Dustin Darakhshan: From First-Time Marathoner to 2:34 - Lessons on Coaching, Comebacks, and Consistency

DFW Running Talk: Dustin Darakhshan
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Chris Detzel: [00:00:00] Welcome to DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Zel, so let's get started.

All right. Welcome to another DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Detzel and today's special guest is Dustin Darakhshan. Dustin, did I say your last name right? You did, Chris. I'm pretty impressed. Yeah. I did ask you before, almost said it right the first time, but didn't, but I'm glad you're on, man.

Dustin Darakhshan: How are you? Yeah, thanks for having me.

A last name has been. Butchered many of times. So you did good and thank you for having me and love what you're doing for the DFW community. So really appreciate you having me.

Chris Detzel: Appreciate it. And I'm certainly open to feedback both positive and negative because I just want this to get really good and be.

Really good. And by the way, we're almost up a year in October, so you and I are doing this September now. This might come out in October, so you might actually hit that year mark. So [00:01:00] that's pretty exciting. Nice.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah. One year anniversary, baby. Let's go.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Yeah. So Justin, you and I met, it was weird because you sent me a message on my website directly and the message was something like, Hey.

You have these coaches in on your website. We would wanna be, we wanna be one of your coaches. So that's how I met you. I'll put it on there, but we'll talk about that in a minute. And I was like, I don't know who, so that's free

Dustin Darakhshan: marketing. Free marketing, let's get it out there.

Chris Detzel: No I was like, I, who is this guy?

Should I do this? Gotta, I didn't know who you were, right? But then over time I heard about who you were and I was like, yeah, okay, I'll put one. But you've been around the running community for some time and you've done some really cool things and you're a coach for running, and you also have a full-time job.

You have a family. So we're gonna get into all these things, but first and foremost, I wanna talk a little bit about you, your journey, how you got into running, and then let's just go from there.

Dustin Darakhshan: Sure. I would say I have really two phases of my running career [00:02:00] with a 20 year gap. In between that literally 20 years of.

Being on the couch or not really exercising or valuing, being healthy in life. So I'm gonna go back to high school or middle school was a competitive club, soccer player. My dad was a runner. Ran Boston a few times. So he had me out on the track. He was very consistent. Ran five miles a day every day, same route.

And I guess it wasn't until probably middle school where I went on the track and ran for the first time and was good at it. I think just naturally playing club soccer. And so that kind of progressed until ninth grade. I made the. Varsity cross country team. At, in Richardson where I still live now, ironic JJ Pierce and was good off the gate.

I think I was running 1630s. Okay. Got did the whole Foot Locker freshman race? I think at the time I was [00:03:00] the 17th fastest freshman, which. 1630 nowadays. Wouldn't even cut it close, but back in the day, that was respectable. And got a lot of letters, got a lot of letters from schools, continued through sophomore year, had another great year.

Probably got to low sixteens and then started playing basketball and pushed running to the side. So made the varsity basketball team, which was a cooler sport at the time. And running became secondary. I still ran throughout my senior year, but wasn't as fast. I actually got slower. In fact, obviously a Dallas household name, Logan Sherman.

I was a freshman when I was a senior at Pierce. Oh, wow.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Dustin Darakhshan: And I was like who's this freshman starting to exchange races with me here, but still a good friend of mine. And that was really the extent of that. Went to school, went to college, started just working, living the Dallas young [00:04:00] life, if you will.

Did you party too much,

Chris Detzel: Dustin? Was that, go ahead.

Dustin Darakhshan: Did you party too much or what? I went to Lubbock, guns up, so there's not much else to do in Lubbock, but go to school and drink beer. Yes I had my fun, I'll say and yeah, just didn't really value I would say. Just staying healthy, valued, like getting going in my career in other things, social life, et cetera.

Very fair to say.

Chris Detzel: Okay. Yeah. That's normal for college kids, right?

Dustin Darakhshan: Yes. And then so one of the things that was probably a turning point in my life. As I mentioned, my dad was my hero in life. He had passed away. In 2014 to, to cancer. And it was a very aggressive, found out 13 weeks later, pancreatic cancer.

And it was actually the year my wife and I were getting married in 2014. And one of the things that was always in the back of my head was I wanna run the marathon. [00:05:00] Because, at that point in my life I wasn't healthy. I wasn't running. I just and I still do this day, like just hear my dad knowing he's proud of some of the decisions I've made since getting healthy, and then leading to my second running phase.

Fast forward to 2020 February, my second child, my son was born and something inside me just struck. I was 235 pounds. I wasn't healthy. Everything was good in life, married, we had our daughter. Where do you weigh

Chris Detzel: now?

Dustin Darakhshan: Right now I'm about, depending on the day, 1 75, 180. Okay. In peak shape.

I was a few pounds less, but obviously lost a lot of pounds since. And at that point I literally went outside, tried to go run. I was like, I used to be a runner. Yeah. I couldn't make it up the street. Literally I couldn't run a mile February of 2020. Yep.

Chris Detzel: Yep.

Dustin Darakhshan: And so I, but I, was [00:06:00] talking to my wife Katie, and as many people did during COVID, we got a Peloton.

And so I naturally started getting going with the Peloton and then I started running and, obviously that was during COVID, but I ran my first marathon. November of 2020. I think the only marathon that was going on that year locally was the Fort Worth marathon. Yeah, so I had some ambition goals thinking I could, and at that time, during that year, I'd probably dropped 30, 40 pounds.

You're feeling good looking? Good. Feeling good. 3 0 5 was my magic number for Boston. That was my initial goal. Still big ended up running a three 11.

Chris Detzel: Oh, you're saying I was like 3 0 5 pounds. You're saying you ran a 3 0 5. Got it.

Dustin Darakhshan: That was the target number for Boston at, for my age group. So I was, thinking I could do it on my first run and so went out there, ran a three 11 and really like at that point I was as many people as [00:07:00] worth.

Go ahead

Chris Detzel: In worth. You ran the

Dustin Darakhshan: three 11. I was hooked. I think at that point, set aside the times, the Boston Marathon, I just became healthier, valued my health different lifestyle, just in general as many runners. I think it's helped me be a better husband, father, discipline at work, all the above.

And so I just fell in love with the process and still am to this day.

Chris Detzel: So really, the reality is you've only been running for five years, correct? Not really that long. So you run foot worth and then you were hooked, you actually hit a very good time for your first marathon.

Three 11 is pretty freaking awesome, and 3 0 5 is pretty aggressive, but you actually got close. So did that qualify you for Boston or no? It did. It did not.

Dustin Darakhshan: At that time it was tough 'cause it was during COVID and I was still keeping in, I was obvi, I was picking Logan's brain a lot sending him [00:08:00] messages about nutrition and training, like probably every week to the point where I was like, okay, like he obviously is a busy guy.

And finally I asked him like, Hey, should I get a coach? And so I was doing it on my own. And he referred me to coaches, one of his former college teammates, and then Chris Strait who's straight speed, who was formerly based here in Dallas, and now he is in the Houston area. And so I started training with him January of 21.

And so that's when I would say it just took off a little bit more and learn a little bit more about training what I was actually doing and not just. Following some sort of plan and not understanding some of the science behind endurance. And so then I at the time the only marathon I could sign up for was one in Omaha.

And so I raced Omaha and I which by the way has a great children's [00:09:00] museum. That's one of our family things. Marathon. We go on, we try to take the kids and explore a children's museum. Anyways. I ended up running a 3 0 5, like 10. So it was pretty good. Was just short of that goal? Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Okay. And was 3 0 5 was, that was gonna qualify you for possibility?

That was my

Dustin Darakhshan: qualifying time. I was 35 to 40. At that time I was 30.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Dustin Darakhshan: And I didn't really know about the buffers at all either, but I was close and I was trying to find another race. 'cause I was like I'm right there. I'm fit, I'm in shape. So I was talking to my coach Chris, and he told me about literally six weeks later, I was one of those crazy Boston chasers and I did the light at the end of the tunnel marathon in outside Seattle.

In Washington in June. So literally six weeks later after Omaha. And it ended up running a 2 57. And so that [00:10:00] got me into Boston. Yeah.

Chris Detzel: That's pretty awesome. Now, let's back up a little bit. Were you shedding the weight over this time? What did that look? I

Dustin Darakhshan: was I think really my most of my weight loss was that 2020 year really between February and that November race.

Of course. Literally it took, it didn't take, but just running and then discipline on diet. But I think steadily, at that point I was dropping weight. If you will, but it was mainly that first year of just getting into it and just being a little bit more intentional about diet and, less of the, less of, social life, et cetera, just focusing on health.

So probably about a six month period I dropped 40 or 50 pounds. That's

Chris Detzel: What happened to me and I'll just touch on a little bit, is when I was, I guess 37, I was getting going through divorce and I was about 30. Pounds overweight, and and my brother was like, [00:11:00] dude you're really big because you gotta do something.

And I was like, he goes, you should just come out and run with this or whatever. And instead, I started running at home and just and I was kinda like I couldn't even run a mile. I set some goals that at the end of the week, every week for the next three or four weeks. I wanna run a mile every day, run, walk a mile.

But on that fifth day, I just wanna jog the whole mile, yeah. And then AC accelerated all the way into, I ran marathon eventually and halves and things like that. And I lost 30 pounds ish, easily within six months, because although diets diet becomes important, it's always important, but guys can easily lose weight within five or six months if you just.

I did nothing before. And if I just start running, you can lose all that weight. But then there comes that, okay, if you wanna start losing weight, then if that's still a goal, then you really gotta watch diet, and then, so that's how that works. So it was very similar to your, in a way,

Dustin Darakhshan: Absolutely. [00:12:00] And I, I always joke like I, I run to be able to eat what I want and enjoy life, too, if you I don't try to get too caught up in that. Just, I think the best part about it was just the lifestyle change and just good habits, whether it's My wife and I joke a lot that for about a 10 year span before my running, I was the night owl, and now it's reversed.

She's up reading a book until 10 30. As soon as the kids are down, I'm out now.

Chris Detzel: Yeah, like

Dustin Darakhshan: 8 30, 9. I'm the same way man.

Chris Detzel: When you're like, Hey, let's do the podcast at seven. I was like, cool. Alright. But so awesome. Yeah. I think that, so my wife is a runner as well, so we have the same schedule from a, nighttime and stuff we both at in bed eight 30 or nine o'clock every night and stuff.

So that, and I think to me, partners are always a. It's good that we run together, or if we don't run together, we know that each [00:13:00] person has their own training cycle. Absolutely. And that we're just certainly okay with that, and so I think that it's always good to have, that support and a partner that's gonna help to kinda do that.

Can you talk a little bit about, how you have two kids, and your wife. Yes.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yes.

Chris Detzel: I dunno if she's a runner or what, but I'm sure there's, she's some, she does. Stuff there, okay. Yeah,

Dustin Darakhshan: no, you you set me up for for some points here with the wife, but it's true.

There would be no way that I could have accomplished or pursue the love of running and do it without her support. There's no way. Both of our kids being young, we both are working, both have busy jobs and it's been, it's chaotic, it's good chaos. As soon as I get home, 6 45 from a run, it's like scrambling 15, 30 minutes to shower, get ready, get the kids off to school.

We kind of joke, we just got a treadmill this [00:14:00] year and we are like, wow, this is so convenient. Even though, I've never been a big treadmill runner. Like she likes to run the treadmill and it's made. Life a little bit easier for her to run, but yeah she is, she's a runner and she likes to do some of the bootcamp stuff as well.

Chris Detzel: Yeah, I was a big fan until this year. I haven't done it, but it was like orange theory type of stuff. Yeah. So I would go two or three times a week, to that for, she, it is probably been seven years, eight years in a row. And then this year I'm like, I gotta focus in on running. 'cause I'll update actually my half marathon's coming up.

But, i'm not a marathon runner much anymore. Never really was. I did three or four of them, but but now it's just, for me, it's just half marathons or, we'll do these adventure type trips that are, yeah, pretty crazy sometimes. But yeah, that's pretty cool. So you, did you get three, two 57 you said?

Dustin Darakhshan: 2 57.

Chris Detzel: Alright. And that's in Omaha.

Dustin Darakhshan: That was in Washington, six weeks after Omaha

Chris Detzel: because [00:15:00] Oh, that's right. Okay. Because Omaha, you hit the

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah, you

Chris Detzel: didn't, you hit 3 0 5, but you didn't hit much. Yep. Okay. 20.

Dustin Darakhshan: It's pretty impressive. Yeah. Going into 22, I was hooked. I was crazy. I did actually Boston, Chicago, and New York all in 22, and which I look back and I'm like.

How did we do that? And why did I do that? But it was a fun, fun year, if you will. First Boston was incredible. My whole family went, my mom, my sister. It was a good experience, just dedicated to my father. And so I had everybody there. I wore my dad's Boston 2000 jacket, which I still do the day before every Boston Marathon.

And then. At that point I was still progressing. I was still getting faster. I think I did

Chris Detzel: two. Before you get into that though, Dustin, talk a little bit more about your dad and his Bostons, and then why that was so inspiring to you.

Dustin Darakhshan: For one, my dad moved to the country when he was 18, [00:16:00] $500 in his pocket, and then ironically, that's where the direction comes from.

My dad's from Iran. My mom was from Lexington, Kentucky. A little bit diversity there.

Chris Detzel: Does she have an accent? But,

Dustin Darakhshan: yep. Okay. He was he was just very influential in my life. He was my coach in soccer. He was always on the sidelines, just screaming, run, dusting, run with a thick Persian accent. You asked all my buddies today and they remember my dad coaching 'em and you wanna be able to provide your family what your father has given you. And I just know that, he didn't get to see me, he's watching me above doing what I'm doing now and I know he's proud and that makes me feel good.

Chris Detzel: Yeah, that's awesome to have somebody such that's such a good influence.

I think that we as parents gotta try to strive to be like your dad a little bit, and just. You hope your kids love you and look up to you and wanna hang out with you when they get older, and that kind of stuff. And so I've got a 14-year-old that, I always think that, or [00:17:00] 15 now.

He just turned 15. Nice. But so yeah, I certainly get that. And that's really cool. So you run that Boston and then what'd you run? Boston Was your Chicago,

Dustin Darakhshan: New York?

Chris Detzel: What was your. Remember time.

Dustin Darakhshan: Think Boston was 2, 2 55, which was a pr and then Chicago was a 2 46. Wow. And so I was progressing still.

And then New York wasn't a, it was more of a fun run. It happened to be hot. It's a harder course. I think I did 2 55,

Chris Detzel: 3 races, three majors. Dude, you're about to skip over all these three races. You're telling me, 2 57. Yeah. Now we ran these three marathons and then I was like, wait, okay. So I think people wanna hear those times, right?

You're pring and even in New York you hit a 2 55, which again. You could get hot there or, the course is a lot harder. That's just the

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah. I think in 22, it was the second hottest New York marathon. Oh, really? [00:18:00] In the history. I, and I told myself, I'm like, I never wanna do that one again.

I'd go back to Boston, Chicago, New York. But looking back now, I think I would go back it's hard to beat Chicago. It's where you're looking to go run a fast one. And coming off Chicago to New York I had some buddies run New York and I was like, I'm just gonna enjoy this one. So yeah.

Chris Detzel: How'd you think of nutrition when you first started versus these three that you were doing in, 2022? You started out in 2020, I'm sure you learned a lot. You got a coach. Yeah. I'm sure that progressed a little bit. What was that like?

Dustin Darakhshan: On the nutrition side, I think the good thing is I've never really had a sensitive stomach.

So I've always over fueled. I tend to over fuel. If you can handle it, I think you should. I've tried all sorts of gels, never really had issues. I probably am taking four, every four to six miles of gel. I think there's been a handful of times where I've cramped up, [00:19:00] but I'm I've fallen in line with, my combo now and has been the last two years.

Is the Martin gels. And then with some salt tabs and it tends to be the trick for me.

Chris Detzel: Did you, when you first ran that three 11, it sounds like you have you done a marathon worse in three 11 yet? Since then I have not. No. Geez. It's coming. It's coming.

Dustin Darakhshan: At some point it, it will happen.

Chris Detzel: Maybe

Dustin Darakhshan: not.

Chris Detzel: You could stop right now.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah,

Chris Detzel: true. Okay, so no problem. Like that three 11, when you look back. Did you hydrate and do all the right things? Pretty good? I

Dustin Darakhshan: think so. It's funny you ask because that's when I was like playing 21 questions with Logan about what gels to use and

Chris Detzel: how often you

Dustin Darakhshan: use it.

But I think I probably was only taking three over a marathon on my first one. And then as I started, researching and learning and, trial and error, I realized okay, I probably, if I can handle it, let's over fuel. I think that's a little bit to each their [00:20:00] own. If you can handle it in certain flavors, but you gotta do it.

You gotta,

Chris Detzel: the thing I think about is whenever you're running with all these miles and stuff, 2020 to 2022 is probably not the time where you can run with a community of people. I don't know if it's true. Yeah. But for the most part, it was a lot harder. I'm not saying that you couldn't get out there and do some of it.

Yeah. What was that like?

Dustin Darakhshan: No you're right. I think I know I was new to the community, so I didn't really know a lot of people. I was running solo most of the time. And then, okay, you fast forward. You've obviously had a lot of the sloths on the podcast. I think probably started running with the sloths towards the tail end of 22 into probably 23 actually, I think.

Is when I really started. And I did that just specifically because if you wanna get faster, you run with faster people. That's right. And so I met and I would run into [00:21:00] them and a lot of races, Jennifer Pope, Matt Campbell, Matt Steer, a lot of the folks you've had on the show di and just they would start inviting me to come out and, it's funny now, I was running with them all this morning.

Or a lot of them. It's I can't imagine doing some of these workouts solo now or just going out there running. And that's, that's the other thing I know it's been discussed on this podcast is just the running community like-minded individuals driven, successful, disciplined. When you surround yourself by these type of folks, like you're naturally gonna be better at all aspects of life.

And so that, that's probably outside of the individual benefits of just health, like just the community. That's why I love what you're doing here. The community is so powerful. And I'm the old, I'm the old guy of the loss. Like I started yeah. When I was 37, now I'm 42. Yeah. But it's just such a, it's such a powerful thing to have [00:22:00] a group of friends and then you just meet other running clubs, other groups, just so many great people that you might have never met in your life if it wasn't for running.

And so that's awesome, man. I think that's, go ahead.

Chris Detzel: Was there a specific person in the beginning that you latched onto and said, or was it just a group in general?

Dustin Darakhshan: Man it was a group, I think Eric Brittle, who was on the on, has been on the call. Like we would finish races like within seconds of each other, but like at the time we didn't know each other, so we were competing.

And so I was like. He was always just really nice. And then I think but collectively the group was awesome. Obviously, I think Captain Campbell, I like to call him captain. He's lead leading the squad and doing a lot of great things with medium running. He's always been somebody I've looked up to and and really what he's done.

So I think he's really stood out and but. There's so many. Aaron Pearson, probably [00:23:00] one of the most deceiving, talented runners of all of DFW. I think he ran a five minute mile on his last mile repeat this morning. And I think it's just the group. And I know one time we were emailing about, I think the most impor, the most impressive part is all the moms of the group too.

And just the, some of the runners that they do. And just a great group of people.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. I've met most of them. Maybe not all of them, but he even had a lot of discussions with them and they seem like most of 'em were very, all of them, I've had nothing but really great conversations and, but they are driven.

And I think that, something you bring up and I tell this a ton to folks, is if you wanna get faster, you need to run with people your speed or a little bit faster than you, and, is, Matt Campbell even said this, if I run a two 20 something. I can get others to run.

That's just what happens. Absolutely. People start, following you and start, for whatever reason it's a breakthrough. And so I think he's gonna do is it CIM or Yeah. And I think one of his [00:24:00] goals is trying to hit the two 20 something. Yeah. Mark, I feel

Dustin Darakhshan: confident he will.

Chris Detzel: He's looking good, man. Some five Ks and things. Yeah, but that's not a marathon. But I have no doubt. Yeah. The guy can do it, and so yeah, as long as he stays healthy, I think the opportunity's huge. Can't wait. And a lot of good people are gonna run CIM. Yeah. Are you doing

Dustin Darakhshan: c Im this year? I am. I won't be I don't think I'll be in the in that range by any means, but I'm I'm working to get back at, back at it.

So we'll see.

Chris Detzel: We'll talk about that in a minute. Talk a little bit about this year, because from my understanding, so I couldn't get you on this podcast because you're like let me get, I'm really slow right now.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah.

Chris Detzel: Talk about that because I think you're injured or something like that.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah. So I I, coming off 22, I think 23 I backed off the volume of marathons. I think I, I did. So my, my a race was St. George that October and [00:25:00] everything clicked. I got my miles up to, I put a long cycle in I was putting over a hundred miles a week. And that was my peak fitness.

And I got down to 2 34. Wow. And till this day, that's my pr Will I ever get there again? I don't know, but I'm not too caught. Maybe caught up into that now.

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Dustin Darakhshan: So now, and then 24, I got my half PR at the Woodlands. And then just after that it was a little bit of a lingering injury in my hip.

Didn't know what it was. I did Berlin didn't have the best race.

Chris Detzel: Hold on. What was your halftime? You said you pr say the time? One

Dustin Darakhshan: 16.

Chris Detzel: Wow, that's impressive.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah. Okay. And anyways, so I ended up having an inguinal hernia and so I had surgery this January and pretty, pretty simple process.

Yeah, just a few weeks off and get back at it. But obviously I think it was more not [00:26:00] just the post-surgery, just the aspect of not knowing what it was for probably about a six month period, leading up to most of the second half of last year, just. Trying to diagnose what it was, and so figuring that out and now I'm back and feeling better.

Got a piece of metal mesh in my kind of groin area here. And just grinding again.

Chris Detzel: You feel it at all or is it not?

Dustin Darakhshan: No, don't feel

Chris Detzel: anything.

Dustin Darakhshan: Don't feel it. Just, yeah. I don't beep when I go through a metal detector, so That's good.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. That's good. Yeah. So you're also a coach, so let's talk about that.

How'd you get into that?

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah, I think so. I have a neighborhood running group here, DCRC, canyon Creek Running Club. Just started as a Facebook group, kind of car. Started with a text thread and I became the running guy around the elementary school and neighborhood.

And naturally I would want to help people. I, my coach has, I wouldn't have accomplished what I've done without my coach. [00:27:00] I really believe in. Having a coach, whether you're a beginner or a, an expert. So I just was helping people probably the last two or three years, just on my own. And then my wife Katie was like, Hey, like you should do this, and then you should charge for it.

Yeah. And I'm not doing it for the money. I got enough responsibility and just time. But it's just a passion of giving back to. Sport and helping really change a lot of people's lives. I think my niche or expertise is like beginners and first time marathoners. There's no greater feeling now than seeing somebody accomplish something that they didn't know they could do.

And so I think I've helped probably just neighbors, half a dozen to a dozen folks cross that finish line for the first time. And that's a great feeling to, to be able to help them do that.

Chris Detzel: You seem to have a great personality for that, 'cause if you think about some runners, [00:28:00] and we don't have to call anybody out, their intense are really good or whatever you think they might not have the patience for, or, for somebody that is just starting out, and this is the, and yeah. I think that's a personality that you'd have to do that because even you're very experienced. You've been doing this for a long time, you're running two 30 marathons, scores, whatever, and then somebody comes out and wants to start training from scratch.

They don't have maybe the same work ethic because they don't know or understand the time and effort that it takes. Or they might get frustrated or maybe they skip a practice. You know what I mean? And yeah, I think you have to have a good, you have to have the right personality for those kind of.

Absolutely for the beginners in the beginning.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah, no it's been fun. And I, I was figuring out what I wanted to do with it. I got the RRC certification actually Matt told me about that. And then I was gonna, in the process of starting my own thing and then Chris, my coach, was like, why don't you just join straight speed?

Made it a little bit [00:29:00] easier. Doing a lot of the same philosophies that he is had with me. But as you said, I'm not coaching a lot of elite 2 30, 2 40 folks. I'm coaching a little bit more of the beginners and some people getting into it. And it's been great.

It's been fun. I really have enjoyed it so far.

Chris Detzel: That's good, man. Puts another perspective for me on that coaching page. I was like, huh, yeah, maybe I should put Dustin's name or, I don't know. Whatever. Yeah. What's coming up for you? What's the next step?

Dustin Darakhshan: I'm not, I think what's for me right now is in the phase of life in my running career is just, I'm thankful to be back at the grind. I'm thankful to just get back at it. Like I said, I don't know if. 2 34 mark will ever be there again, which I'm totally content with. I think at some point I'm not getting faster.

I might go longer. Yep. I have done, Cowtown 50 K Yep. Dallas, 50 KI, I got third at both of those in the past [00:30:00] planning on doing town 50 K next year. I think that's my best race. If you were to ask me, what's your best race? Is it half marathon, marathon? I'd probably tell you a road race that's a 50 k.

Really, I love longer distances, but I'm not a trail runner, so anything long that's on the road are my best races. That's probably, I would say at this point, what's in store for me is just enjoying the sport, enjoying the community to others, and just keep grinding. And just being thankful for it.

That's

Chris Detzel: awesome. How long were you off whenever you were injured? What was the

Dustin Darakhshan: I was off maybe six, maybe a month or two, but Okay. I think it was, I lost a lot of fitness just from the lingering injury and trying to figure out what it was and backing off and try like back off and then start running via pain back off.

So it was collectively, it was probably about six months of on and off. And then the surgery, including, so a [00:31:00] good six months, does set you back when I'm not, I'm not in the twenties, I'm not in my thirties. I'm 42, about to be 43. Like I'm an old guy, so it takes me a long, I gotta grind to get Yeah.

If I stop then

Chris Detzel: yeah, I do. Yeah. And I think that stay getting back at it is really difficult. You go through an injury and. Especially six months. It's happened to me one or two times and I just, sometimes I get discouraged, and it's not that I don't run, if I was hitting 40 to 50 miles, maybe I'm then only hitting 15 or 20, and I was like, oh, this sucks.

Like how do I kinda get in that mindset? So you just do it, you know what it takes and things like that. Get CIN coming, so that'd be fun to watch.

Dustin Darakhshan: Yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited.

Chris Detzel: Is there anything on, that I just didn't cover at all, that you're like, Chris, you should have really covered this, or I would love to talk about this.

Dustin Darakhshan: No I think we hit it. I think one thing Matt [00:32:00] Baron said and I loved is just like those pillars in life, and I think that's so valuable for so many people just knowing, faith, family, your work and running. Those are my four pillars. And just knowing, those values and, if I were to impact anybody, it's just don't get too caught up in the numbers.

I've been there, I think a lot of us have and just. Take a step back and look at how far you've come and really enjoy the process. It really is just about looking at where you were when you started. Everybody's got a story, and it's not just that number. It's just about getting out there and doing it, whether it's a five, five hour, six hour marathon, or 10 minute mile, whatever it is.

That's a beautiful thing that you can't ever take for granted.

Chris Detzel: I like that. And I, I do push people to talk about their times and sometimes it's a little uncomfortable. Yeah. But I think people wanna hear what kind of marathon runner you are and things like that.

Yeah. [00:33:00] At the same point, at the same time, you're right. Are you out there just trying to exercise do something and stay consistent at whatever it is. In this case, running, we're talking about running and that's what we do is we run on a consistent basis and times will come and go, it's just the reality, and I've talked about this in the past too, is. Your twenties are different than your thirties, different than your forties and different than your fifties, sixties, et cetera. Your times are gonna get slower at some point. Yeah. Yeah. It's the reality, and that's fine. Can you still go out there and jog five miles, 10 miles, whatever? Can you still do half a marathon? Whatever it is. Or, can you do some core stuff? I don't know. But consistency of exercising to me, has helped me in my life in a ton of different ways. And one of the ways I keep doing it is because of races, right?

Yeah. It pushes me, I wanna stay skinny. I wanna stay healthy. It push running helps me to eat better. It helps me to think better, it helps me to work harder. It just, it does all of those things [00:34:00] because, I could talk about it all day. And that's what I do, is I have to talk about it with people like yourself, and I love it. And I think it does a lot of different things. And I think you make a great point about Yeah times are, like I said, they come and go. Oh yeah, they're great. But

Dustin Darakhshan: absolutely they're don't get me wrong, I want to, I'm running run fast and I wanna have a good time, but I think through the years now.

You value the more, the bigger picture?

Chris Detzel: I do. I still wanna I'm still trying to go for prs in the half marathon. We'll see what happens. Love it on Saturday. But you know what? It's okay. Yeah. It's because every time I put pressure on myself to do really good, I do actually not as well.

So it's those times where I can just kinda relax and just see what happens is

Dustin Darakhshan: there's, and there's something to say about being vulnerable and really, putting yourself in a position to to come up to a starting line and say, I'm gonna go for it. Yeah. And I think that takes a lot of vulnerability and that's such a empowering thing that you can apply to other aspects of your [00:35:00] life.

And it's, but don't get too caught up if you don't hit it it's just, you put yourself in that position and you didn't get it. Most people wouldn't even put their self in that shit. That's because they're scared to do it.

Chris Detzel: And I tell people, look, there's always another race.

Yeah, I'm racing a half marathon on Saturday, but I have one in December. I have another one in Houston, in January. There's always opportunities to Absolutely. To, run another race and yeah. It's okay that. Look, I'm not saying when you run a marathon and you train for a marathon and you don't hit that time it's definitely disappointing.

Yeah. That's just the way marathons go.

In general for most people. Not you yet,

Dustin Darakhshan: but No, there's always been there's been some races where I've done, hasn't gone my way. It happens to everybody.

Chris Detzel: It does, yeah. And you want everybody to do well and I'm pulling for all of everyone that's, excited about doing it and trying to pr and and I know how disappointed it's, I remember sometimes we have too big of expectations for ourselves.

I know this one lady, we were running with [00:36:00] DRC years ago and she was young and, never ran a marathon. And I don't even know that she ran that many half marathons. Yeah, man, I'm gonna qualify for Boston. And she had the talent for, it wasn't that she had, didn't have the talent. I was like

I said, look, just be aware of that. It could take, a couple of years to really, yeah. Get your body in shape for a marathon. And I'm not saying you shouldn't have that goal to qualify, but the reality is, and I'm not trying to bust a bubble here, most people don't. Yeah. Just, I'm not saying it doesn't happen.

It sometimes does. More often than not, your body is just not ready to run that fast, because you just don't know anything about a marathon. You don't know. Yeah. And so it, you hit a three 11, that wasn't enough to qualify your boss. Not even that close. You're six minutes off at that time, and so be smart. Be just know that reality is that it might take a few times Yeah. To get there. And it's okay.

Stick with it, keep going,

Dustin Darakhshan: stick with it, show up. Be consistent. Enjoy the process.

Chris Detzel: [00:37:00] Exactly. That's

Dustin Darakhshan: been good, man. Yeah, thanks for having me.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Appreciate it. My first

Dustin Darakhshan: ever podcast, so I hope I did okay.

Chris Detzel: You did great. A lot of people's first, as a matter of fact, probably 95% of the people I talk to in Dallas, it's their first yeah, first podcast.

Dustin Darakhshan: Love what you're doing and keep up the great work and thank you. Thank you very much for having me.

Chris Detzel: Yeah. Appreciate it. And thank you everyone for tuning in to another DFW Running Talk.

I'm Chris Detzel. Don't forget to rate and review us, but also don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter at DFW running talk substack com. Thanks. So thank.