Yeah, it's always a party, right?

44:05

It's like like I look back now, it's like, I don't know how I I never slept sometimes, right.

But you know, party a lot.

Drank a lot of beer, you know, up all I was in the night, didn't work out.

Actually started smoking cigarettes in my 20s, then the late 20s I got to like almost 2 packs a day sometime and I got up to about 235 lbs maybe at I'm 59.

44:37

So that's a big boy, right?

235 points at one time.

And yeah, it was just, it's over, you know, say a decade of doing that, it takes a toll on you.

Yeah.

Your body is sluggish, etcetera.

44:52

You smoke cigarettes with me.

You just, you know, And I still thought I was like Tip Top Shake.

But I thought I was, you know, still invincible, Right.

But then I had my son.

Yeah.

My son was born Pierce.

I think I was 28 years old when he was born.

45:11

Yeah.

March 11th.

He was 28 years old when he was born.

And, you know, but I just been drinking too much, right?

I have been partying too much.

And I have been living this life for a long period of time.

45:27

And, you know, I would say I met a woman in my house in Los Angeles.

She came to visit.

And this is also my, you know, affiliation with Indiana.

Hey, quick reminder that this episode is brought to you by Athlete Bouquets.

45:45

You can shop for gifts for the marathoner or runner in your life by visiting athletebouquets.com and use the code podcast for 10% off your order.

She came to visit a friend who I was had help been helping out in LA and I woke up one day, walked out of my I walked out of my room and I walked down to my living room and it was like this woman sitting on my couch and like, you know, I immediately smitten with her.

46:17

So I of course I'm a sarcastic ass.

Like who are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?

Literally, that's what I said to her.

So she would come in from Indiana to visit her friend and she, you know, she stayed with us because, you know, I was helping a friend and that's the first thing I said to her.

46:37

And I'd say about a year later, she was living in LA with me.

We were, you know, together.

And I would say that was in 2000.

She can't live with me.

In 2001.

46:54

We got pregnant when she got pregnant with Pierce, my son, six months to the day of September 11th.

And so he was born on March 11th, so September 11th, 2001, right?

March 11th, 2002.

47:11

And so, yeah, he's 22 now.

So and you know, I wasn't ready for all.

I was like, what is this, right?

I mean, like, look at this kid and I.

So I'm still partying, having a good time, you know, single.

We're not really single, but you know what I mean?

47:28

Like I wasn't married yet.

And, you know, try to get all the time.

And then one day, then Pierce came and about, I'd say about two years, they're still doing it, you know, And I was still partying, having a good time, going out, acting like it wasn't a family, you know what I mean?

47:48

Really family.

And then I remember one day at night, I came home at about 2:30 in the morning and I went to the bathroom.

Remember, there's a loft.

We lived in a loft.

You know, he was in the room downstairs and we the bedroom upstairs and I walked up to the bathroom and I just looked in the mirror and I said too, what are you doing?

48:12

Right?

I mean, like, I think every man has to have that mirror talk at some point in their life.

It's like, what the hell are you doing?

I remember talking to myself and like, dude, you got this thing running around this little them referring to Pierce, right?

You got this little thing running around.

48:28

I mean, you're I mean, you're fat as right.

I mean, I'm talking to myself in the mirror literally so loud that you know, my ex-wife, which is my ex-wife now, wasn't my wife then, but we got married after.

But she's like, who are you talking to in there?

48:46

Who who's in there with you?

I'm like, nobody's in there with you.

She didn't believe me, but I literally was talking to myself.

Like, dude, you got to get your crap together, right?

You got to grow up.

I mean, you're not going to be around for this kid.

You're not going to be, you know, it would be a disappointment.

You know, literally I'm berating myself and I wasn't wrong, right?

49:07

I mean, it wasn't, it wasn't off base, right?

I mean, I had to grow up, right?

I had to be if I was going to be here for him.

I had to make a major change in my life and so six months later or eight months later, knowing that I had that talk with myself, I decided I was like, I'm going to quit drinking, I'm going to quit smoking cigarettes and I'm going to run a marathon in a year.

49:33

There it is reason I knew that and that that's when my time came from like understanding sports, right?

I understand the body, understand what I do.

I knew the first thing I need to do is lose the weight.

I want to feel better.

Look, I want to look better, which makes me fit will make me feel better, right?

And and I knew the quickest way to lose weight was to burn calories.

49:53

Quickest way to burn calories to run.

I just knew that because of the years, you know, I played sports, etcetera.

So it just was common sense to me, right.

So the quickest way to do burn fat or burn weight was to run.

So I'm going to write, I set a goal.

I'm going to set a goal.

50:09

We'll run a marathon in one year.

We'll run LLC just marathon in a year.

I was in 2005 and I remember all my friends were like, you know, I had to get rid of those friends all that too.

And my friends were like, yeah, dude, easy.

You know, I mean, like you're, you're partying every day, you're drinking sometimes a case of beer a day, you're smoking 2 packs of it.

50:31

You're going to run a marathon.

Yeah, right.

And so I was like, I'm going to give all that up.

And like cold Turkey is like, yeah, I'm done.

And I remember like the first time I got back on treadmill, couldn't run 6 minutes, literally I could not run 6 minutes.

50:52

And I was just like so disgusted.

Like, I mean, not to mention I was coughing up stuff, right?

I mean, yeah, smoke interviewed, but I couldn't run 6 minutes.

And I was like, I was like just so disgusted with myself.

I was like, how did I get here?

Like I used to be pretty badass athlete, right?

51:08

I used to be, you know, and everybody is in their mind, right?

But it was.

And then I was like, OK, fine, I'm going to do it.

Got up in the morning, went running, you know, went to work, came back, went to the gym and ran.

I trained 95% of my first marathon on a on a treadmill and no idea what I was doing, no idea what shoes to wear.

51:34

I bought shoes that looked good, didn't even think about how they felt.

It was like, at least I look good running in them.

You know, I remember getting up early, going to the gym, and then I would work on movies for 12 hours.

They'd come back to the gym and then come back to the house, right?

And I did this.

51:50

I did it.

And then I ran like nine months in, I ran the Los Angeles Half marathon.

OK, All right.

And even by the weights coming off, it's working.

Like I remember, like the my favorite song was like lose yourself by Eminem at the time, because this the beat one, we keep it was motivating.

52:14

But two, the words kind of, you know, I want to say word resurrected, but they related to me at that period of time in my life.

Like you only got one shot.

Don't don't miss your chance to blow this opportunity because once in a lifetime and it had to do with my son.

52:33

And so that was the main motivation.

And I remember because I kept playing it over and over and over again.

So that's 6 minutes.

It would that the song somewhere about 5 to 6 minutes and I'll get past the 1st 6 minutes.

52:50

And that's how I trained.

OK, let me get through 2 songs.

Let me hear it three times.

Let me hear it four times.

Let me hear it four times.

Let me hear it 4 * 5 times right?

And I literally would you play that song every single day over and over and over until it get to be like an hour right?

53:15

And like I literally ran the first marathon to Method Man a Redman and Eminem like microphone check out that that was one of them.

53:32

And then Eminem lose yourself, right.

I literally ran my first marathon to that song for three hours and 29 minutes.

I mean, that's so I mean, The funny thing is I6 minutes.

I couldn't run 6 minutes.

I ran.

I kept going every single day, every single day.

53:49

I never took day off right started dropping weight.

You know, protein shakes started doing that.

The other thing I did was I ate 2.

I did the whole Cheerios diet and the low carb diet.

I literally ate for breakfast a protein shake but also had cereal, bowl of cereal for lunch a bowl of cereal.

54:12

And then for literally a year I ate chicken and spinach or steak and spinach every night.

Wow, no other carbs?

Wow.

And so nine months in, I ran 1/2 of everything.

I was like 1/28 an hour and 28 minutes and I was like, I knew that was a good time, right?

54:32

But I was like, there's AI don't know how I'm gonna last double this, right, Right.

I don't know.

How to turn around and do that?

Again, Right.

Because I was like, it was pure adrenaline.

Yeah, right.

It was pure adrenaline.

Like, you know, at least at that time, that's what I felt was like because I had no idea how to run, no idea anything about a pace, know anything about a cadence, you know, you know, no idea what shoes I'm supposed to wear, whether I'm a pronator as an assubator or neutral runner.

54:54

I mean, turned out it was a neutral runner, but the shoes I was wearing was not for that right of wearing cotton socks with cotton shirt and like and nipples started bleeding like what is going on here?

I mean, they're just a little bit they hurt really bad and like what's going on just started to read about right.

55:10

I didn't start reading about running a tough to my first full marathon because this is where the competitive edge program.

So that nine months in I got that I'm losing the weight, I'm going down South.

Nine months in, I'm out of probably 179 lbs.

55:26

Geez.

And that's a lot of weight from 2:30 and 13 months in is the Los Angeles Marathon.

And now previous to this, I did run a 5K, right?

55:43

And my goal in my mind was like, I just don't want to be under 8 minutes per pace period.

That was my goal, my 8 minute pace.

And I literally ran 5K at 24 minutes the first time I ran anything.

So I was like, all right, I can, I can do better.

And then I got to Los Angeles Marathon.

56:02

Never forget the first race.

And then it was I just ran.

I mean, I feel like I was forced go because I just literally know what I was doing.

I didn't know there were pace groups.

I don't know another.

I just ran right and cross the finish line. 3 hours and 29 minutes.

56:20

That's crazy.

And somebody made a huge mistake.

I wouldn't say a mistake, but said to me like, you're only 15 minutes off of you.

They said you're only 15 minutes off of your Boston World qualified time.

I'm like, what's that?

Yeah, what?

What is that?

56:36

Then I found out what Boston was.

It was like the, you know, the benchmark to qualify for those prominent race every single year.

That one year that I was going to quit drinking because I was going to quit drinking, whatever, because I planned I was going to all right after this race, if I have a beer, good, I did it right.

56:57

That one year turned into eight years quit drinking like in search of that Boston lost it.

But in term I became a better father, right?

It was there for my it was there for my son.

And it turned out well, because about a few years later my my wife at the time took off.

57:19

I became a single full time father.

She left both of us.

And that decision in my life probably, yeah, probably once saved my life and also, you know, probably my son, right.

Just laughed.

57:35

Yeah.

So it's like, but that it turned into eight years of quid drinking, like full goal.

I mean, that's why I moved to Indiana is because.

How old was your son at that time?

6.

Yeah, it was 6 when she left and I moved here 2009 to raise her raise him around my ex wife's family.

57:55

OK, because that's that's how I came to Indiana.

And then I came here and I started running and running, and no offense to Indiana, but that's really all you could do is work and run, work and run.

And I involved myself into the community with coaching baseball, kids, things like that.

58:14

It became home for me for a little bit, you know, and why.

Not DC.

Why not go home to your family?

Well, the interesting thing is that all my so, my relatives had grown children, right?

So my son knew his cousins from a young age that were his age that we're all living here in Indiana.

58:36

That makes sense.

So and I wanted him to feel comfortable too.

And you know, I mean, that was always a good thought.

I could go home to DC, etcetera.

But he didn't have any siblings or I mean, I had a lot of family, but all that family is a lot older, right?

58:55

And, you know, so I just, you know, came here and, you know, raise them and, you know, you know, that's how I started running here and I started, I carried over, started running the races here or started doing the races here, going to Chicago to run Chicago Marathon because we're so close.

59:13

Ran that every year.

I mean, I ran, you know, guys, many, I mean, you name it, as many races as I could run, right?

Kentucky, you keep track.

I have a metal box, but you know, I mean.

How many you think marathons?

And halves, total marathons and halves and 9090. 5K10K is probably another 40, OK, right?

59:38

And I would say marathons is somewhere around 565657.

And then the rest are halves or no, 6667 and the rest are halves.

OK.

So yeah, I mean, some pretty good races over the years and being a full time single dad.

59:55

And then I went through Crohn's disease.

I mean, that was hard, yeah.

When did that happen?

That happened when I moved back to when I moved back to LA, You know, I had had some problems and I was diagnosed with Crohn's and it was just, I kept running because ironically, running didn't make the pain, right.

1:00:17

It didn't.

I didn't have pain when I ran.

But when I was still I was in pain, but I would drop from a, you know, you now you got to imagine my running weights 155, right?

I had gone over those eight years into like a real runner's body, so to speak, right, because it became obsessive, but I became addictive, which is not about addiction in my pain.

1:00:39

And you know, I all of a sudden I was bleed inside.

I didn't know what's going on.

It took them a while to diagnose me, what I had, and it just became really debilitating.

And it took me off of running for a couple years, even though I would still try, right?

1:00:58

Because when I was running, I felt good.

And you know, that's how I wound up in the, you know, back in the OR the cannabis industry into the, you know, entertainment with cannabis because, you know, with Crohn's is that the only thing they prescribe you for pain because it was really painful, is really debilitating.

1:01:18

I'd spent months in the hospital like my son at, you know, a young age would be by my side, would be at 1213 years old.

I mean, luckily I had an assistant at the time.

But, you know, sometimes he'd ride his bike from the house to Cedar Center Hospital and just sleep next to the me in a cot.

1:01:34

I mean, I'd wake up and he'd be there and I'd be like, you know.

But the only thing they could prescribe you for pain when you have Crohn's is opiates.

So oxy cotton was readily available on hydrocodone.

1:01:50

I mean, I had like bottles of it in my safe, but I also knew, I mean, look how I am was running.

You know what I mean?

I knew I know myself right.

So like I.

Have an addictive personality if I.

Start taking these.

I mean, I'm not, I'm not a crackhead, but you know what I'm saying?

I I just I mean, listen, I I wanted to run a race and now I'm a full on crazy runner, you know, 10 years later.

1:02:13

Are you kidding me?

I mean like, like, and then I'm obsessed with it.

So it was like I'm not falling for this one.

Ain't going to be God Thank and I didn't know the scope of that the epidemic in the country, but it's another decent decision, right.

I mean, it's like I'm not falling for this one and I just knew it was bad for your body.

1:02:33

And so that's how I got into cannabis because cannabis, you know, the amount of people that have overdosed cannabis is the amount of unicorns we saw run down 116th St. yesterday.

Right now it's, it's zero, right?

And it healed the body and it didn't harm my body, right?

1:02:51

And, and the CBD part of it is the medical medicinal part of it that heals.

So I got it invested into the industry and then I became, you know, about a sales in the industry, took over the biggest media brand in the industry as their vice president.

1:03:10

So it's very big and a very big believer in that plant.

All right, I mean, medicinal, I mean, a lot of things with there is that, I mean, you know, so I had to get through that for some years and it was hard.

I mean, and it's still hard.

I mean, I maintain it.

I'm in remission.

1:03:27

I I mean, at one point, yeah, at one point, yeah, you can go in remission, but at one point that means all your levels are great.

You still have it, right?

But you can trigger things to make it, whether it's diet or even, like I said, you can't take ibuprofen, you can't take Motrin, you can't take Aleve.

1:03:43

You can't take those because they make your stomach bleed.

So so for people who don't know what Crohn's is, could you give a quick?

So overview, it's the full inflammation of your colon, right?

So I'm sure people have heard on on TV the commercials for Entyvio or Humira.

1:04:02

So what Crohn's is, is that your entire colon is inflamed top and bottom.

So there you've probably heard on, you know, TV is ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis represents the lower part of your colon which can be inflamed, right?

So that's more of a, a lower tier digestive disease.

1:04:22

With Crohn's, both your lower intestines or lower part of your colon and your upper part of your colon is inflamed, which means you can't digest anything, right?

Which means it's when it's bleeding, you can't like nutrients can't pass through your system and they have no idea how it causes it, right?

1:04:44

I mean, most people, they say it's hereditary.

And ironically, they have traced the best of the Ashkenazi heritage.

Ironically, my family is, you know, part of my family is Ashkenazi Jewish, right?

1:05:01

So it's interesting, you know, that that's the case.

But now because things have mixed and you know, you know, races and cultures and everything have mixed over there, it can, anyone can have, right?

And so both, both, your both were inflamed, which means you can't pass anything through, which means you can't digest anything without being disgusting.

1:05:24

That means you can't go to the bathroom, right?

And eventually the only thing that's coming out is blood, right?

And it causes you like for it to lose a lot of weight and short periods of time.

Like I, I remember I went from 1:55 to 121 within a matter of two weeks, right?

1:05:43

And that was hospitalized, right?

Because I just vitamins won't pass through.

Nutrients can't pass through.

You can't eat raw vegetables, any vegetables, right?

You can't eat like you eat meat.

It has to be perfectly medium rare, right, to be able to digest it, like a lot of protein shakes, right?

1:06:01

So yeah, it's, it's still a building disease, right?

It's hard.

And you know, and it you know, when I was right before the pandemic, so 2019, I had my last colonoscopy, which I was doing 66 a year at the time. 6A year.

1:06:20

And I remember right before Thanksgiving, they found polyps that were cancerous, right?

And my colon.

So like 00 stage zero to 1 colon cancer, you know, now it's not a, in a grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal.

1:06:36

They catch it, they pull it out.

It's, it's probably like scrape your colon, right?

But it scared the living hell out of me.

And, you know, meanwhile, I hadn't been on, I had been doing what the doctor said and taking these biological chemicals, these infusions every three weeks, every three, you know, weeks for probably a couple of years.

1:06:54

I mean, I'd be in the office and I was very high functioning because I have a lot of energy.

But any office running a company and the nurse would come and give me Ivs and I'm walking around with this drip, which is a future.

And when that last diagnosis happened, the colon cancer, I went into 2020 right before the pandemic.

1:07:14

And I was like, something's got to give.

And then the pandemic hit and they said, well, you still have to come into the hospital, get your transfusion.

It's like, Nah, that's OK.

I was like, you have an 18 Wheeler full of dead bodies outside in that parking lot.

1:07:29

I'm just going to I'm going to work out at home.

So I had been off running marathons, races for about a year and a half or so, two years.

So the pandemic hit.

I made a decision that I would cook for myself.

1:07:46

I mean, everything pinpoint I'm going to work on a certain protein shakes, I'm going to add 1500 milligrams of CBD every day to my diet and sleep with surely during the pandemic started running again, start feeling better diet cooked for myself every day and I was in the house.

1:08:08

Everybody was in the house, right?

But I could run to the beach in Santa Monica rather is open.

And I started getting good faster, faster in 2021 when I got the shot right there.

Especially for somebody like me.

1:08:24

I was one of the first people because it was considered a first responder because I worked in the cannabis industry.

And I went back for a scope and a checkup and they said you're full remission on everything and they wanted to know how.

1:08:41

And I told them my regiment that I put through and they were like, whatever you're doing, just keep on doing it.

And since then I've been in remission.

Came back in 2021, Chicago that year ran my first marathon back again and I ran like a three O 1.

1:09:02

I was so mad because it was so hot.

And I and then I was so mad about it, talking about competitive, so mad.

I was like, you know what, going back to LA next month because this is when LA did it because of the pandemic.

1:09:19

One month later and I ran a sub three and I was like, OK, over the hill, right?

I mean, I crushed it and I was back.

And then I just started banging out races where Boston, you name it, I mean everything.

And I was back.

And that was in 2021, you know, and from then on it just kept going.

1:09:37

Another sub three at La again in March.

I mean, I just and that was the first.

Those are my first sub threes after again, after after all these years trying, working hard, working hard, working hard.

There's always 33 hours.

1:09:54

Literally, I think the race in I didn't monumental last year.

So mad because you know, ultimate it's my fault, right?

I mean, because it's training, whatever, but I was injured like a few weeks before and wasn't happy with the roads.

You know that.

Yes, I do.

1:10:10

But ultimately it flies on me, right?

I ran 3 hours, 27 seconds, right?

So I'm going to, I'm going to attempt it this year again.

Let's see how that works.

But you know, it's been a, it's been a ride, you know, I mean, it's I, you know, I deal with a lot of like regenerate.

1:10:32

I know that's one of the things you asked me about before is Regenerate RX is, you know, I've learned a lot about treating the body before you get sick, right?

So and how to upkeep my body especially.

1:10:50

I mean, this is 51, right?

At 51 years old I'm running, you know, sub 3 marathons.

Yeah, I still.

Can't believe you're 51.

I appreciate that, right?

But I now I'm all about longevity, understanding of my body, understanding the chemicals of my body, especially with somebody with a Crohn's disease, it makes more sense, right?

1:11:08

Understand what what acid, amino acids and vitamins are up and down.

So what I think what most people don't get sometimes is that as you get older, the reason you get sick and as you get older, the reason you get older and the reason you get sick is because your body starts to break down.

1:11:28

Your body starts to break down because you start to become deficient and things you were born with, you know, your metabolism starts to slow down.

Why?

Because you know, you have certain amino acids and vitamins and things like that.

They're not a, they're not the same levels at 20 that they are at 30.

1:11:46

You start to become deficient and all these different vitamins and chemicals in your body, serotonin, I mean, you name it, right?

And as you get older, you start to lose all of these things that make your body function.

1:12:04

Then you get you break down, you get heart disease or you get, you know, you have a blood issues, you get blood clotting.

I mean, you have everything that happens in your body is because of inflammation, right?

And so a lot of people call it biohacking or longevity, but started learning more about it and understanding, OK, a lot of these substances make up my body, what longevity is and what regenerate is.

1:12:32

A regenerate RX is a medical platform through real doctors and they run tests on your body to find out what you're deficient in.

So you can actually, if you're depleted in certain areas and chemicals and vitamins, etcetera, you can maintain those levels.

1:12:50

So you can continue at a longer span, at a younger span, right?

So instead of waiting for yourself to get sick, right, because all of these things and chemicals and everything in your body are deficient, which is why you get sick, You're checking the levels now and keeping them elevated or to the right levels so they, so you don't get sick, you have less chance of your body breaking down.

1:13:18

And so that's what like glutathione, I mean, these are all things that are part of your system that most people don't even know about, right?

I have no idea, right?

So it's like glutathione, B1B12, all of those different things are amino acids that go into your system.

1:13:36

And by keeping my levels up with a real doctor, I can maintain a healthy lifestyle for a long period of time, right?

And you know, a lot of people, I mean, they do do things like, you know, they have tricipatide, like is, you know, one of those weight loss drugs.

1:13:52

I mean, they're, they're people here are lucky today, right?

Because 20 years ago when I started running, you know, or you know, it's like 19 maybe or 22.

Yeah, 1819 years ago when I started running, it wasn't there.

It was like I had to put in the hard work and I just go and and run and burn 2000 calories a day, right.

1:14:10

But now people have age, right?

Like they could, they could get actually drugs that help them and then put some, write some workouts in and then lose weight rapidly and then maybe get back to an athletic form or runner, etcetera.

With runners, it's like, you know, the amino acids, the creatine levels, you know, the vitamin levels.

1:14:31

How many of us, how many of us really monitor that?

I mean, probably hardly any.

And my thought was like when I started getting into it and I teamed up with Regenerate, I saw the immediate or an immediate, but it took a little time, but I saw the progress and I saw, you know, results for my labs and I saw that, you know, and I believe it or not, I mean, testosterone is one of them.

1:14:56

I, I never am I, I don't take testosterone, but I'm on the level like I took the test and found out that I'm low in testosterone.

Me.

I got, I mean, in my mind, I'm thinking I got tons of energy.

I'm.

Right.

I mean, do you know what I do?

1:15:12

You know, I run, I'm I'm fast, you know, I got tons of testosterone.

It wasn't about that.

It was about your body chemical makeup.

And even though I, I'm not ready to go there, they gave me the test and found out I was low on it and I couldn't believe it, but it's the truth, right?

1:15:28

So that's, I do a lot of like CBD holistically.

I still listen to doctors, but these are actual doctors.

So what's it makes it even better?

Science, science.

And you know, the medical science has just propelled a lot of things.

1:15:43

I mean, you know, the person that lives to be 140 to 150 is living right now, right?

So, and I'll say that again because when I say that to people, they're like, well, who's living to be 140 to 50?

I said, listen to what I say.

I don't know.

1:15:59

Could be my daughter, could be your daughter.

My daughter's five years old.

The person who lives to be 140 to 150 years old has been born, right, Based on the science and health, that health, you know, Health Science, that's, you know, technology is coming forward.

1:16:17

So that should tell people something.

I mean, that's coming.

You know, I mean, I'm just, I'm all about it.

I want to be here as long as I can.

I want to run as long as I can.

I mean, I've got yeah, I want to be run my kids as long as I can.

I got to Now I have a 5 year old, My daughter, she's so cute.

1:16:34

Yeah, she is adorable.

She knows it too, I bet.

And so she.

Knows how to work, Dad.

Yeah, yeah, I'll be working for the rest of my life.

But I mean, I'll hopefully run, right?

I mean, I've got Indianapolis Monumental coming up.

We just did Hood to Coast.

Yeah, I want to.

I want to hear a little bit more about that.

1:16:51

Hood to Coast, Yeah, Hood to Coast was crazy.

I mean I is that.

The first relay type format that.

You've oh, it's the first time I run Hood Coast, OK.

And it's the first time I've ever run the first leg of Hood to Coast, which is 6000 feet straight down.

1:17:07

And I ran it at a 530 pace or 540 pace, something like that as part of our team.

Our team had nine people, most people had 12.

We lost one of our team members and a second leg or third leg, he had a torn MCL.

1:17:26

So we end up finishing the race with eight.

I think somewhere a little bit over.

I think it's 2526 hours.

So we did the race with eight instead of 12.

So just let Mark Geyer know we didn't win.

We did it right with four, four less.

1:17:41

I love Mark, but that first race downhill of 6000 feet.

So I mean, was running at a 540 pace and I I swear it was awesome.

This is one of the best things to mention.

This is I was, I was a woman who was probably a little younger, maybe early 40s, right?

1:18:01

She was in front of me the whole way and I was just thinking to myself, I am going to draft this downhill.

She was awesome.

I'm going to draft this woman downhill and just stay with her.

I mean, I wasn't even playing her passenger.

I was just like, I just want to stay.

I mean, that's one of the things that's one of the best things I like about running is that, you know, and not to get off a tiger, but it was like I was just having this conversation while running with the Fishers Running club team the other day and they're like, we're talking about women runners.

1:18:31

And I was like, you know, women are badass runners.

I said, you know, I think women runners better or, you know, better than men, right?

And to respect us.

Can you imagine?

And you know, some of them I agree with the issue.

Like I just look like it's fair.

You know, women are, you know, they can run better than us.

1:18:48

They're lower, it's true.

And lower to the ground.

I mean, I mean, I think running is one of the things that women can compete long distance running and women can compete against men in across the board.

You know, a lot of respect for it.

But.

And I said to us that you to think, you know, 40 years ago, 50 years ago, I just tried to tackle a little bit when she was trying to go through the Boston Marathon, right?

1:19:10

Yeah.

But she was and I was like, and now pretty badass, you know, female runners.

But she was there.

And I remember going downhill and I got to tell you my quads is the first time I run like that.

My quads were killing me.

And right at the end of that leg, there's a little bump.

1:19:28

And I literally came up next to her right before I saw the bump ahead, but I came up next to her and I was like, I'm going to stay with you.

You know, I, I drafted you all day, all, all all the way down.

And I was like, we're just going to stay together because it was, it's just like, no, go, go.

And I was like, all right.

1:19:45

And as soon as I look up, I see this just a slight bump to make a right turn to go into the to end the leg.

I was like, oh, this is going to hurt.

This is going to just that slight bump.

The hill.

Oh my God, shook my quads and I was remember I had to start so 1234 at 9 at I had to go 4 legs later, right?

1:20:11

So it wasn't like I could wait another six legs a while.

And I don't even know how I did it.

I mean but it.

I put we pulled it off, I was done.

I don't think, I think I'm still hurting from that.

The quads, first time I've ever done that.

But we did it and it was good and it's a good experience.

1:20:27

I did it with a bunch of good runners, you know, friends of mine, all you know, around my age, I'm usually the fastest one on the team.

This year I had to give it to another friend of mine, Evan out of New York.

He was a pretty fast runner too because he was ran a little bit more miles than I ran 5 legs.

1:20:46

So he but it was good.

I mean it was good.

It's still average pace, somewhere around six, 45650, something like that for the toll total time.

What's the distance on the whole thing?

I think it's 200 miles, little bit 200 miles, something like that.

Yeah, I ran like 30 of it.

So that was in 24 hours, basically less than 24 hours.

1:21:06

Yeah, we did, because we mean a few friends and then some random people that I now know did the Ragnar Michigan Rd. this week.

And so it's like now I have a little bit better of a lens into what?

You know the host.

Experience would be like and I did.

1:21:23

My first leg was about 550 elevation over six over like a 10K, which is a lot for me for like what I'm used to. 5:50.

Feet.

I would say 550 pace is like you're.

Like wait a second, ally that's.

1:21:39

Like, yeah, you can run.

I'm drafting you basically going down the hill.

No, no, no, yeah, like 838 thirty pace, which is what I talked to my running coach.

So I'm like, how do I approach this race, right?

We're not trying to win, but I want to challenge myself.

And so she's like just try to keep it.

1:21:56

Try to see if you can do marathon pace like.

And so for marathon pace for me now, it's right.

Around there even that I'm like right now, like I'm I'm you know, that's another thing that we're working with her generate like a mental clarity, right.

Some of the things that give you help me with the mental clarity because I'm working on being more disciplined, like spending more time on feet, running slower.

1:22:15

It's really hard for me.

Like I, you know, I'm working with a company called the mental note, right, to work on your mental health, right?

And understanding the problems that you're going through and trying to compartmentalize things in your life, right?

And even the little things like time on feet, like I'm trying to run, you know, there's a guy named Charlie Lawrence, he's I think he's a record holder for the 50 mile right now.

1:22:37

I think he's going to cover on in monumental.

You know, he was like, Mark, time on feet, time on feet, spend more time on your feet, running longer periods of time at a slower pace rather than, you know, busting out eight miles a day at 6:15.

1:22:53

Do 10 at 73740, right?

And it's been so hard for me.

Yeah, I can.

Imagine.

Right.

Really.

Yeah, really.

So hard for me, but I'm I'm doing it right.

And and you know, that's what I'm saying.

It's like, you know, The funny thing is that old boss that, that that brought me from monster out to LA.

1:23:13

You know, she, she actually is the CEO of the mental note.

And like she, we've been working to talk about mental clarity, understanding how, you know, to become more disciplined in your mind.

So I guess I could say as you get older, the reason I, as I got older, I'm getting faster, right, because I'm maybe getting healthier and being smarter.

1:23:31

You know, you know, a lot, I mean, a lot has happened over my life and years.

And you know, I, you know, I would say like yesterday, I, you might have seen on my post, it's like I had a friend, my best friend, like when I moved to LA, running saved my life hands out, right?

1:23:52

You know, I had a best friend in LA.

His name was Steele.

And literally we got there.

We were thick as thieves.

We didn't separate.

We were best friends.

You know, he even had a kid like a year after I had a kid, almost the same with a woman and a woman left.

1:24:09

I mean, it was like very parallel lives.

We partied a hard a lot together, right?

We were both so we're just tight.

Everybody asked for mark of like steal or steal, steal mark, right.

And interestingly about is when I told you when I made that decision 1718 years ago, I think it was that to go in a different direction.

1:24:31

I remember telling him I was like, dude, come do this with me and run a marathon.

I'm going to do this, come because he was competitive like me, come do this.

But you know, just partied a lot.

And, you know, and interesting thing is that I went this way.

1:24:47

I made this decision.

He kept going this way.

And three years ago yesterday, he died.

And I often look back at that and I go, oh, I hadn't made a decision to run and continue to do it in my life.

1:25:04

That was that mirror moment that I was talking about.

It wasn't going to be around for my kid.

And whereas so he did three years ago, I've been running for 19.

Three years ago, it took his life in 16 and probably added double to mine, right, because it went this direction.

1:25:24

And yeah, yeah, I bring that up because yesterday was the anniversary of him passing.

And I forget it, but I look back at some of those things and I'm like, well, been through a lot, right?

You know, somebody's watching over me, right?

But ultimately, running saved my life, You know, I mean, it just if ever, all I know is if I can put one foot in front of the other, I'm going to finish the race both in life and in a marathon, right?

1:25:52

And that's really how I look at life is like, you know, just put one step in front of the other, one foot in front of the other, right?

I mean, I got a lot of races to go.

I think my best race is still ahead of me.

It could be at the Monumental this year, we all know.

1:26:10

Hey, we're fixing those roads, yeah.

That's all right.

I mean, it was a good race, but it was like, oh, and I, you know, listen, I went out too fast too.

I was, you know, I was running, you know, six 30s and I should have been but feeling good and you know what have you.

1:26:28

So it's a good excuse.

But you know, at the end of the day and told me, you know, Boston coming up next year, all right, you know, so next year should be a 10/10 race year, you know, so I'm really excited about that.

1:26:44

And The funny thing is I try to compete at every race and maybe that's how smart, but I try to compete at every race.

And it that might be a downfall too, because when I try to compete, then you get in your head like I did monumental last year and then I, you know, start running with guys that we're going to run a 250 when I'm should be running a 256.

1:27:06

That's a huge difference.

And I go with them.

And then next thing you know, at the literally at the finish line that the sub three group passes you right.

And you know, you end up 27 seconds over your mark.

1:27:22

So it's very disciplined, right?

Has a lot to do with mental health and has a lot to do with body makeup and has a lot to do with proper training.

But it is a very disciplined sport, which also relates to life.

You know, I always feel like things are going to be OK.

1:27:39

Yeah.

Even when they're down, things are going to be OK.

Yeah.

Right.

So that's where I'm at, yeah.

Does Pierce run?

He used to run with the Fisher's fire.

Yeah, he used to run with the Fisher's Fire and in fact he ran a it's Colt was his.

1:27:57

Yeah, he ran when they were same age back then.

But you know, obviously, but he stopped running and he went to play baseball.

OK.

I'm hoping that he will run train for the LA Marathon next year.

That's.

Cool, because I'm pacer for the LA Marathon and I with the LA Rd. runners, so Los Angeles.

1:28:16

So I'm hoping that he'll come down with me and do it.

Yeah, well.

He, I don't know if he'll listen to this Willie, you think?

If I send it to a mail.

OK, well, Pearce, if you're listening, you should do it.

There you go.

Because, well, I've had some of my favorite memories are running with my dad.

I've run a lot of marathons with my dad.

Loved it.

1:28:32

Special time.

Oh, I would love that.

Yeah.

My daughter, she's got the kick to be a runner.

I mean, I, it's funny.

You look at you look at children and now as a runner and you're like, check out the stride.

This is.

And I look at her stride like that's pretty good.

1:28:48

It's really good.

I'm like, I mean like it's, it's really good and it's like consistent.

I'm like, you know, you know, carry my the mother of my child.

She's like, no, because I actually got hurt to running too, right.

1:29:05

So, you know, now that, you know, we have child, she's like, you know, I don't really like running.

Yeah, 13 years later, I don't like running.

OK, so.

Well, I got to ask you the end of the podcast questions.

How did that time go by so fast?

I don't know.

1:29:21

I talk a lot.

Flew by.

I could talk a lot.

Crazy stories.

Mark, I got a lot more too.

I'm sure you do.

That's why part of the I mean man, I could do like 3 hour episodes.

I can come back, yeah, I can come back.

Yeah.

I could talk running all day.

I could talk life changing.

1:29:37

I could talk life changes and how it affected my life all day long right.

So we.

Were talking before we hit record about stopping alcohol.

Do you still?

So where?

Where are you at with your relationship with alcohol right now?

I mean, I, I, so I, I came back and well, I started drinking again like, but not like I like I don't ever drink beer anymore because I associate beer with, with 235 lbs, right.

1:30:03

So I don't do that.

I might drink a fufu drink.

So my favorite drink is like ocean prime.

I have free plug for ocean prime, like it's berries and bubbles or black orchid, right, which is like white cranberry juice and sugar and fruit fruit.

1:30:19

That's a fruit, a fruit vodka, right?

That's funny.

But right now like, and I'm not drinking right.

So you know, I don't know, Chris, maybe Chris inspired me.

Galloway inspired me a little bit, but I'm I'm like right now, I'm not drinking right?

And if I do, I'm not going to drink at the house, right?

1:30:38

And if I do, it's probably something like sake or something like that.

That's not bad for you, right?

But I, I'm trying to stay away from it, especially when I'm on the regenerate plan and, and, you know, putting things in my body that are really healthier.

I'm like, well, what I.

Need why am I going to?

What I need it for right?

1:30:54

Yeah, it's interesting.

I never thought ever like if you, if you told like 20 year old me that I would ever consider giving up alcohol, I mean I would have laughed in my face like.

But my relationship.

Has changed so much.

I don't.

I don't.

I don't need it.

Fun.

I, I mean, I just, I think I've gotten to a place where I'm just so comfortable with who I am that I'm like, yeah, this is what you get.

1:31:15

I don't need alcohol to have fun or let loose or whatever.

At some, at some point, there are more important things in life.

Yeah, right.

And that's kind of the same thing that happened with with my son.

It was like.

Yeah.

He was more important, right?

Right.

1:31:31

And ultimately, I also saw something that was like going to be a detriment of me if I didn't stop, right?

I wasn't going to be there for him.

And the same thing, I mean, my daughter's the same age, right?

Or five years old, right?

But it's like, I don't want to be there for this.

1:31:49

I want to be there for this stuff, right?

I want to be present, right?

I want to be enjoy it.

I want to, you know, and I want to be healthy and I want to still be able to step on the podium in my age group, you know?

I mean, I, I, you know, for the most part of my age group, I, I mean, I just did Santa Monica classic.

1:32:04

I was number one in my age group, right?

And I took it easy, you know, I mean, so, I mean, and that was a 5K because they cut it down from a 10K, right?

But I like it.

I like being, you know, top three in my age group, maybe because we quite honest with you, I mean, and even top five overall, right?

1:32:23

Or top, you know, something overall.

But, and then when you break it down to age groups, because you have to, you're like, whoa, you just crushed that guy.

He's 30, right?

I mean, that's the competitive age group.

Am I, I see, I, I, I strike to the belief that not everybody's a runner, but everybody's an athlete, right?

1:32:41

I mean, there's the old adage, well, if I walk, if I, if I were, you know, I'll probably get crap for saying this, But if I do a 15 minute pace marathon, are you a runner?

And my answer is no.

You're an athlete.

Yeah.

You're an athlete.

1:32:57

I mean, because I'm going to tell you right now, I know some walkers that beat me in a marathon.

I know some fast-paced walkers.

I watch the Olympics when they're doing the speed.

Walking.

There you go.

Holy shit I know some female fast-paced office that could do a sub three marathon.

Get the fast walking.

1:33:13

See, yeah, that's but that but you're still that's what they.

Call it.

That's walking.

Though, so I mean, yeah, I'm not trying to say.

That she's on runner.

And I don't give a shit if you run, walk or whatever.

Yeah.

I mean, whatever I but I got some black lease to leave for saying, you know, come on.

I was like, you know, do I do I do a marathon?

1:33:30

If I do a marathon at 15 minute pace, am IA runner No.

No, you're a marathoner.

Though Yeah, a marathoner and you're an athlete.

I can get on board with that.

Yeah, I, I think that also, you know, there's also a difference between mediocrity, show, show ponies and people that actually get up to get better.

1:33:52

Yeah, right.

I mean, I and, and, you know, listen, teach your own.

I have a problem with that.

But I mean, if you're going to be competitive and you're going to be a runner, get better.

Yeah, right.

Sure.

I have to get better.

Just still show up and be like, well I did it.

1:34:07

Yeah, no.

That's oh, you walked.

You walked through it.

Yeah, I ran through it. 15 minute pace.

Yeah.

You train.

No.

Yeah, I still I I did.

I'm a runner.

I'm No, you're not.

You're right.

I have to keep that competitive edge and there has to be some difference between people that and, you know, it also motivates people.

1:34:29

You know, I mean, some people may not.

Some people might be like, well, I'm, I'm a runner was like, no, you're not.

I can help get there.

I'll help.

I'll inspire people to get there.

I'll never put somebody down for getting up and getting active, right?

But I just like, yeah, I have a lot of stories, a lot of them because I I do speak my mind and, you know, I'm loud, right?

1:34:50

But I'll give you everything I got, you know?

I mean, that's who I am.

So I have a random question for you before I ask my end of the podcast questions.

My random question you start talking about age group boards and Mark Geyer.

I asked him this because I because he gets age group boards.

1:35:06

What is the most memorable age group award you've gotten by in terms of like what you got like the actual award itself or weird marks won like a pie.

One time I I wanted like an inflatable.

I got like a money that's not it.

1:35:23

That's like a gift certificate.

That's about it.

Nothing cool.

No, nothing cool.

I got to find those races.

That's interesting because I I really don't do it for that.

And I think there are some races that there were prizes, but I didn't stick around for it.

You and honestly, I run for the ABS and the medals.

1:35:44

You should have ABS.

And dear God, I, I, I honestly love my ABS, right, because I didn't have them when I was young and I was like, I worked really hard on them.

I run for the ABS, the medals, right And the times, right at the time, right.

And so if there's prize, I, I mean, I think I've left races where there was prizes and really what right?

1:36:04

I mean, like I got a prize at Carmel that was a gift certificate for Carmel.

I didn't even know like I didn't like here there's a prize.

Prize for what?

It was like I for what?

Well, I was number one division, but I was like, oh really?

You guys give it up?

I didn't know.

I don't know any of them, right.

1:36:21

I think there's prize at Geist.

I don't think I got it.

I mean, I mean, I, yeah, I just that I don't do it for that.

That's interesting.

I mean, I but Even so.

But if you were given it, I just think there's some interesting prizes out there.

1:36:37

That's, I don't know, we got to find those racist.

You're going to help me and we'll go and I'll, I'll, I'll run at them.

OK, two questions to wrap this up, which is sad because I could talk to you all day.

First question is your favorite running mantra and or song Lose Yourself obviously.

1:36:54

Yeah, I guess.

You've made it.

You only get one shot.

I mean, that's really it, right?

I mean that lose yourself.

And then there's the I like method man's Method Man or Redman song.

1:37:12

Jesus, I want to say a microphone checker, but it's like the Rottweiler.

It's just a build up.

And I start every even before I knew them personally, I know them personally.

1:37:30

I've known them.

I mean, Redman is like my son's uncle, right?

And like he's like he's adopting nephew, like he, he refers to my son as his nephew and he looks out for him, etcetera.

Even before I knew them and they were my friends.

The first race I ran, like I said, I, I ran to dot Rottweiler.

1:37:50

It's just a build up like you know, and go and then lose yourself that I I like I said, I've run a whole marathon to that song.

That's crazy.

I love it though.

I do.

Love it.

I mean, over and over and over.

Because it reminds me again, the words of it.

Yeah, you only get one shot.

1:38:06

Do not miss.

Your chance to blow this opportunity comes once in a lifetime, right?

And if you think about it and lose yourself in the music when you're running at the moment, you only get one shot.

So, and, and for me at that time when I started with my son, right, don't miss this opportunity.

1:38:22

Don't blow it.

But now it's just still like.

It's really something.

Right.

I mean, it's you don't miss this opportunity.

You get one shot right in life.

And this could be it.

Like literally, I mean, I don't know what I'd do, you know, if something happened to me.

I mean, I have to joke with people and I say, you know, I know I won't die of heart disease.

1:38:40

I might get hit by a bus running on the street next week, right?

So you never know when when life would be done, right?

It just, you know, I mean, you know, I I would say that, yeah, that's probably the Best Song.

Yeah.

1:38:56

I still haven't lost that after 18 years, that's all.

Yeah.

No.

Do you know all the words?

Every word Pretty much I would imagine.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, there's a lot of songs in my repertoire and a lot of it has to do with, I mean, it goes up and down.

Like a lot of there's a lot of rap in the beginning and then in the middle of it, there's a lot of there's a lot of my favorite type of music actually is classic rock, which most people would never guess right.

1:39:20

But the Forrest Gump CD is really good for the mid for the for the mid, the mid miles like from 12 to 18 I can flow to.

The Vietnam.

1:39:36

Yeah, what's?

That.

Song I just Alabama and there's Lynyrd Skynyrd, right?

I mean, but I know that and then right in the mile, 2022 is like Rush is my favorite rock'n'roll band, right.

Rush is like and Tom Sawyer, you know, get you going and then just trying to end it with like some hardcore, you know, it isn't maybe some hardcore rap, but then also.

1:40:02

One of my favorite songs these days is Living in the Hall of Hall of Fame.

Oh yeah, that's a good one.

Yeah, because it actually talks about running in a Hall of Fame, right?

And living in a Hall of Fame, you know?

Yeah, so you just take your take yourself away when you get into music.

I mean, I run with your phone.

1:40:18

I mean, yeah, with Bluetooth.

Yeah, you're one of the only fast.

I'm going to put in quotes fast people.

I feel like there's a lot of people I interview that are fast and they don't like the music they want to they want to hear.

And I don't want to hear people's feet steps.

I don't want to hear my own footsteps.

Yeah, no, I can't do it.

1:40:34

I need the music and it takes me away.

Yeah, yeah, OK.

And the next finish line or milestone, we have the indie monumental coming up.

What else do you and then Boston next year, what else do you have on your radar?

Are you going to do an ultra?

Or Miami.

Miami.

Next year I have Los Angeles.

Next year I have the Rose Bowl half again next year.

1:40:53

OK, I think I want to try to do London.

OK.

Yeah, and.

Have you done an international race?

No, not yet neither.

And I want to do London and I'd love to do Tokyo 2026.

OK, But yeah.

And I might try one rebel, I don't know.

1:41:11

But after I hit the coast, I was like that.

I did Big Cottonwood, which is, well, yeah, I mean, it's they bust you up to the top and you run down.

The mountain, right And you're like, I had a very disciplined to go down that mountain.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, thank you so much for doing this, Mark.

Finally, it's been so.

Much fun.

I come back anytime.

I mean, let's bit Mark in here too.

1:41:28

Yeah, let's get Mark and Chris in here to just talk a lot of crap.

Yeah, I like I I because those are The funny thing is that you always have to have a goal.

Those are my goals.

Beat.

Market Grant beat market.

Yeah, yeah.

He ran a 121 at Geist and I, I text messaged him and I said, so you're telling me I could actually beat you this year?

1:41:46

Ha ha.

Knowing full well he ran it pretty easy, I'm sure.

So there you go.

Well, thank you and thank you to everybody who has listened.

Happy running.

Of course I love it.

Thank you for having me.

Absolutely.

You're awesome.

And if you love this episode, please be sure to share, rate and review.

1:42:05

Thank you.