Beyond the Unicorn: DFW's Fastest Female Marathoners Take on Boston

DFW Running Talk: Ladies of Boston Marathon
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Chris Detzel: [00:00:00] Welcome to DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Detzel, so let's get started.

All right. Welcome to another DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Detzel and oh my gosh, I've got a lot of names to talk about today. We have a panel of really fast Boston Marathon runners, and I'm gonna introduce them right now. Quickly I'm gonna go with J Julie Rembold. Julie, how are you?

Julie Rembold: Good, how are you?

Chris Detzel: Doing well, thanks for coming on.

Julie Rembold: Of course. I'm excited to be here.

Chris Detzel: And we have Liz Northern Liz, how are you?

Liz Northern: I am great. Happy to be here. Thanks for including me. All the way in Fort Worth.

Chris Detzel: All the way in Fort Worth. It's really not that far, but Yes.

Liz Northern: It's not that far.

Chris Detzel: Exactly. We're all virtual, so it doesn't really matter.

Nobody had to drive anywhere, so that's good. Rebecca Rosch. Rebecca, how are you? It's

Liz Northern: fine here.

Maddie Stier: Great. It's an honor to be here.

Chris Detzel: Welcome Maddie Steyer. I know Maddie's last name, so that's good.

Maddie Stier: Thank you Chris. And yeah, you said it right. Good job.

Chris Detzel: You corrected me that one time and [00:01:00] Julie, she, Jill Wolf.

Jill, how are you?

Jill Wolf: How are you?

Chris Detzel: Doing well. Welcome back.

Jill Wolf: Good to be back

Chris Detzel: all. So now that we get all the names going, what I wanna do is talk a little bit about your Boston Marathon Times, how you did, how you felt and going into that. And so I wanna start with Julie. Julie, you ran Boston. How many times have you run Boston and let's talk a little bit about that.

Julie Rembold: Yeah, so this is my second time I ran Boston in 2019. And I guess real briefly, I'd only been training for about 14 months and was very excited. I ran 2 51 and that year was

Chris Detzel: fairly.

Julie Rembold: No, I ran two. Oh the

Chris Detzel: last time.

Julie Rembold: 2019.

Maddie Stier: Yep. Julie, I

Julie Rembold: need

Maddie Stier: to interrupt you. 'cause you said you've only been, you only, you were only training for 14 months.

You mean you were only running for 14 months at that time, right? Like you had just started running

Julie Rembold: jogged a little bit here and there. I say like maybe seven to 15 miles a week. But yes, running more than 20 miles a week. I just wanna make sure that she gets the credit 'cause she's out is very impressive.

Chris Detzel: [00:02:00] Really impressive. Thank you.

Julie Rembold: Yeah, and I think at that point I still didn't really have a clue what I was doing. I joked that at that point it was after that I met some friends at the track and I realized that this whole time I'd been starting at the wrong point on the track. I didn't even know where you start on a track.

So I really didn't know anything. So to come in, I was 77th female that year. So that was. Really exciting and really just kinda got me really excited about this sport. That was fun. And then to fast forward now six years later I went through a journey. I won't get into all of that. That would take too long, but six years later now, I was back 2025 and just had the best time.

This year I ran 2 56. So a little bit shy of that, but after the journey I went through, it was just an incredible experience and I think the turning point again, so I had so much fun.

Chris Detzel: And Julie that's impressive. It's crazy. So when you, would you, when you qualified, what race was it that you qualified in?

Before Boston?

Julie Rembold: This year?

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Yeah. For this year in Boston? [00:03:00] Yeah.

Julie Rembold: So this year I ran, was it Indy? Yeah, I qualified at Indy first and registered with that, but then recently I ran Houston just this last January. And so Houston bettered my time a little bit and ran 2 59 in January. Yeah. Wow.

And then that's impressive. And then turned around and I only had three months. I really had I dropped back the mileage a little bit. I felt like I needed to just really ease up and so I dropped back the mileage and so ran really low mileage for those three months and just went out there.

I actually got the flu 14 days before this Boston, and so I wasn't really sure. I was I was feeling like, I don't know, we'll just see what happens. And then about three days before I started feeling good again, and so I just went out there to have fun and see what happens. So I was very excited when I was able to cross the line in 2 56.

Chris Detzel: Congratulations. It was a beautiful day, and that's really awesome. So let's go to Liz Northern. How are you?

Liz Northern: I'm good. Can you hear me?

Chris Detzel: Yes, we can hear you.

Liz Northern: Awesome.

Chris Detzel: Yes. How was how was your Boston, how many have you run? And how was it this [00:04:00] year?

Liz Northern: This was my first Boston. I have never run Boston before.

And I know that's, I've run so many other cool races, like really cool races and just the timing of the race and. It's, all know it's it's expensive to get there with flights and the hotel and kids and school and everything. So it was an orchestration to get there. And I ran this a hundred K in India in December, and I'm tired.

I was tired. And so I told my coach, I was like, I wanna run Boston and then I'm gonna take a break. And so we have built this all up. I'm like, I'm gonna bring the family, I'm gonna bring my parents. And we made it. It was beautiful that it was on Easter weekend also. So that was very special. I had, there have been two, two races in my lifetime that I can remember that I have crossed the finish line and have said.

I can go run [00:05:00] like another 10 miles, like this was one of them in the 2020 Olympic trials was the only other one. 'cause I was having like, my face hurt from smiling so much. I had so much. That's awesome. Much fun. At this race, I added so much mileage to this race from weaving in and out of the crowd to give everybody high fives and no way.

I spent, when I finally found my family at, they were at like mile 24, I think. And it was, I hugged everybody. I hugged I spent probably a solid minute just there at Coolidge corner hugging everybody and crying and it was like, this is so beautiful. Anyways, I had the time of my life. Like I see why people come back to Boston.

Yeah, I see it now and I have I am cannot say that I have drank the Kool-Aid completely. 'cause I do need a break. I do need a break from running, but I see why people come back. And I, it's, it was ama an amazing [00:06:00] experience. It was amazing. That's, yes. So if I were to be a Boston campaign, there it is.

I

Chris Detzel: love that. And I think, just when I was there, it felt like, look, I didn't run Boston Marathon, but I was there and got to be in the atmosphere and watch people, run it. And even the day before where, you get to go and run with some of the groups that, are just getting ready for, tomorrow and things like that.

But then just the atmosphere, the, I was out at the bleachers. My wife, she's been there 12 times, so we get this unicorn club thing, and so I get to be at the front of the seats, but at one o'clock, I didn't get to see some of the really fast runners like you cross the finish line, but, or all of you is what I, when I say you, but it was just electric and it was amazing. And Liz, it's funny you say that because you still ran under three this time, didn't you? And you just, yeah. Weaved in and out of crowds. So That's interesting. It

Liz Northern: was amazing. I had so much fun. That's great. I had so much fun and I feel really [00:07:00] grateful to have run that time.

I feel like I had the most fun of any Boston participant out there. 'cause I don't know, I think all of my pictures will say that. Like I had so much fun. So much fun. That's

Chris Detzel: great. I love that. That's we'll get back to you in a minute because I definitely wanna talk about training with everyone.

Rebecca, let's talk to you a little bit.

Rebecca Roush: So Boston for me, I think I had told, I like ran one of the runs in early January with Maddie. I was like, okay, yeah, I think I'm gonna do Boston. My husband got in for the first time. We had our first baby last July. So then, you register. In October, I had a postpartum deferral and I was like, okay.

So we elected in October and then my husband got in, we're like, oh, yay, we're both in. Okay. Wow. And then January was like, okay, we're gonna start training. And then I was on a run with Maddie and first long run, I think, and then a week later, me and the baby got sick and then like work was going crazy and I was like, like it was just a lot.

Like my husband works a lot too, and it was just like, okay, like you trained my husband and I was like, we're just gonna survive at this point. And so I quit for a while [00:08:00] and then 34 days and training for a while you said. Yeah, I was still running like 20 miles a week maybe. So four runs like, just like literally super easy and was just like, okay, I'm just trying to survive at this point.

Kind of after I got over the sickness and then 34 days out I was like, okay, I'm gonna do this. Having the baby and then it was like a debate too of I wanna bring the baby just a whole thing. I don't know, just try to navigate all the new mom things and all the decisions and it's just a huge sacrifice to train for a marathon.

In the past it was like, I always like really trained for a marathon and so I always felt very prepared. But this, so it intimidated me 34 days out can I actually even do this? I've only run like one long run in a year and a half. So yeah, with 34 days out I was like, okay, I can get four long runs and I don't know.

So my mindset going into it was a little bit chaotic. It was literally like, can I even do this? Almost like doubting myself and then like postpartum, just what can my body actually do? But honestly, like even seeing like Maddie and I don't know, just all these other moms, it was just like. It's like they can do it.

They've done so amazing. So it's just so encouraging to see other [00:09:00] people do it too. So yeah, it was a little bit chaotic, but Yeah. But you did

Chris Detzel: it.

Rebecca Roush: I did it, yeah. Was this

Chris Detzel: your first one or?

Rebecca Roush: It was my second one. I did.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Rebecca Roush: Boston in 2023.

Chris Detzel: Okay. So you're, you knew the atmosphere, but it was a little different for you because your husband made it, you brought your baby, right?

Rebecca Roush: We didn't end up bringing the babies, it's, you gotta book the hotels like six months in advance too, so it was like, we had a one bed and I was like, oh, we can't take care of the baby while we're both running. So we're like, okay. So that was the whole thing. We're like, we'll leave him, my, both of our parents were super gracious and like helping.

But yeah, just like lots of navigating lots of new life things and it was great. Yeah, we missed him on Easter. We celebrate Easter the weekend before, but it was super great and just, you just never know running such a gift. And I. Like injuries with my whole running career, just had a lot of injuries, like broken pelvis, torn ACL, and like it's just been, I used to have a lot of stress fractures and stuff, so you just never know, like whenever you like, won't have your health or won't be healthy.

So it was like, okay, I'm like physically can do this let's do it. You got

Chris Detzel: it done. That seems [00:10:00] pretty amazing. What race did you qualify on? I

Rebecca Roush: think with this one, I guess Chicago of 23, that was like my last race before postpartum. I'd run a 2 57 there.

Chris Detzel: What'd you run in Boston?

Rebecca Roush: This one I ran CT 11 on 34 days of training. So not quite, yeah, it's pretty impressive. So happy just to get there.

Chris Detzel: Congratulations. That's really great and thanks. I'll come back to you as well. Maddie Steyer, how are you?

Maddie Stier: Good. Yeah, so I somewhat agree with Becca. I think when you're postpartum and navigating Marathons, chaos is the name of the game.

And I know Julie, I know you have a lot of kids and Liz, you have a lot of kids too. So you guys know, trying to build it in is, it's definitely putting the pieces of the puzzle together. So my training for this, it had its ups and downs. I would say overall it went relatively smoothly, especially towards the end.

I was really able to dial it in and really get some of the bigger workouts. But it was funny 'cause we had a huge group who was signed up to go and I feel like almost half of them ended up not doing it or [00:11:00] dropping out or getting injured for whatever reason. So it was a little,

Liz Northern: I heard about that.

Yeah, I heard there was a huge group from Dallas coming. Yep. And I was like, where is everybody?

Maddie Stier: Almost so many people dropped. Yeah. Because for various, I'm sorry reasons. And that was you'd go to a longer, no, this person's not doing it. Oh, this person's not doing it. So then you would, I got in my head a little bit like, do I really wanna do this?

I knew I was gonna do it. But anyways,

Chris Detzel: really,

Maddie Stier: the race itself, honestly it went really well. No complaints. There was a couple funny things that happened throughout, but this was my seventh time doing Boston. I actually used to be kinda like Jill. I used to be a Boston diehard when I like first started running in college.

But then since I tried different races as well and haven't gone back since. This is my first time doing it, I think since 2019. But I ran a 2 55.

Chris Detzel: That's awesome. Which

Maddie Stier: I was very happy with, honestly. I said Anything sub three I will be happy with given the state of life. So I call it a [00:12:00] win.

Chris Detzel: You act as if as sub three is ugh, I'll just try to do a sub three.

I better do that.

Maddie Stier: It's a good, it's a good like threshold to break through. 'cause you feel like if you can do that, a lot of times you, you feel all right. I feel like my training paid off. It was a good race, nonetheless.

Chris Detzel: Great race. What'd you run to qualify

Maddie Stier: like Becca? I did Rebecca, sorry.

Funny. When I first met Becca, I called her Courtney for a month and she never corrected me. Not once. That's hilarious. That's finally, I think her husband finally said something and I was like I feel dumb. Anyway, me and Becca ran Chicago at the same time and then we both ended up getting pregnant right after too.

And then we both did Boston. So

Chris Detzel: something in the air, I don't know.

Maddie Stier: Yep.

Chris Detzel: Jill, how are you?

Jill Wolf: I'm good. Like Maddie said, I am, I'm a Boston diehard. This was my fifth in a row. Sixth, if you count the virtual 2020 race, because that was gonna be my first, and I [00:13:00] still did the virtual, just 'cause I like

Chris Detzel: that counts, right?

Jill Wolf: Sure, we'll count it. Do you

Chris Detzel: want in Boston, but

Jill Wolf: no.

Chris Detzel: All right,

Jill Wolf: so this was my si my fifth in person. And I will say, I think from a training perspective, similar to Julie, I did Houston in January, so three months is really not a good enough time to turn around and

Chris Detzel: I wouldn't think so.

Jill Wolf: It's just your body's tired and I did, I jumped back up to, pretty quick mileage. I ended up peaking at a hundred miles a week on my peak week. So my body was just tired. And I am a person that if it's above 50, it's okay, we're gonna be in for a little bit of a rougher day. I'm not a huge fan of anything above that. So still better than last year weather-wise, where people were passing out on the street on Boyleston.

Yeah. Which was absolutely crazy. But I was really happy. Ended up being just started the race. I'm like, I'm just not gonna look at my watch. We're just gonna go off a field. Let's just see how the day turns out. 'cause it was just, it was 55 at the start, 51, 55, like [00:14:00] depending on, I don't remember exactly, but it was warm.

You couldn't, you didn't even need gloves. Still had a good day though, so had a ten second course PR for myself, so at a 2 54. So I am pretty happy with the day as it turned out.

Chris Detzel: That's pretty impressive considering you just got done running Houston really fast. Houston, your pr, right? Yeah,

Jill Wolf: Julie. Not too long. Julie, we must have been finishing right around each other. 'cause I was 2 48, like literally, probably just right around each other as we finished.

Julie Rembold: Houston, I only ran 2 59 in Houston.

Jill Wolf: No, but look, we must've been close at some point 'cause I was barely at the two 50 mark leading at the half.

So we might have been, we might've together, so probably.

Chris Detzel: So I'm curious to know, so Jill mentioned she ran a hundred miles peak week. Is that normal for everybody else? What? I know Rebecca mentioned that, she just had just a few weeks, or not that a few 30 days or 40 days to even train.

But what is, I'm gonna throw this out there because whoever wants to answer, but what does that peak week look like before Boston?

Maddie Stier: Yeah, I'm [00:15:00] with Jill. I, yeah, sorry. I do pretty high mileage as well. I respond well to high mileage and I think it helps me mentally. So I was with Jill. I did a hundred miles.

I peaked at that. Sorry, Julie.

Julie Rembold: No, that's okay. For this one as I said, I've been doing a little bit lower due to the journey I've been on since 2019. And I ran about 65 miles for a few weeks and actually only ran like 50 to 51. For a couple weeks before. So really I probably averaged about 62, 63, but this was an incredible turning point, I think back on my journey.

And so I texted my coach right afterwards and I said, all right, I'm ready now. So for the next one I'm planning to get back into 85 to 90. But I was just waiting till my body showed me that I was ready for that in a race. And this is the one where I felt like it really showed me. Okay, you're ready again?

Yeah. So I'm planning to turn that back up to 85 to 90 and we'll see where we go from there. Mean

Chris Detzel: this is insane, but this one was,

Julie Rembold: but yeah, this one was only 61 or 62. For Boston though pretty, I think pretty low, I would [00:16:00] assume for us people only 60. Yeah. I know when I first started, it's not senior here.

As Maddie commented, my chiropractor still jokes at me because as Maddie mentioned that I was so new to this earlier. I remember when I first started training and my coach gave me 40 miles, and I was like, who runs 40 miles in a week? And I was like, that's so crazy. And so now my chiropractor that heard that comment at the beginning, like when I go, I only ran 60 miles this week.

Likes to tease me about that. Yeah.

Chris Detzel: I'll Liz I'm curious to know what your training cycle looks like.

Liz Northern: I've had a really crazy six months I think. I mentioned I did this huge race in India in December as a hundred k. And I know I, I had 30, 40 mile training runs leading into it.

And just one run did the race. So did the race. And my longest long run, but between India and Boston was [00:17:00] honestly Maddie. It was cow Town. I ran, I did my like warmup and then I did cow Town with you, and then I ran home and it was a 20 mile, I made it a 20 mile day. That was the only 20 miler I did. And 'cause I was just I needed a break.

And which is I feel so lucky to say that I can just go run a 2 56 on like haphazard training 20

Chris Detzel: miles a week.

Liz Northern: No I've been going like, I'm just joking. I'm not the textbook. I'm not at all. I think my training going into Boston, I do a lot of quality over quantity. I think I've said that to a few people when you have multiple kids that are, my older kids are in grade school and my youngest is one, and so we're all over the place and it is definitely quality over quantity training.

I do a lot of, I've added weight training too 'cause I'm, getting into perimenopause age, so I've been trying to take care of my body that [00:18:00] way. But it, and it's shown it's benefits has, but I don't think I crested 40 to 50 miles ever. Leading into this race, but it, obviously it's paid off.

'cause I think I have I have figured out my threshold with just where my lactic threshold is. And so I can hold a certain pace for a very long time. And anyways, it's, yes don't take me as an example of how to train, is what I'm trying to say. But if you wanna talk about parenting and running with lots of kids of various ages, I am your.

Chris Detzel: No, I think that would be a great episode, to be honest. I think it'd be a lot of people would be interested in something like that. For sure. And it's pretty amazing. You ran a hundred. Is that the most you've ever run? Was it a hundred K or

Liz Northern: So? I, you went

Chris Detzel: to India. That's pretty crazy.

Liz Northern: 200, 300 Ks.

And then I've also done a six hour run. All of my high [00:19:00] mileage stuff really started af once the pandemic set in. I think we've all, we all were impacted differently by the pandemic and for my older two, they associate the pandemic with not being able to buy Lucky Charms at the grocery store or whatever it was.

But for me, I just added a whole bunch of mileage to my running and so I got into six hour runs and then it turned into a hundred K. And so I was, that's where that whole realm got into my life and I got very comfortable with running by myself for a long time. You get to know yourself very well.

I'm sure even with marathon training, all of us women here on this podcast, and you too, Chris, we all know each other very well 'cause we have to spend a lot of time with ourselves in our heads. And that was important during the pandemic. But anyways, that's just a little bit of my story with how I got into a hundred Ks.

Chris Detzel: I love that. Anybody wanna talk about the atmosphere going in? [00:20:00] I know that Rebecca, you mentioned that you were sick and you had, you didn't get to run a lot, what was we'll start with Rebecca since you know I calling you. What was that atmosphere like and what kind as the day came, tell me about that and afterwards and how you felt and just how your mindset was.

Rebecca Roush: I feel like during the race, it's just, I don't know I don't know if that's the good place to start, but it's just like electric. 'cause there's just people the entire, like the entire run. So it's just nice. I don't know a lot of those runs. Maybe different marathons you qualifi at, or different marathons you run.

There'll be like just long pockets of miles with no one there and you're just like trying to grind in your mind of okay, like we're good. But it was like the entire run, it's just like walls of people. So I don't know. That was like super encouraging. And then it's just super great to have the other training groups there.

A lot of people from training Pegasus and completely sloth and like the groups that we'd run with, which I didn't get to run with them quite as much this time. But on those like two, I think I made it to two or three of the long runs with them. So it was just like super encouraging to have all those people there.

So it's almost just like a little like friend reunion too, and to get to share that like with everyone else and know that they're like going for the same goal. [00:21:00] So

Chris Detzel: I feel like, I think the community helps. Excuse me. Make it. And 'cause when I got there, the pre-run or the day before the run or the race, there's 40 people there, like from Dallas.

So there was a big, I think y'all mentioned that there was a lot of people that didn't show up, but there's a lot of people that did show up too, right? So they all stay in the same hotel. It's interesting and man, we pay for this every year. It's pretty expensive.

Jill Wolf: Chris, did you stay in the hotel with the fire alarm the night before?

Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Yeah, I sure did. So I was like, what the hell is going on this fire alarm? Like my wife was like, anyone who didn't stay at the

Jill Wolf: Park Plaza at 9:00 PM fire alarm going off in the building. We all had to evacuate out of the building. It was down. Were you like

Rebecca Roush: texting each other? Are we okay? Are we gonna die?

Jill Wolf: Did take, did you take your bib with you? Did you take any of your race gear? Because people were packing bags and walking down the stairs. And I'm like, no, I'm out. Kindle clothes key. Get me outta here.

Rebecca Roush: Like the stairs are gonna wreck our legs. Not for the morning. [00:22:00]

Chris Detzel: By what happy. She's call, call downstairs now.

I was like, all right. I'm calling downstairs, hey, what's going on? Do we need to leave? And I'm like, okay, we don't need to leave. We're fine. And she's and then it goes off again. She goes, I'm going down. I was like no. It's just, it's fine. So yeah, it was for her, it was a Wait.

So Chris, you guys

Maddie Stier: didn't, you guys didn't even evacuate. You just stayed. We stayed too.

Jill Wolf: I evacuated. I

Chris Detzel: was, we started going do stairs and then somebody started coming back up and I was like, forget about this. I'm going up, we're staying. Yeah. All right. Sorry Rebecca, keep going. So you It was electric.

It was fun, and. Seeing the people. What else? Yes,

Rebecca Roush: and then my husband's first too. It was just so fun just being able to leave. That's his first with family, so that was super fun.

Chris Detzel: Yeah,

Rebecca Roush: just getting to share the moment with him too, and yeah,

Chris Detzel: it was great. And he, so did y'all race? Who won outta the two of you?

He won.

Rebecca Roush: He won. He trained. He trained a lot and did really well. But yeah, that's, he was ahead of me this time which is good. I was happy for him.

Chris Detzel: Cool. Jill, you know the one that's [00:23:00] just die hard, so I want to hear about this.

Jill Wolf: I will say out of the five years that I've done it in person, that was probably the best spectators we've had.

There was something, like I said, 55 and above. Terrible running weather for me, but it just drove, yes, it's ideal for the spectators, so

Chris Detzel: it was perfect for me. So

Jill Wolf: it, it was fun. I think, Wellesley was crazy. I think every year it's crazy, but like you can hear him coming like half a mile plus away.

I kissed the girl. Did you, I was gonna ask because you were the first time. Yes, I did. I did not.

Julie Rembold: Wellesley was amazing. I don't even remember Wellesley in 2019, but it was unforgettable this year. Yeah. Wellesley was really on fire.

Jill Wolf: I think the Boston University, Boston College area though was the crazy part.

That was where like those college kids ju right after you, Pete's heartbreak were just, I want what, whatever they were drinking, I wanted some because they were just like off the wall. Crazy. Super fun. From a spectator perspective. It was amazing This year couldn't have asked for better in my [00:24:00] opinion.

Chris Detzel: So does anybody go to the day before or two? I don't remember, but a lot of times we'll walk the streets of Boston, downtown and there's Tracksmith, the Deida, there's all kinds of different. Places like these quick hit shops that you can go into that have cool gear and things like anybody go in and look at that kind of stuff and excited about that.

I want to hear about that. Good. I figured

Jill Wolf: so I know this is something that's changed probably since the 2019 year. The they've changed this after Covid that all this, they don't go to the expo anymore, they just do popups on Newberry and it's it's a party block every, like asics and everything.

We didn't, it was, I think that also just people walking around. But the days before the race was even more than years prior too. It was crazy. It was a lot. Nike had, they have DJs, they're doing like screen printing. It was just a fun environment to be at the day before. I don't know if anyone else agrees with that though.

Julie Rembold: It was, the whole weekend was electric. Electric was the word that came to mind for me. Also, like Rebecca said, and we actually are I just, I picked an Airbnb, I knew the [00:25:00] area, but I didn't really remember it specifically. And somehow I got this Airbnb right on Newberry, right off of Hereford.

So it was like, literally it was like right in the heart of everything. But I don't wait in all those, I don't wait in all those lines. I just feel like lines drain my energy. And so I did not wait in a single line for anything except getting my bib. But but I was right there in the heart absorbing all that energy as I walked to get my coffee every day.

So it was just, it was a really fun place to be.

Jill Wolf: Did you wait in line to get your metal engraved?

Julie Rembold: No, I did not. Those things are

Jill Wolf: also crazy.

Maddie Stier: I'm not a line person. Talking about lines, I don't know Liz, I know you had your kids there, so I don't know if you guys had a stroller, but at the expo there was, apparently there was a huge line and people had to weave through.

We got to bypass all of that 'cause we had a stroller, so they just sent us right over to the elevator and we just went right up, walked right over to our bibs. We were waiting for Eric Brittle and Aaron Pearson, they were there too. So we were going with them and they [00:26:00] just took the escalator thinking it would be right there.

Oh my gosh. We probably waited for them for 45 minutes 'cause we just were able to go right up and they had to weave all around. But yeah, expo is very different now than how it used to be. I walked and I was like, where is everything? I didn't know.

Chris Detzel: I think, some of those vendors own.

Like they own that expo, right? And so they, the other ones have to go get these popups. That's how kind of these expos are doing now is that, one vendor owns it and then you'll have, I don't know how to say this without saying it is other shitty things there, right? Besides the vendor kind of stuff.

So you'll have those popups. Boston does a really good job. Sorry, Liz, go ahead.

Liz Northern: No, we, so we went to the expo very late. Like I don't, I think we were one of the last people to go to the expo and we had no lines. We went after, so the whole Easter. We were Catholic, we went to mass. It was like line wrapped around the entire block of this beautiful [00:27:00] 1890 church.

It was incredible. And then we went to the finish line, then we went to lunch, and then we went to the expo on Sunday at three o'clock right before it closed. We had no line. And we also, so I ran with the Puma Project three, and so we went to the Puma spot, which was on what you're talking about.

They had a popup and it was incredible because they had this insane candy bar. Like a buffet of candy. And so my seven and 8-year-old were like, what is this place? It's

Chris Detzel: this amazing place, mom. They

Liz Northern: just had a ball and we did all of the stops. But yes, they pulled out all of the nines and it was incredible.

They did a, Puma, did a great job with their spot. I that granted, that's the only one that I stopped in. But I can say that they did a really good job and I know what you mean that Adidas and Bank of America, they took over the expo 'cause they're [00:28:00] obviously the primary sponsors of the race.

But yes, all of these other groups have done a really neat job of having popups. And it's cool to see that happen.

Chris Detzel: And they've been doing it for the last few years. It's, it's becoming even more and more popular. I remember last year, Nike, and maybe they were doing it this year, I'm not sure, but if they stop you on the street, they'd give you a free pair of their shoes.

But you'd have to take off your old ones, the ones you have now. So they were like, Hey, if you take off your shoes now, the ones you have on, we'll trade you. So some people wouldn't do it and some people would, but it was still a cool thing. Where was that? '

Jill Wolf: cause I would've loved to trade up my shoes.

Yeah, that would've been great.

Chris Detzel: I didn't see it this year, but I heard Alan s Schoenberg or whatever his last name is, was telling me about it.

Maddie Stier: Were they like, donate the old shoes. Why did they want your shoes?

Chris Detzel: I don't know. Got, I don't have all the Okay. The details on it but I thought it was cool.

I'll give you a brand new pair of shoes. It's which ones do they give you? I don't know

Maddie Stier: that is cool.

Chris Detzel: I, there's little things like that. So when me and my wife go, we usually go like on a. We get there on Friday morning usually, and [00:29:00] sometimes we get there on Thursday and we'll go to the expo on Friday.

'cause she does, she we like to just do things right then, like just get it done. And we don't wanna stand in lines or the least amount of lines that we can stand in. Liz is a lives dangerous it sounds, but, so we don't do that. And then Friday and Saturday we'll walk around sun and I'll do the 5K every now and then she'll do it.

She's, we've been going for a long time. And this year, by the way, the 5K was different. They, it was at, they finished at the finish line for the first time, which was really cool. But it felt like it took them an hour or longer just to go. I like to start because they have the men's, the women's, then the elites, and then yeah, there's elites and the 5K.

So anyways, and on Sunday she'll rest and I'll bring, I have some, usually have friends. That I, I know in Boston I used to work with and I'll hang out with them. So we have our little things that we do and I felt like this year to me was way more electric than any other year I've been there.

Not run it, just been there and just, it was so fun and I'm getting to know more and more people in Dallas, so [00:30:00] when I get to see folks like you there and stuff, it makes it even more special to me because 'cause I know people, so that's good. Maddie, how was your experience?

You didn't bring your kids right? My, I don't think I saw you by the way.

Maddie Stier: My experience is a little bit unique. So my brother and sister-in-law live in Waylon, Massachusetts. Okay. Which is maybe 20 minutes in the suburbs. It's on the way to Hopkinton. So we stayed with them and we got to have a good family weekend with them.

We came into the city on Saturday and we got brunch, and then we went to the expo. But yeah, most of our time was spent out there with them and their son. And then even on race day, my brother, he drove me to Hopkinson. So I just got dropped off at the shuttle bus there. And really, it should only be a five minute ride from where the shuttle and Hopton takes you to the school.

But of course they go the most roundabout way. Of course, the bus always gets lost because it has to get lost every year. I dunno how. And yeah, so that, that works. It's a

Chris Detzel: new bus driver,

Maddie Stier: yeah. But send [00:31:00] to us at CIM too. Really? It happens all over the us. Don't tell me that. I just signed up for CIM but I actually had a very unique thing or kind of funny story that happened to me during the race.

So I ran with my phone, which I. I don't really, so normally I won't do this for a race and I typically run with my phone during long runs and stuff. Chris, you made fun of me for having everything in my pocket phone being one of them. Yeah I

Chris Detzel: just saw a bunch of stuff in pockets. But yeah, I have a lot of stuff.

I have

Maddie Stier: got a lot of gear, so this is not different that I would run with my phone 'cause I do it for long runs. But anyway, I'm starting and I ran with my friend Mon who you've also interviewed.

Chris Detzel: Yeah,

Maddie Stier: there's a picture of us at the start line. The phone lobby. Yeah, my phone's in my pocket so I know it was there.

Julie, we had saw you. My phone was there. So then we're running, we get to mile three and Monnie had mentioned something about make sure you like take a gel sooner. I dunno. He said something and I reach in my pocket is empty, there's no gels and there's no phone. And this is like mile three. So I turn around [00:32:00] for a split second and I'm like, even if it dropped it, I can't do anything.

Like it's trampled, it's lost. I have no idea. So Monty runs with his phone too and I said, Hey. I think I dropped my phone. Can we quick call my husband? This is as we're running. Can we call my husband? Husband has you running

Chris Detzel: the marathon?

Maddie Stier: Yeah. Oh my god. So we called Monty, called my husband 'cause he had his phone and Bluetooth connected and told my husband, Hey, Maddie lost her phone.

And my husband said, yeah, we got it taken care of. Basically I think I, it had fallen out somewhere. Because we started at 10 0 6 is when my Strava started, or my GPS. The first call out of my phone is at 10 11. So it had to have happened sometime, right in the first mile. Someone picked it up. There's a lock on my phone.

So at first I was like, how did they call someone? I think they used Siri and they just said, Hey Siri, call dad or call mom. My mom's in my phone is something else. My dad's in my phone is dad. They called my dad who's in Cleveland. By the way, my dad somehow answered, my dad doesn't answer all the time. [00:33:00] My dad then called my brother.

They were able to track it down. Someone turned it into the tent phone, totally fine, not scratch nothing. But I had also lost my gels. So now we're starting race. I don't have gels. Thankfully Dustin gave me some gels and then they were passing out Morton's on the course. But it was a good distraction.

Chris Detzel: I don't even know what to say about that because

Maddie Stier: isn't that

Chris Detzel: crazy that, it all worked out, and yeah, you not having gels 'cause that would scare me, but.

I would think they would have something on the course that might be able to help, I

Maddie Stier: run with Morton, so I knew they were gonna have Morton, but I know, I don't wanna count on that. So thankfully Dustin, who was just there to have a good time, and he was taking videos and pictures the whole time, he was like, yeah, take a gel.

Take all my gels. I don't care.

Chris Detzel: And he was casually running, under three hour two. That's, I

Maddie Stier: feel like yeah he was just there to have a good time.

Chris Detzel: Okay. Y'all do know that for the most part, running under three hours is not really normal. It's fast it's generally you don't go and just, I'm just gonna casually just jog a three hour marathon.

[00:34:00] Just, that's why you're on, because y'all have done something super special. And I know Rebecca, you didn't hit the three hours, but you're very close and you've done it in the past. You still ran very well. Julie, we have to get to you about this experience.

Julie Rembold: Yes. Boston. Yes.

Afterwards I was like. Everybody should come experience Boston. And maybe this time it was just that much more electric. Because I, those are my two favorite races. 2019, Boston as in 25, Boston. And yeah, I'll definitely be back, but I left feeling like this is just an experience. I feel like no matter if you're a runner or a spectator, I don't know if it's the same experience as a spectator, but I gotta imagine the energy is just as amazing.

But yeah, I got to see Maddie walking to the start. That was super exciting. And just to get, to run into, someone, on the way to the start. And then, yeah, I didn't have anything too crazy like losing my phone or gels. That's. Crazy. But no, it was just incredible. I don't think anybody's gonna

Chris Detzel: top that story, Julie, so

Julie Rembold: I know, don't

Chris Detzel: worry.

Julie Rembold: But I, it was just incredible. I would probably say one of the best things I did this time is, after dropping my [00:35:00] miles and then also having those off weeks, the 50 mile weeks from just, I don't know, so I don't, I guess I haven't mentioned yet. I have five children, four teenagers, and an 11-year-old.

So that's fun. And so it is super fun. I love it. And so we just had some different things pop up and then that, and then the flu added in there. So I was the weekend leading up thinking okay, it wasn't necessarily a, a killer training cycle. And I thought, I think I'm just gonna really use this marathon to.

Do the best I've ever done on nutrition. I was like, and the way I viewed it was, I am going to just blow nutrition outta the park and see what happens, because I really didn't have anything to lose at that point. And I think I've always cut it a little bit short because I feel like every time you take a gel, you're losing a few seconds.

And, I'm trying to optimize every second. And so I didn't really ever have that experience of, oh, but you gain a lot of seconds at the end. And so this time I was like, all right, I'm gonna eat a lot. I'm gonna take in a whole bunch before, I'm [00:36:00] gonna take a gel before I start for the first time.

And I'm gonna take a lot of gels on the course. And I think that just really made this one just really awesome. So it was definitely the most I've ever taken in nutrition. And so I started the race and my husband had a whole plan. He had a very meticulous plan to try to catch me at three stops.

He like had the, he had the train line. Awesome. The bus line. He had it all mapped out on paper. He had my possible different variety of paces. Since I wasn't that dialed in for the race, we weren't quite sure how fast I was gonna run. So we had all these different possibilities.

Chris Detzel: I would never do that, by the way.

That's, I'll just wait at the end.

Julie Rembold: He's an engineer, so he very much engineered the master possible plan of, I love it. I

Chris Detzel: love it. And I would like to follow him next time. If he doesn't mind me hanging out anyways, go.

Julie Rembold: No, absolutely. He'd be all in for someone. So he took the train and he was gonna catch me at Framingham, but I saw the Framingham sign and I thought he said at the 10 K ish, but I saw the sign at five miles.

So I was like, wait so I moved over to the left 'cause I knew he said he was gonna be on the [00:37:00] north side and so I'm running and so for a little over a mile, I'm just like scanning the crowd as I'm running. Like he did all this work. I don't want him to miss me. And so I'm like scanning the crowd. And then finally I see the train station up at head and I was like, ah that's where it is.

And so I saw him like partway up a pole, like with his camera all out. So that was super fun.

Chris Detzel: That's

Julie Rembold: awesome point. And then of course Wellesley was just amazing. And then caught a, and then he caught me again, I think about the halfway. So that was fun. And then and then he was trying to catch me at the ballpark Fenway, but I think he was calculating and he said the train was really slow this time.

He said the spectators were so out of control. That they were not letting people, like they, the train would stop and they wouldn't let a single person on. Because nobody was getting off and it was already so packed. And so he said, compared to 2019, the trains were just, there were so many spectators that so yeah, so he had to skip that and go straight to the finish.

So we joked that [00:38:00] I ran too fast for the train. But yeah, so it was just, that was all fun. Just, catching him, seeing people, the spectators were incredible. It really is, I think just the best race. I'm sold. Boston is definitely the best race to run.

Chris Detzel: That's awesome.

Julie Rembold: I guess the only little catch I had was I was coming in like mile 24 and, I came over heartbreak and I was still feeling good.

So I was like, all right, I got this. And the other thing, with gels, and then I decided I was gonna hit every water stop. So I was like, I'm taking, I think I took, besides the start, I took four and a half gels. So I'm like, I'm not gonna miss any of my gels. And I'm gonna hit all the water stops and so I'm hitting all the water stops and then I get to like mile 24 and I'm feeling really good and I look down and I'm running like six 12 pace.

I'm like, man, I might even be able to run 2 55, which I wasn't really planning. I was looking for just sub three and I'm thinking, this is great. And then I see the next water stop and I'm like, I should skip it. I'm feeling so good. I should just keep cruising. Six 12 I could, I [00:39:00] can do this

Chris Detzel: maybe,

Julie Rembold: but I'm like, no.

Chris Detzel: On a Thursday, all

Julie Rembold: the gels, all the water. This has worked out for me so far. Don't change your plan. It's working good. Yeah, and I've been dumping it on me and I was like, don't change the plan now. So I'm like, okay. So I move over to the mile 24 water stop, and I know it's gonna slow me down a little bit, but it's fine.

And I come over and then I find a place to step in to grab the water. And right when I step in and grabbed the water, three runners right in front of me grabbed their water and came to a dead stop.

Chris Detzel: No.

Julie Rembold: So I dead stopped. So I didn't plow them over and then jumped over and I lost my momentum with that.

I still, I still got, but I never got back to six 12 again. And I was like, I shoulda, I sh I knew I should have skipped that one and just kept going. But it was fine. I skipped the next one. I did skip the next one. I was like, no more water stops after that.

Chris Detzel: See, you had a great, that was a great story.

Julie Rembold: So I did have a story after all.

Chris Detzel: Yeah, of course. Of course. Everybody does.

Julie Rembold: And then I got to run right past my Airbnb. That's even better. I, I turned right on [00:40:00] Hereford. I'm like, there's my place. All right. We're almost there. So you

Chris Detzel: didn't stop for coffee, so

Julie Rembold: no. I was like, I think I can finish at this point.

Chris Detzel: Liz, we didn't ask you already right?

Julie Rembold: About Boston?

Chris Detzel: But just your experience like,

Liz Northern: Yes, so I actually, I saw Maddie at the start. We were in the village together and I think I saw Rebecca for a second. I didn't even know who you were, but I think I saw you two and I, yeah, I got, what was really crazy was that we were walking to the start and there's this man next to me, and this is the joke with Boston, that there's all these people in bathrobes.

Have y'all seen that? There's a bunch of people in Bathrobes and so there's this man next to me in his bathrobe and I'm looking at him and I'm like, you look familiar. And sure enough, I was his pacer at Cowtown in 20, no way. 24. So last year I paced the three 10 group at Cal [00:41:00] Town and he ran the whole thing.

I ran the whole thing with him and I was like, you're Chris. And he's I'm Chris. And I was like, I'm, he's you're Liz. I'm like, I'm Liz. And so we had this whole, we walked the whole way to the start together. It was very fun to have that, that little small world runner's world, super small

Chris Detzel: world that you'd run into somebody like that's crazy.

Liz Northern: In his bathrobe. And I'm like, I should do this next time. I am like in the long, long wait with everything. Just do a bathrobe. Maddie and I both brought our cowtown jackets to throw off. So we thought ahead of,

Maddie Stier: yeah. We didn't even coordin. Me and Liz didn't even coordinate where we were gonna be in the village.

And I saw her and Caitlyn ke I saw them right away. And even Julie, me and Julie saw each other right as we're walking to the start, right next to each other. It's like crazy how you just run into everyone.

Chris Detzel: Pretty awesome.

Liz Northern: Kate and I we coordinated, we planned the whole morning together and there was another gal from Flower Mound, Rena, I think y'all have met Rena a few times.

Yeah. Oh, I didn't see her. [00:42:00] We met each through the morning too. And then it was crazy by the way, because

Maddie Stier: Caitlin was wearing her, she was wearing a Boston, like the new Boston shirt. I was like, this is your throwaway shirt. She said, oh, it was someone else's. They didn't want it anymore.

Liz Northern: Yes. And then yes, I'll tell you that story at Whole Net off offline.

Yes, it was. It

Chris Detzel: was, dang it.

Liz Northern: The whole, there was exactly what everybody was saying. There was no time where there was not a spectator on the side of the street, maybe for a second, but even that there, there's nothing compared to it. And yeah, I had the time of my life. This is great. And this is coming from somebody who has done, I've done so many races now.

This is incredible. I'm probably not gonna go to Boston again anytime soon just with where my family as is right now. But I'm so glad we did it. And now my son, my 7-year-old wants to go to school on the train. He's like, when can we take the train to [00:43:00] school? I'm like that's great. Fort Worth doesn't have a train.

And I'm like, if it was my decision, we'd give up our cars and just have trains. It would be great. He loved it. Everybody loved it. We even like packed. An Easter egg hunt. We had an Easter egg hunt at the hotel and there were all these international runners there for Boston and they participated in our Easter egg hunt with us and at the hotel.

It was fantastic. It was so much fun. And I think that's just part of the beauty of these, the the big six races, big seven now, but it's it's cool with everybody coming into it. Yes, I am. Had I had the time of my life, everything was great.

Chris Detzel: That's great. And I think, Liz, are you the only one anybody else bring their kids?

I know Jill doesn't have kids. Not,

Maddie Stier: I brought the twins.

Chris Detzel: Okay. Only one.

Maddie Stier: No kids over here.

Chris Detzel: Not yet.

Liz Northern: Yeah, and I brought my parents, my almost 70-year-old parents too. So we brought, the whole family came and we were [00:44:00] all at the, we were at a hotel at Coolidge Corner, right by a Trader Joe's on the course route.

I planned

Chris Detzel: Yeah, I know exactly where you were, basically.

Liz Northern: And so they had to, I gave them directions. I'm like, there's no time constraints. But there's somewhat a time constraint. You need to cross the road bef 11 ish and then get across the straight so that you can get on the train. And that was my only thing.

And then I saw them and it was great, and they got to see everybody, all the elite runners, all the front runners came through and they loved it. And it was great because they, my young, my older two don't remember a lot of the big races that I've been in, so they're gonna remember this one, which is really cool.

Like this is really cool for

Chris Detzel: them. And it's really cool that you get to bring 'em, because I always see bringing extra people would be very difficult, let's just say somebody that could take care of themselves, but bringing an entire family, the logistics and everything else.

So kudos to you [00:45:00] for doing that. Maddie. It sounds like you did that, but I know you're staying with your brother or whatever, but Yeah. Probably helps.

Maddie Stier: Yeah, true. That was. My twins did not wanna sleep. They don't sleep well. Needless to say, my next marathon, I'm going by myself.

Liz Northern: We were, it's a lot easier.

Maddie Stier: Yeah. I texted Liz. I was like, I don't think I've slept.

Liz Northern: It's I have ordered $80 for McDonald's, don't worry.

Maddie Stier: And my kids were sick, so that kind of sucked. And that thankfully it, I didn't get sick until after, but two nights before I'm holding my son and he's just coughing in my face and I'm like, yep, okay.

This is happening. Happy motherhood.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. That's what happened. Julie, you were gonna say something? Sorry. I

Julie Rembold: was gonna say, I would've loved to bring them. I think that would be an incredible experience. I'm hoping at some point I can, it just as I think it's mentioned before, Boston is so expensive.

And I do like to stay down there close by, so bringing five children with flights and all of that would've been a lot. But my oldest is a freshman at Texas a and m At first. At first she was sad I was gonna be [00:46:00] gone Easter weekend when she came home. But then she got so excited, she planned. All the Easter egg hunts and they planned all these meals and the five of them had a really fun time back at home.

And my parents were here as well, so they had a lot of fun, but it would've been great to bring them. Hopefully I can in the future.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. It's a weird time that it falls on Easter I know it doesn't every single year, so that's a positive, I think, so another Boston who's thinking about doing that next year?

Jill. Julie. That's it. Maybe Jill. Maybe Rebecca. Love to. Okay. No, Maddie, huh?

Maddie Stier: Yeah, I'm with Liz. It's it's such a cool race, but logistically it is. It's tough. To be honest, I don't love the, I don't think anyone really loves the 10 o'clock start, but I really don't like that. Oh, you like it, Julie.

Okay. Love the 10 o'clock start. Yeah. Nuts. All

Julie Rembold: right. Yeah, I'm not. I know I need to gear up for those. 5:00 AM runs again. It's almost summer, it's almost here but I'm not a super love the four and 5:00 AM so I love that the 10:00 AM gives me that time to not [00:47:00] have to get up super early.

Normally I get up and I'm I feel like I've always been cramming, cramming the food, cramming the str, cramming all the stuff so I can shorten that window from when I wake up and when race starts. So Boston just gives me the opportunity to actually, I think, have enough time to do all of that.

So I like the 10:00 AM start.

Maddie Stier: Yeah, no, that, that makes sense. Another DFW running friend of mine, Madeline Rouse, who you have to have on Chris, 'cause she's so interesting because loves, she has four kids. She loves later runs, she loves middle of the day runs. And I always tell her she's crazy. I actually 5, 5, 8, 5 runs

Liz Northern: a girl related through her husband.

He's like my God brother. Yeah. Didn't you guys each other from another life, which is crazy. Grew up next door to each other. Crazy. Is that great, Liz? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's crazy.

Chris Detzel: I just feel like I'm sitting here to listening because I don't, y'all know each other and I love this. It's great. So a couple of you are doing Boston, Rebecca's not sure.

So what's next for all of you, like throughout the year to I don't wanna say get ready to get bossed on me. I heard [00:48:00] Liz say she's done running basically for a while. What's going on? That's what you said at the first,

Liz Northern: I'm gonna sign up for High Rock in Dallas. Anybody wanna do that with me? I have a partner, yes.

My neighbor and I, no, no upper

Maddie Stier: body strength. I don't need a partner, Liz, but I want, I'm trying to convince my sister to come do it. I wanna do either, I'm either gonna do it with her or my husband. I don't know. I have to figure out where I would have a better chance doing well rocks in

Liz Northern: November we have to run eight K, right?

I think it's an eight K that you have to run. You talk

Chris Detzel: about Liz, what High rocks is.

Liz Northern: I don't know what it is. I am, I literally being coercive

Chris Detzel: knows then.

Maddie Stier: So High Rocks is, it's like the new, honestly, it's the new, like CrossFit, basically. People still do CrossFit, don't get me wrong, but High Rocks. They do it in these convention centers, essentially, to be honest I'm gonna butcher the workouts, but a lot of 'em, there's like burpee broad jumps or they're are, I think maybe farmer care might be one.

It's more like body weight rowing.

Liz Northern: Yeah. And yeah, it's [00:49:00] more geared towards, it's geared towards runners, I think.

Chris Detzel: I don't know about that really, but

Maddie Stier: I think it's like for hybrid athletes, people who do both.

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Maddie Stier: So it's

Chris Detzel: more geared to triathletes, right? Not really either, but no.

Okay.

Jill Wolf: It's a mix of you run a one K and then you do a station. You run a one k, you keep just going back and forth. It's in different way. It's CrossFit, but there is a lot more running. And that's actually what gets most of the people who are got the upper body str it. Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Almost like an orange theory in a way.

Chris, sorry buddy. Guess not. She's a hard kind of CrossFit person.

Maddie Stier: No. I'm not a, I'm not.

Chris Detzel: You are. Your husband is.

Maddie Stier: My husband does CrossFit and I have my little setup in the garage, but yeah, no, high rocks is cool.

Liz Northern: If anybody wants to get into longer distance stuff, you can reach out to me.

'cause it's actually a very nice break from the heavy wor like the repeats and everything

Chris Detzel: hardcore.

Liz Northern: So yes. I've enjoyed the longer stuff. So [00:50:00] we can reach out if you need any of that. Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Funny you say that, Liz, because a marathon is long distance but I hear what you're saying.

You're talking about 50 miler, a hundred milers, a hundred Ks, things like that, that it's not so hard. Believe it or not, it's, I've done 50 Ks and things like that, and my wife's done the a hundred milers, but I would never do a hundred miler, by the way. But it's not as hardcore. You're not trying to, go for speed this time, so it is different. I agree. All right, so what else, Rebecca, what are you gonna be doing in the next, you're a new mom and everything else, you're trying to figure it out. You know what are you thinking? Injured,

Rebecca Roush: I'm sure. Yeah. I'm trying not to get injured, so not a hundred percent sure yet thinking maybe Indy or CIM or Houston, like fully decided if, like those are on my radar.

Chris Detzel: Anything shorter, like half marathons to you know,

Rebecca Roush: that's a great, I feel like normally I'll sign up for a marathon and be like, just throw in a half in there. Like last minute. I feel like it's, remember like last minute planning? Yeah. I feel like my training, I don't know I know this one was kinda like an odd one, but if people talked about like high mileage, I'm not, I feel like in college I try to do [00:51:00] the high mileage and it just like.

Broke me. Every time it would get up. I was like, just constantly injured. So I don't know, for me, like lower mileage of like only run four, even if I'm like, seriously training like is four days a week. And then I try to with my like torn a C on my knee, like I don't know what it is. If I don't do strength, it's like knee starts hurting, like things aren't functioning properly.

So I feel like the strength is like huge for me. Like at least two days a week and then try to get in more cross training, biking and that kind of thing. But this time around, is a shorter block, but I think it's like helpful for me too. I don't know, I don't, the high, like super high mileage just doesn't work for me.

Try it and it's just not my thing. But, yeah. We'll see. I love

Chris Detzel: that though. Is that you're learning? 'cause a lot of times runners aren't really good at strength training or core stuff. They just run, I've been a big proponent of that in the past and I try to do more core stuff and, not as hardcore as Maddie over there, but I.

Same, but I think that's good. Like your two days a week strength and things like that. Julie?

Julie Rembold: Yes. So I, I'm planning on the marathon project next. Okay. Yeah. So I don't know if you're, they brought that [00:52:00] back. Yeah. So they did the marathon project in 2020 and when races were shut down and at that time it was for professional runners so they could have a race and they're bringing it back this year, but they're gonna have amateur race on Saturday and then the professional race on Sunday.

But at least when they brought it out, the qualification for the amateur race was faster than Boston qualification. But I'm not sure where it ended up in the end. 'cause they were trying to fill the slots, but it's gonna be I think it's a thousand runners, so 500. Men and 500 women and yeah. So it's really to get some fast times.

I think everybody's getting bottle service and so that should be really fun. Yeah. And it I signed up for it, not really knowing how Boston was gonna go, but I think it's actually gonna end up being perfect timing. 'cause Boston kind of gave me that green light I've been looking for a few years to turn it back on again.

Yeah, so this summer I'm gonna focus on shorter stuff, just jump into some five Ks and looking forward to hopefully seeing what I can do in December.

Chris Detzel: I'm doing this 5K and I [00:53:00] always promote it because I love it. It's called Mambo Miles and Mina sponsors it. So it's just this 5K it literally has 3000 people in it.

Wow. Right there downtown Dallas. At the that park, Clyde Warren Park.

Jill Wolf: It's already

Julie Rembold: sold out. You can't say sold out. When is it? I know

Chris Detzel: it's already sold out. Sorry. You can get on wait list.

Julie Rembold: When is it?

Chris Detzel: June, I think late June, mid late June. And it's just a big party basically afterwards, drinking a little bit and stuff if you're into that.

Yeah, I don't do a lot of drinking 'cause I don't like to drink early in the mornings, but it's still just a big fun party, food, stuff like that. I feel like Eric Lindbergh and Sharon, they put these races on and they're always just five Ks and they're just a party every time.

Julie Rembold: Sounds fun. I'm gonna have to check out. Do they have a website with all their races?

Chris Detzel: Yeah, just just go to Eric Lin Lindbergh or Sharon Lindbergh. They're a marketing company and, but they host these 5K races all over. They do Dallas and Fort Worth, I think, but they even go outside of, they go to Houston and other places.[00:54:00]

Jill Wolf: The company's called on your left marketing, if I remember correctly. Yeah,

Chris Detzel: you're right, Jill. Yeah, I forget their, yeah. Anyways. Great.

Jill Wolf: I'm working for some

Chris Detzel: so people, but they're hardcore. It's crazy fun. Okay. Maddie, do you remember the question?

Maddie Stier: I do. I was thinking

Chris Detzel: about what it was.

Maddie Stier: Yeah. What?

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Yeah, I signed up for CIM, so after Boston I was like, I don't know if I wanna do another one of these for a while. But

Liz Northern: Have you done CM before?

Maddie Stier: Never done CIM. Okay.

Liz Northern: Why? I'll text you. Okay.

Chris Detzel: Not say it out loud. You can't just text her everything.

Liz Northern: It is an earlier morning than Boston to get to the best.

But it is a fantastic race. It is. It's fantastic. But there's a lot of tactics that go into how you race it.

Maddie Stier: Okay. Yeah. You'll have to tell me all the tips. No, I'm excited. There's a huge group of people going. Becca, sign up.

Liz Northern: Yes, Rebecca, you should sign up. Yes, so I'm actually officially drop post, like I've run it twice and I've run it very well and not very well.

And the second time [00:55:00] that I did run it well, I had a much better time and I was not very, I didn't lose as many toenails and didn't tear my quad or anything like that. So like you just need to train for the hills. It's a great race. Great race.

Maddie Stier: Yes.

Chris Detzel: I know a lot of people that love it, that have done well and there's some people that haven't.

So

Maddie Stier: I'm excited. This will be the first race I feel like that I've had honestly before my kids where I can't use like postpartum or any of that as an excuse. So I really wanna get, I mean I felt like I got back into it for Boston, but I am gonna say it now. I wanna like actually try to go for a PR for once and train for a PR and not just go in for it willy-nilly.

So I have the summer to just focus on not running or whatever, high rock type stuff. If I actually wanna do that and then come this fall, I really do wanna train hard.

Chris Detzel: What was your pr? You just kept me curious. I forgot.

Maddie Stier: 2, 2 50 and some change. Okay. At the Woodlands in 2021. So that was pre-kids.

So nuts. I would love to, I would love to go sub two 50. So we'll see

Chris Detzel: Sub two 50. I love it Jill.

Julie Rembold: So Maddie, we'll have to meet up and do some training 'cause our [00:56:00] races are about the same time and I'm also going for PR and my PR is also two 50, so we'll have to, there we go?

Maddie Stier: Yes.

Julie Rembold: Perfect. Pair up. And we live by each other, so that

Maddie Stier: works.

And we live

Julie Rembold: by each other.

Chris Detzel: That's always fun and that's always good. Just right there Jill.

Jill Wolf: Yeah, so I am going back to Chicago. So this will be the first time going back since 26, 20 18. And Rebecca, there is a huge group going to Indy by the way. I'm sure you know that there's a huge group going to Indy.

So I'm, depends on what time of year you wanna race, but now I got Chicago is gonna be the marathon. I think I'm gonna do a trifecta of halves Dallas Houston, out town in the winter, and then get ready for Boston for 2026. As I think the plan F and I have laid out. So let's see what the next few, the brings by.

Chris Detzel: So I was talking to Fz back in Boston, and he was telling me like, he trains these people, folks like Jill for example, and he goes, look, I never tell anybody to run more than 40 miles a week. He goes, I don't ever, he goes, I don't want people to run [00:57:00] more than 40 miles a week. He goes, if they do, then it's on them.

They do it, they run the extra miles on their own. I just wanted to get that cleared up because I was telling him, even for myself I'm at max, like a 40 mile an hour or 40 miles a week kind of person. I don't, I'm not, my body just, and I've been doing this for years. I just can't do it.

Like I'll get injured and all these things. And so I, I didn't quit running marathons and just started running halves and things like that. Which is fine because,

Jill Wolf: and be careful with him because he might, yes, he might only give us like 40 during the training block, but he hides a lot of his miles too.

So hides whether he says he gives, oh yes, he hides them. He hides the Strava.

Chris Detzel: Really? How do you do that?

Liz Northern: You can hide your run. You can if you're, you can totally hide whatever you wanna hide on Strava.

Jill Wolf: Yes. He's known to, he'll hide a couple, so no way. Don't always take his total mileage for as truth.

Chris Detzel: Okay. All right.

Jill Wolf: I don't

Chris Detzel: really

Jill Wolf: sorry v's calling you out on it.

Chris Detzel: I don't really look at people's Strava. I'm just not addicted to Strava. I look at it every now and I'm like, [00:58:00] oh, I haven't looked at this in months, so I'm on it. I just don't, some people are addicted to it I can see why.

Any tips or tricks, what let's stick it to Boston. There. Thoughts around that. As you would give to other runners to say, look, do this, don't do this. That kind of stuff. And I'm just gonna throw it out there for whoever wants to answer.

Rebecca Roush: I'll say something. If you're breastfeeding.

So I was breastfeeding, so that was a whole decision too of I didn't wanna stop breastfeeding, leave my baby. They had an incredible you had to pump before the race, whole thing. You could bring your pump. It had this whole tent set up. It was super great. Me and two others from Dallas, Megan Brown and Lizzie Brock.

Like we all did it together and it was super great, like super awesome experience. So I think it was super encouraging to anyone that's feels like you have to give it up with like training for race. So that's what I feel like part of my decision too and like with it being super challenging was like, oh I don't wanna stop breastfeeding.

And I think Melanie had heard her beyond too and it's, it is quite a challenge, even just training and like planning around it. And so I think it was super encouraging to have a race so supportive of you can still do this. And they make it like logistically honestly not that [00:59:00] bad. So that was, I'd say, for doing it, just the tips of like nutrition too and you're burning like 600 more calories in a day.

So it's like a lot on your body. Like even energy wise it feels so even learning to train like with that I feel has been like such a challenge. But tips for Boston. I mean if you're doing it, they're super like accommodating and say, taking all the water. I feel like the sun at the end, I was like in the med tent for a minute, just like Dehydrations even try to take every water stop and I'm like, man, I could even taken in like even more of just I dunno. It's just like a different ball game with that. But it's been a great learning experience. Highly encourage anyone else to do it.

'cause it is a challenge.

Chris Detzel: Does anybody I love that. And quick story real quick is, has anybody heard of Liza Howard? Anybody know who she is? So she was this ultra, or I don't know. She's older now, she's 50 I think. And she's, she was my wife's coach for a while, but an ultra elite runner.

And so she had run like the lead vs. And I don't know if y'all heard of those, the a hundred milers and wind and stuff like that. But one year she was breastfeeding, right? And so she had to stop in the middle of the race to pump her to [01:00:00] pump. And she stopped and did, and then she still won it.

It was like, it was pretty crazy. She still won. Look, it's a little different, right? It's not a marathon. So I thought that was interesting. So thank you Rebecca. Anything else? I feel like Liz is getting a little sleepy over there no,

Liz Northern: I'm good. I'm good. Okay. I'm still here. No, and thank you for sharing that.

Rebecca. Yes I pumped all through CIM I've pumped through a number of the Texas independence relays that we've done in Tex with, I've sat with fas and I think ki as, I don't know, they've probably seen more than they would've liked to see if me, but like that. Pumping is just part of life. Love it.

It's part of being and sustaining humanity. And so it's crazy that it's taken this long to just make it happen and I'm so glad that it's, you were able to have that for your child and for your family. I'm so proud of you. That's great. [01:01:00] That's so cool. Kudos to you. And just to very sharply turn back to Boston.

My only, this is like a, such a stark turn. My only tidbit is to book your hotel super early.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Yeah.

Liz Northern: That's the only other thing. Like thing once you're confirmed that you're in the race book your hotel like literally that same day. That's my only other tidbit of wisdom, but yes.

Women's bodily things like it is this abhorrent that has taken this long to get this way.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. We, we always book right when we get back. I don't, but my wife does. And so we're already booked to go for next year. Any other tips? I feel like there's gotta be a few more. There's three of you.

Maddie Stier: Yeah. My tip is, I love how many water shops there are at Boston. I took, with it being, it wasn't necessarily warm, but there was all the sun coverage, so I took water every single water stop, even if it was just a sip and I took two cups. I took one to drink and then one I [01:02:00] poured over my head even when I wasn't even that hot yet, just to keep me cool.

Chris Detzel: I heard you really couldn't do that this year in London, but that's another topic. They were telling you couldn't, they were telling people to not drink so much.

Maddie Stier: My sister just ran the Maui Marathon and they made you use a reusable cup. They gave you a cup and they would fill it up with a pitcher.

Yeah.

Chris Detzel: It's interesting. Yeah, it sounds like a trail race. You have to carry like a reusable cup and then you can just stop at the eight stations, they have food and stuff like that. Trail runs. But anyway, sorry Julie, we'll get to Jill last again.

Julie Rembold: Yeah, I was just gonna say I mean I know Boston has so many fun.

I mean there's just constant, we've already talked about this, but there's all the lines for everything. There's a million different live podcasts, all the things that you could do. But if you wanna run your best, you do have to balance that. And I would say that's my biggest tip. I think it's so easy to get sucked into all the fun and then show up on race morning exhausted.

And so that would be my only tip. And I think if any big marathons, you [01:03:00] have to be more careful of that 'cause there's just so much going on.

Chris Detzel: I feel like Liz did the opposite, what she said. She just had all the fun and just partied throughout the entire marathon, so that's really awesome. Jill,

Jill Wolf: I'll piggyback off that a little bit too, 'cause I.

I go in early, I go in on Friday morning too. Go in and enjoy the race 'cause it is something that I know obviously we probably take for granted that it's a US based race. There's people from all over the country. Like we were literally sitting in the hotel lobby and we were just talking about the caramel marathon that got canceled that morning on Saturday.

Two people just walked up. They were like, wait, are you talking about Carmel random people? They were from Indiana. So it's just it's such a great group of like people from all over the world coming to Boston and go and enjoy it. This has been, my husband and I treated it as like our vacation every year.

'cause we got engaged there in 2022. Congratulations. So we really do love it. So thank you. So it's been our, it's our trip. We truly treat it that way and we go in early, we stay late so that we can go and enjoy the seaport and all the fun things post-race that you really [01:04:00] can't do before. So that's one of the, like typically just for traveling and going.

And then I would say for the race itself, do not underestimate those first 10 miles. 'cause they are steep, they are downhill. There are some rollers in there which kind of threw you through a loop, on a hot day it's a brutal trek back to Boston from Hopkinson. I think that's just be careful those first one.

You, you'll feel invincible until you're not.

Chris Detzel: That's right.

Julie Rembold: Yeah. I was gonna say and don't underestimate the last five either. I think the map makes it look like after you crest heartbreak, it's just downhill to the finish and the map's very deceiving in that there's

Jill Wolf: file with Sitco is terrible.

Julie Rembold: Yeah. There are rollers all the way to the end.

Liz Northern: Like literally those last five miles, you're like just on cloud nine with the cloud, with the crowds is incredible. It's incredible.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. I feel like Liz, you're still on cloud nine. That's awesome. Like I really think you just, I don't know that I've heard somebody so oh my God, I just ran under three hours and just [01:05:00] was laughing and enjoyed it.

And I think that's really great. And so all of your stories are really great and I really do appreciate, is there anything that I missed that you're like, Chris, you should have covered this, or. I wanted to talk about this or whatever. A quick thing. I don't know. I'm sure I missed a lot.

Not one. All I'll say is, and maybe y'all can come up with something, but again, it was one of the best times I've had in Boston, maybe because my wife got this Unicorn Club thing and I got to go to this from the Park Plaza Hotel. I get to go to this other hotel where all the elites were and they had this breakfast and then I went back to my hotel and came back and had lunch.

And then I got a chance to go to the finish line, had a nice little pass. And so for me that was like really cool. To do. And plus all the other things we did before going to, my wife likes to go to Tracksmith and look at shirts and things and gets, she's get the Boston thing, and so I just enjoyed the atmosphere. The finish line was amazing. The people just, getting to see some of you there and having something like this, like a podcast [01:06:00] that we have to have a chance to talk to fast. DFW women, that we get to spotlight, we get to talk about the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 of you, right?

There's supposed to be like six or seven, and I think, five showed up. So is it good? But to me it's a lot of fun. And really cool that. You all said yes to come to this podcast, to talk about it. So thank you.

Maddie Stier: The one thing I'll add to, you hear I knew it. Y all, we all run.

No I'm just gonna add to your sentiments there. We all run Boston and I think it's easy to get to take for granted who did we lose? Let's, that's okay. I think we left. But yeah, so the one thing with Boston, I was talking to my brother who lives there. I said, living in Boston, do you feel like the Boston Marathon is, you're not a runner at all, but do you feel like it's special?

And he's oh yeah, schools are shut down. Work is shut down. Everybody goes out and watches the Boston Marathon. Even talking to my friend Aaron Pearson said this, he said, Boston is so special. 'cause you go to a bar and you say, oh, I just ran the Boston Marathon, and the person next to you will be like.

Let me buy you a drink. Yeah. It's not if you're [01:07:00] in, not throw shade to any other marathons, but people get mad 'cause their roads are blocked or they can't make it through because of the marathon. People love the Boston Marathon and it's such a cool accomplishment. So I would just encourage anybody, if you have the opportunity to run it, it's definitely one as a runner that you should try to do at least once.

Thank you for sharing that. Maddie,

Julie Rembold: go

Chris Detzel: ahead. Yeah, ahead, Julie.

Julie Rembold: I was gonna say thank you for sharing that because I came home and I was trying to tell people. To capture the experience and I basically said what you said, but I didn't know that it was true. Like I was like, it feels like everyone at Boston, everyone there loves the marathon.

Like they all just come and they all love it. So I love that you have a local to really validate behind that because I think that is what makes it so special. I think you're right. I

Chris Detzel: think Boston Sports in general. It's just, they're the most passionate people I know. So it could be hockey, it could be football, it could be basketball, it could be baseball, running, the marathon obviously [01:08:00] all of 'em.

I don't know if any of you have ever been, so I used to work at a company that was based in Cambridge. And so I got to go to Boston quite a bit. And when there was hockey games on or whatever it was, it didn't matter, let's go to the bar and watch the games. I don't really in Dallas go to the bar to see any games.

So just if I watch a game, maybe it's here at the house, but it's just a different atmosphere And so that's what I love it. I love sports in general and I love how passionate they are about their sports. There's nobody else like it, like to me. So that's the other beauty.

Any other last words? For I. It's been really great. So thank you everyone for coming, and thank you everyone for tuning to another DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Stetl. Liz. Julie, Rebecca, Maddie, and Jill. Thank you so much for coming today.

Maddie Stier: Thanks, Chris. Thank you.

Julie Rembold: Thank you for having us.