The Value of Challenges: Sally McRae on Seeking Out Adversity & Scary Goals
Release Date: 05/30/2024
The Strength Running Podcast
Imagine a running festival combined with a retreat plus a race thrown in there: That's Jesse Itzler's Runningman. Jesse Itzler is the founder of Runningman and All Day Running Co., a serial entrepreneur, an author, an endurance sports enthusiast, and a 100-mile ultra marathoner. In this episode, we talk about: Translating running's discipline and consistency into other areas of life Sharing the values of health and wellness with children Jesse's approach to long-term running planning Finding the sweet spot of having a plan while being flexible The parallels of 100-mile races and...
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How do we develop new runners, young runners, and master's runners, into great runners? Paul Greer is a professor of Health and Exercise Science at San Diego City College, coach of the San Diego Track Club, and the 2016 and 2024 Team USA Men’s Junior Cross Country coach. With about 40 years of coaching experience, Paul has a lot of wisdom to share for runners from youth to master's levels. His athletes include hundreds of Boston qualifiers, several top age-group competitors, and a handful of Olympic qualifiers. In this episode, we talk about: Reasons for the lack of adult cross-country...
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Ever catch yourself complaining about how much you paid to sign up for a race? Here's the inside story. Phil Dumontet is a 2:42 marathoner, the founder of Boulderthon, and the CEO of race management and timing company Brooksee. Personally, I believe Brooksee's timing technology is going to revolutionize road racing in the future. In this episode, we talk about: The day-to-day of a racing management company CEO: managing races, training teams, and building partnerships Race marketing and differentiation, with a look at Portland and Boulderthon's strategies Race planning, permitting, and...
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Kick back for a less structured conversation with my friend Jonathan Levitt, focusing on the big and small real-life issues affecting runners. Jon is a runner, cyclist, and host of For The Long Run Podcast. I like to joke that Jon is the Mayor of Boulder because of his ridiculous network of every single runner who lives within 100 miles. We share a lot of miles on the Boulder trails together and have great, rambling conversations about the running industry and our personal training, like this one. In this episode, we talk about: New running equipment thoughts A silly knee injury: How I’m...
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In today's running culture, people can't stop talking about Zone 2 running. But what about Zone 3? John Davis is an author, running coach, former collegiate runner, and an expert in human performance with a focus on biomechanics. He ran at Carleton College before getting a PhD in biomechanics at Indiana University's School of Public Health, focusing on running injuries. In this episode, we talk about: The underutilized value of Zone 3 running Why zones aren't as clear as many people make them out to be Lactate threshold and steady-state max in running High-end aerobic training and its...
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Most runners have heard of plyometrics, but are they using these exercises effectively to prevent injury and boost performance? Dr. Gaby Go is a Doctorate of Physical Therapy who ran Division 1 Track and Field for the University of Maryland, College Park, and who qualified for the Boston Marathon in her debut marathon. Today, Gaby’s sharing a lot of knowledge around plyometrics for runners with us. In this episode, Gaby and I talk about: The basics of plyos: what they are, who they're for, and what they do Using plyometrics for tendon health, especially the Achilles How plyometrics help...
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Have we put Zone 2 running on an undeserved pedestal? A dug into Zone 2 as it relates to heat training. One listener named Nadine emailed me some great questions to follow up on the Zone 2 conversation. Like many of you, easy running has gotten confusing for Nadine because of so much of the advice on the internet to never go faster than Zone 2 and the value of very slow running. But Nadine was feeling better at slightly faster paces! I figured it'd be more helpful to record a conversation about these topics as a follow-up to our episode with Brady, and Nadine agreed. In this episode, we talk...
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Hoping to get faster at the marathon and reach a personal best? So is Nick Jordan, a member of Team Strength Running. Nick joined this coaching program in order to most effectively use his time and effort to get the best possible chance of reaching a marathon personal best. We talked about what he can do in the remaining months to stack the deck in his favor. is a program that includes ongoing coaching directly from me, access to a team of other runners just like you, a library of 30+ training plans, a whole bunch of discounts, bonus resources, and more. In this coaching call, we talk about: ...
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Sugar cravings, salt content, underfueling, post-race beers… Runners get a lot of conflicting nutrition information, so we’re asking your questions to a registered dietitian! Alex Larson is a Minnesota-based registered dietitian and Ironman triathlete who’s worked with thousands of athletes in more than fifteen countries. I get a lot of questions from endurance runners about nutrition, so we collected your questions for Alex to answer. In this episode, Alex answers these running nutrition questions: We have treats in the house for the kids, how do I stop stealing them? What are best...
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Whether you love the mile or you want to continue running into your 40's or beyond, you'll be inspired by this Masters runner. Mario Fraioli is a Bay Area-based running coach who works with a number of Olympic Trials-level marathoners, top ultrarunners, and competitive age-group athletes. He’s one of the most competitive Master’s runners in the USA, having run the 2023 Boston Marathon in 2:34 and with his recent 3rd place finisher at the 2024 National Masters Road Mile. In this episode, Mario and I talk about: Mario's goal to break the 5-minute mile at age 42 Love for the mile: a perfect...
info_outlineSally McRae is known worldwide for her mental fortitude and ability to push through extreme discomfort.
As a professional mountain and ultra runner for Nike, Sally is a two-time Top 10 Western States finisher, the Badwater 135 Champion, Tarawera 100 Champion, Mozart 100 Champion and Moab 240 Champion. Sally is also an author, podcast host, business owner, and a strength and running coach.
In this episode, Sally and I talk about:
- The pros of using a treadmill for distance training
- The whole body needs to be strong for endurance races, not just the muscles
- How Sally structures strength training depending on the race season to build muscle and endurance
- Mobility, stretching, and hip and glute work to combat the weakening effects of sedentary lifestyles
- Training for 200-mile races, including eating and sleeping strategies, gear, and mental prep
- The mental aspect of long distances can make or break a runner's performance
- Power hiking and weight training for 200-mile ultra preparation
- Mental muscles, believing in your potential, and focusing on the story you want to tell yourself
- Sally's first experience with foot and heel blisters during the Cocodona 250
- Training for the Western States Endurance Run
Listen to this episode to hear from one of the most hardcore and kindest runners you'll ever meet.
Links & Resources from the Show:
- Sally McRae on Instagram
- The Choose Strong Podcast
- Sally on YouTube
- Sally's mobile app
- Sally's book, "CHOOSE STRONG: The Choice That Changes Everything"
- Access the free course to help you master your mindset during training and races.
Thank you AG1!
We’re also supported by AG1, the greens superfood mix. This is a category-leading greens mix that has 75 vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, and adaptogens. It’s recommended by professional athletes and has over 7,000 positive reviews.
One scoop per day is what I’ve been doing to help me fill in any nutrition gaps in my diet. It also provide a nice boost of energy and focus throughout the day. With all 3 of my kids in school, I know I need to support my immune system or else I’m getting sick and can’t train.
I also love that AG1 has changed over the last decade. They’ve made 53 improvements to the formula based on the latest research to make these nutrients more absorbable and rigorous with the 3rd party testing that they do.
For our listeners, they are offering a year’s worth of free Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. You can sign up for single shipment or for a monthly drop – the choice is yours. Check out AG1 to redeem your offer today.
Thank you MOBO Board!
Invented by renowned physical therapist Jay Dicharry, MOBO helps you stabilize your stance with an innovative rocker board that’s set up on two fins. The design effectively forces you to drive your big toe into the board to improve your stability. I was pretty arrogant going into my first session on the MOBO Board. How hard can it be to balance, right? Well, I was humbled pretty quickly!
Even if you’re a good runner, better balance, stability, and proprioception is going to help you have a more powerful stride and prevent more running injuries. You’ll learn how to improve the efficiency of the kinetic chain from your hip to your big toe. Because as Jay likes to say, it’s not just how strong you are, but how well you use that strength.
I was recently at a weekend physical therapy workshop (lol I was the only running coach) and learned how important (and rare) this simple movement is. Save 10% with code STRENGTHRUN10 at checkout at moboboard.com.