Conversation Pace

Ariane Hendrix is a VDOT Certified Coach and the 5th fastest U.S. born African American woman of all time in the marathon. She’s shown steady progress first running the event in 3:57 ten years ago. Recently, she placed third at the Bayshore Marathon in 2:42. Connect with Ari on her coaching profile page: https://coaches.vdoto2.com/ariane-hendrix-roach Follow her progress on Instagram @ari_hendrixroach. Music credit: Mike Quinn, Breakadawn

Blake Dircksen is a licensed physical therapist at Bespoke Treatments and assistant high school coach. In this episode we discuss the success he's having remote coaching his high school alma mater on V.O2. Blake is also offering free strength and mobility exercises for download on your V.O2 calendar. You can sign up for free here: https://coaches.vdoto2.com/blakedircksen We also discuss ankle injuries and our new Stats feature on the app. 

Pietro Gennenzi lives in Brooklyn, NY. Pietro is a musician and project engineer for acoustic architectural design firm Walters-Storyk Design Group. He recently completed his first marathon in 2:34:56 after only getting into running two years prior. The entire marathon build-up was a learning experience to say the least. In this episode we discuss:  his background, living in Brooklyn, how he got into running, his progression as a runner to running 2:34 in Philly, how he executed the race, goals moving forward (break 2:30 in Chicago this year then complete World Majors). Connect with Pietro @ptr_gnz Music Credit: Mike Quinn, Breakadawn

Chris Free is an athlete based out of Virginia Beach. He recently set a new PB winning the Louisiana Marathon on a negative split (2:38:56). Chris currently works with coach Dylan Belles on V.O2. In the past 10 years he's dropped almost 80 minutes off of his marathon time. In this episode we discuss how Chris got into running and what his training looks like, including the strength training routine that keeps him healthy. Currently, he's raising money for World Vision while training for the Berlin Marathon. Connect with Chris on Instagram @_cmfree. Music Credit: Mike Quinn, Breakadawn

Tom Black is an athlete and coach based out of New York City. After working in Finance for several years Tom moved to NYC to pursue a career in fitness & fashion. He ran his first marathon in 2017 and before too long he was running every single day and going for 1-2 hour runs on the weekends. Since then, Tom has increased his mileage from around 20-30 miles to 70-90 miles and cut his marathon time down from 3:20 to 2:31. He's also gotten VDOT Certified and is now helping other athletes on V.O2.  In this episode we discuss:  his backstory, living and training in NYC (and vying for limited turf with cyclists), how he's improved over the years, his negative split in Houston running 2:31:54 and what he's learned along the way to now coaching athletes. Connect with Tom on his coaching profile (https://coaches.vdoto2.com/tom-black) and on Instagram @tom.r.black. Music Credit: Mike Quinn, Breakadawn

Ann Centner lives and trains in Tallahassee, FL where she's pursuing her PhD in Nutrition Sciences. Ann also has a masters in Food Science and Technology from the University of Georgia.  In the past year Ann has set personal bests of 1:13:45 (64.1 VDOT) in the half marathon and 2:38:31 (62.2 VDOT) in the marathon. In this episode we discuss:  living and training in Tallahassee, her big improvement over past few years, rediscovering her joy for running after a bad experience in college and going after the Olympic Trials while trying to focus more on the process.  Connect with Ann @ann_marie_ce on Instagram. 

Ron Loewen is an athlete and coach based out of Langley, British Columbia. He’s also a certified personal trainer with a specialization in biomechanics. He founded @GrittyRunClub, “running for the community,” and manages his private athletes on V.O2. In 2021, Ron was one of the highest mileage athletes on our platform so we connected to gain insights into his training. “I’m obsessively interested in optimizing my own running patterns, economy of movement, and staying injury free.” Read more at news.vdoto2.com.

John Reniewicki is professional runner at Under Armour and a former Assistant Cross Country Coach at Arizona State University. As a collegiate athlete John broke the Arizona State University school record in the 10K and has since improved his PR to 28:15 (78.2 VDOT). He’s entering his second year of professional running and currently working hard to prepare for the national championships. In this episode we discuss: His new sponsorship and coaching influences What his training and daily routines look like His experiences dealing with and managing injuries Goals for 2022 and beyond What he’s grateful for at this time Connect with John via his V.O2 Marketplace profile at:  https://coaches.vdoto2.com/John-Reniewicki or on Instagram @john_reniewicki.

Jessica Hofheimer is the founder of Pace of Me, an online coaching business helping athletes of all ages and experience levels, including her custom artwork for runners. She is an RRCA and VDOT Certified Coach and currently coaches her private clients on VDOT O2. As a young woman fresh out of college, Jess struggled with depression influenced by a lack of self-belief and sense of purpose. Immersing herself in running empowered her to feel healthy, happy and strong. Since then she has completed over 20 marathons (ranging from 5:58 to 3:11) and countless other races from the mile to 50 miles. After a decade of being a distance runner (and getting married and having two kids), she decided to learn more about the science and principles behind running and racing your best. She got her first coaching certification in 2010 and she’s been coaching athletes of all abilities ever since. In this episode we discuss: -Her move to Raleigh and juggling work/family/virtual school during pandemic -Starting and growing her online coaching business Pace Of Me -Blending her passions, art and coaching (connect @paceofme) -Her coaching philosophy and how she serves her athletes with a holistic approach Producer:  Andre Laboy Song:  Breakadawn, by Mike Quinn

Caitlin Alexander, PT, DPT, CAFS is a physical therapist, multisport coach, and VDOT Certified Run Coach based out of Boulder, Colorado. She holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and Certification in Applied Functional Science from the Gray Institute. She currently works as a physical therapist and biomechanical specialist at BUILD Sports Performance Labs outside of Boulder. She enjoys being able to help athletes reach their goals on multiple levels, whether it's curating a rehab plan to recover from an injury, or analyzing their running mechanics to make performance gains. Caitlin is also an elite amateur long-course triathlete and will be competing at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii this fall. In this episode we discuss: -Her athletic story and transition to training at altitude -Balancing triathlon training and how runners can benefit from cross training -The future of PT -The secret to better running, “Mostablity” or mobility + stablity, a term coined by the Gray Institute -Nerve pain, referring as muscle, tendon or soft tissue problems, and how it represents 20% of injuries she treats -The foot-brain connection Producer:  Andre Laboy Song:  Breakadawn, by Mike Quinn

James McKirdy is the founder of McKirdy Trained, an online coaching service working with runners of all ages, all abilities, all over the world. In 2016, McKirdy Trained started managing athletes on VDOT O2. They had eight athletes in the Boston Marathon and zero at the Olympic Trials. Just five years later they’ve had hundreds qualify for Boston and 25 coaches/athletes qualify for the 2020 Olympic Trials in the marathon (20 participated).⠀ In this episode we discuss: -Moving and transitioning to life in Flagstaff from the East Coast -Starting McKirdy Trained and how it’s grown so quickly -What “Under our Care” means to him and where it comes from -The Olympic Trials women’s B standard -His coaching staff, which has now grown to over two dozen coaches, and how he matches athletes -The launch of their Micro Marathons Producer:  Andre Laboy Song:  Breakadawn, by Mike Quinn

Andrew Bumbalough, aka ‘Bumbi’, as he is affectionately referred to by friends and teammates, grew up in Nashville, Tennessee aspiring to be a soccer player. When he discovered his real talent was his ability to outrun opponents, he switched over to track and never looked back. In high school he was a two-time Footlocker finalist (runner-up in 2004) and also set the state record in the 3200m (8:46.47). After graduating from Georgetown University in 2010 he moved to Portland to join the Bowerman Track Club. His first year as a professional he made the World XC Team and ran 13:16 in the 5000m. That year he also finished 4th at USA Champs in the 5000m and represented Team USA at the IAAF World Track Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Throughout his career he has been a consistent performer finishing in the top 5 at USA’s in the 5000m every year from 2011 to 2014. Bumbi then shifted his focus to the marathon. He debuted at Tokyo 2017 with a 2:13:56 and followed that up in the fall with a 2:14:03 in Chicago. He also finished 5th at the legendary 2018 Boston Marathon. At the beginning of 2021, Bumbi officially retired from competitive running and launched his new coaching business HighGear Running. In this episode (Part 2 of our conversation) we discuss: -Becoming a professional runner and signing with Nike - 0:48 -Getting to Portland - 6:52 -Bowerman Track Club & the Nike Oregon Project -  6:39 -Controversy in the sport - 20:34 -Starting a family - 27:33 -Bowerman Track Club Youth - 35:20 -Launching HighGear Running - 42:38 Producer:  Andre Laboy Song:  Breakadawn, by Mike Quinn

Becki Spellman is the founder of Spellman Coaching. She's been a competitive athlete for over 25 years and coaching for 14. She is a 4x Olympic Trials Qualifier in the Marathon (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) and 2x Akron Marathon Champion (2011 and 2016). Her current marathon PR is 2:40. She's currently sponsored by Oiselle. In this episode we discuss: -Her athletic story -Her struggles with collegiate running and her transition to the marathon -How her training has evolved since her first Olympic Trials to training postpartum as a mother of twins -The lack of guidance on safely transitioning back to running after her C-section and her injury woes as a result -Whether to change the women's Olympic marathon standards Producer:  Andre Laboy Song:  Breakadawn, by Mike Quinn