#227: A deeper, more personal conversation with Heather and Emma
Release Date: 09/21/2021
250: Just Keep Moving: Heather shares a new path for Michigan Runner Girl
Michigan Runner Girl
How exactly do you stop doing something you’ve committed so much time, mental energy, and heart to, for so many years? Do you shut it down completely? Can some parts of it remain while others are shelved indefinitely, maybe forever? Is it possible this beloved endeavor can be re-worked, re-born into something similar yet different and new … and hopefully altogether better? Or are fresh slates and starts the better answer? These are the questions Heather Durocher, founder of Michigan Runner Girl, has been grappling with in recent time. She has some answers and shares from her heart in...
info_outline
249: Sammie Bennett, mental health advocate and SHE RUNS Grand Rapids race ambassador: ‘There’s a place for everybody’
Michigan Runner Girl
“I kind of just hit this point where I was like, I am not living authentically. What do I even like? I sort of had a relationship with myself but not really. Also, I was kind of battling my own sexuality at the time as well, too. And I just hit this moment where I was like, I can’t do it any more — I can’t live the way that I am living, I am not living for myself, and I don’t feel authentic. And so, I ended up quitting running for a short little bit and then revisited the sport with a different mentality of, how can I enjoy this and still figure out these other areas of life that...
info_outline
248: Awesome Ideas for Fall Adventures at Michigan State Parks
Michigan Runner Girl
Fall ziplining along Lake Michigan. Yurt camping. September boating. Equestrian shoreline riding. These are just a few of the autumn and early-winter activities shared by Maia Turek, who returns to the show to talk all things state parks and the many ways we can explore the Great Lakes State over the next several months. Maia, who works for the parks and recreation division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, has lots of updates for us. After gushing over the gorgeous September weather we've been experiencing — Heather shares a stand-up paddling adventure she recently had with...
info_outline
247: Taking Care of Our Hearts: 3 Women Share Their Stories
Michigan Runner Girl
“I tried not to dwell on it, I tried to learn from it. And I took care of myself. I looked at it as a new beginning, with new opportunities … and I still do after all these years, try to do something positive with it. I tried to take something that was tragic — I couldn’t have any more children — not only for me, but for my family, and we’ve tried to turn it into something more positive and inspirational and helpful for other people.” — Risa Kirschner, who lives in Farmington Hills and who at age 29 and pregnant with her second child learned she had atrial myxoma, a heart...
info_outline
246: Quitting Chronic Dieting + Recentering through Running with Dietician Amelia Sherry
Michigan Runner Girl
“When my relationship with food improved and I started to heal I didn’t let go of the running. I noticed that it was crucial to me feeling more relaxed, centered, more in touch with how I actually felt inside my body. I used intuitive eating as part of my recovery from chronic dieting, which is all about listening and honoring and respecting the senses that you get from your body and I was able to use running as a way … it really calmed me, reassured me.” Amelia Sherry, dietitian, mother, runner, recovered chronic dieter. Like so many women, Amelia Sherry started her first diet in...
info_outline
245: Reading, Traveling + Moving Forward with Emma and Heather
Michigan Runner Girl
The Michigan Runner Girl show returns from its mid-summer break with Heather and her 22-year-old daughter Emma at Emma's new apartment in Grand Rapids, Mich. talking about all things books (they share their top reads this summer), traveling (a visit to Nantucket in July!), and how they're both feeling heading into fall. They record their conversation the evening before Emma starts her first day of medical school orientation and on her first official weekend in her new place. Also part of their discussion: - Their shared (newer) love of small dogs. (Heather reveals big news...
info_outline
244: Finding the Pleasure in Eating, Moving, and Living Well
Michigan Runner Girl
“My work, my passion is helping women lose unwanted weight, but from the inside out — by changing their eating behaviors from a place of deep satisfaction and pleasure, instead of focusing on diets, or counting calories, or carbs or anything like that.” Life coach Lia Pinelli joins Heather on the to talk about a lot of things — our relationship with food, how we can shift our mindset about our eating behaviors, finding the form of exercise and movement that speaks to us, and so much more. Lia’s journey includes going from teaching Spanish and serving as a school administrator...
info_outline
243: The Ripple Effects of Pursuing a Healthier Life with Stephanie Lueras
Michigan Runner Girl
“When we’re improving ourselves in one area, the rest of us comes along for the ride, as a whole person — physically, emotionally, spiritually … There is a ripple effect. When we start to change habits in one area — I started with a cup of water — and as we continue to build those habits, that ripple effect into every area of life is so significant and we discount the small things that we do every day that truly can be life changing.” Heathe talks with Stephanie Lueras, owner of Heart and Sole Fitness & Wellness, a Body Positive ACE Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Fitness...
info_outline
242: Updates from Heather + Searching for—and Finding—Ease and Flow in Life with Jem Fuller
Michigan Runner Girl
“I practice gratitude every single day. I am super grateful for my life. But 10 years ago, I was in a world of pain.” Jem Fuller has lived a colorful, global life—from barefoot backpacker to corporate leader, fire-dancer and traditional tattooist, kindergarten teacher to motorcycle courier, masseuse and reflexology to labourer and travel consultant. Now his time is as partner and father, coach, facilitator and retreat leader. Jem, who lives on a sheep farm in Australia with his partner Talia, is the author of the recently published book, , and can be seen delivering his TEDx talk...
info_outline
241: Life Can Keep Getting Better, with author Lynne Bowman
Michigan Runner Girl
Author and health advocate , a 76-year-old mom of three and grandmother of two — joins Heather for a conversation about the things we do today — our sleep, eating, and movement — and how they impact our future selves. Lynne reminds us that life doesn’t end at 60 or 70, as she says, but the quality of our last 25 or 30 years can be all over the place, depending on decisions we make now. Lynne is a self-described “snarky grandma” who fully acknowledges she doles out cooking tips and health advice despite not owning a restaurant, not being a reality TV star, and not holding a...
info_outlineMoving our bodies. Dealing with anxiety. Finding what inspires us. Cultivating and maintaining family relationships. Tending to our mental health.
These are among the topics Heather and her 21-year-old daughter Emma touch on during this decidedly more personal episode. While Heather has had a wide range of discussions with guests over the past 6 years, many of which took us into the minds and hearts of athletes, race directors, and healthy lifestyle experts, Heather and Emma share personal stories and dive deeper into areas of particular interest to them — and to longtime listeners who have shared with Heather over the years that the episodes that explore these kinds of topics and how others lean into movement to help them navigate life are often the most powerful.
Like many businesses and organizations in the past year and half of the pandemic, Michigan Runner Girl was forced to switch gears (no in-person events for awhile meant no race expos or women’s retreats) and reimagine what this community could look like. While we’re all tentatively returning to things we took part in pre-COVID, life of course has forever changed in numerous ways for all of us. What does this mean for MRG? Heather is still thinking this through, though she is excited to keep moving forward and see what unfolds — with the podcast and with the community. What won’t ever change: her hope to keep the conversation going around good health and well-being, staying true to ourselves, running (and all other movement that keeps us looking forward and feeling great), and continually striving to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be.
We want to hear from YOU! Let us know what you think of this episode and what you’d like to hear more of on the Michigan Runner Girl Show as we move forward. Email [email protected] Let’s keep the conversation going.
Find Heather at michiganrunnergirl.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/michigan-runner-girl, and on Instagram at michiganrunnergirl and michiganrunnergirlshow
***********
Mentioned in this episode:
- Tiny Beautiful Things, a book by Cheryl Strayed
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, a memoir by Cheryl Strayed
- Tell Me Something True, a podcast with Laura McKowen
- The Man Enough Podcast, with Jamey Heath, Justin Baldoni, and Liz Plank
- Sasha Wolff, founder of Still I Run, a Michigan-based organization focused on defeating the stigma of mental illness