Libsyn Directory

Dr. Tiencia James Explains Her Journey From Running With Her Dad As A Child To Qualifying For Kona

Release Date: 08/31/2022

Who Am I? Who Are We As Athletes When We Can't Compete

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

In this episode, the last of Season 6 I'm sharing my personal journey. It has been a challenging season since the pandemic. I faced various obstacles, including COVID-19, two knee surgeries, financial struggles, and my most recent surgery. Many athletes find their identity in their sport, but it has been difficult to compete due to a plethora of reasons which I discuss.. It led me to reflect on who I am and the roles I play in life.I underwent another surgery recently. I share my fears surrounding the surgery and my desire to live without regrets. In this episode, I...

From Navy Officer to Ironman: Tom Scheer's Journey to Fitness

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

Navy officer, college president, and entrepreneur are only a few of Tom Scheer's many accomplishments. In this inspiring episode. Tom shares his story of growing up in a racist neighborhood and finding acceptance through sports, leading to a passion for fitness and endurance races, including over 30 Ironman competitions. It all began at the Boy and Girls Club and he is passionate about giving back to the organization that gave him so much. Tom shares his strategies for managing a busy life, emphasizing the value of discipline and time management. He discusses his military mindset,...

Finding Yourself Beyond Sports with Anna Marcolin

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

Do you find it difficult to define yourself beyond your sport? As athletes, we often identify ourselves with our sport and struggle to find our identity outside of it. In this episode, we sit down with psychotherapist Anna Marcolin to explore this topic and learn about her own journey in finding her identity beyond sports. Anna shares her love for sports and how she believes that athletes should enjoy every moment of their sport and be consistent while being easier on oneself. She emphasizes the importance of sports being fun and rewarding work for doing hard stuff. Anna talks about her...

David Redmond Explains The Importance of Community in His Triathlon Journey

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

started his triathlon journey following his divorce. He has a family history of high blood pressure. He knew he was at risk if he did not get off his couch and become active. Watching an IronMan World Championship on TV was his initial inspiration. As a young man growing up in Indiana, David was very active in sports. He played basketball, football and even some baseball. After college, he did some boxing at the gym but pretty much remained inactive until his divorce in 2010. David relies on the triathlon community to stay inspired and get...

Dr. Nina Franklin- That Salad Lady- Talks Us Through Her Journey of Food and Nutrition

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

On today’s episode, we will hear from renowned wellness expert and distance running enthusiast, . Also known as across multiple media including YouTube and TikTok. Dr. Franklin will talk us through her journey of keeping fit since the age of 12 to date even through motherhood. Dr. Franklin has extensive knowledge about food and nutrition given that she has a plethora of academic degrees and certifications. She will talk to us about her passion with food and nutrition how she moved from academia to create the “That Salad Lady” brand. Why she feels like this way she has more impact on the...

Pushing the Limits: The Story of Alex Torres and His Iron Man Journey

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

Alex Torres, an Ironman Triathlete, shares his journey of overcoming challenges and realizing his potential to become an Ironman. Alex started his athletic journey as the "runt of the Torres family," but through hard work and determination, he proved everyone wrong and accomplished his goal of becoming an Ironman. One of the key pieces of advice that Alex shares is to never forget your "why." This is what will keep you motivated and inspired during the long and tedious moments of training. He also emphasizes that discipline and perseverance are essential in becoming an Ironman, but these...

Team Culberson Shows Us That Health and Fitness Can Be A Fun Family Affair

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

This episode features two athletes sharing their journeys, successes, and challenges. This mother-and-son duo in sports always finds a way to support each other! Dr. Petriece Culberson started her fitness journey while serving in the US Army. Her son Jullien “Jules” CulbersonJules was exposed to sports even while in the womb. He was pushed in a stroller as his mom ran with her mom group. Dr Culberson attributes her time in the armed forces and participating in sports in making her disciplined and driven. She uses this drive in competition, pushing herself to be the...

Lloyd Henry Explains How Initial Failure Helped Him Become a Better Athlete

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

Some of the most important lessons are the ones we learn from failure. Lloyd Henry is a 32-time Ironman & long-course finisher. He overcame the stigma of athletes losing their drive after a loss. He had no background in sports, but progressed to become a sub-3-hour marathoner He has competed in numerous running events (5k to ultra-marathon) including the Boston Marathon and Comrades Marathon (South Africa). He has been running since 2002 and coaching triathletes since 2004. He uses all his personal experiences to coach effectively. Coach Lloyd Henry ...

Having Peace When You Have to Pivot In Life

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

Pivoting can provide stress and uncertainty as it is changed from an original plan. Change can also be somewhat scary. It can mean changing one's life, whether it's a job, a move, or a new journey. Pivoting can be risky yet beneficial. Pivoting lets people follow their passions, although with a new or renewed focus. Pivoting can foster growth. Adapting to a new setting may help one grow and further find themselves. It may allow a new sense of purpose, and a renewed passion. Changing one's life can initially be sad as you are in a sense saying goodbye or saying later to...

REBROADCAST- Who or What is Your Inspiration?

Running is Cheaper Than Therapy

As we go into a new season, let me start by thanking everyone who has taken even a minute of their time to listen to my podcast. It has been a challenging journey balancing podcasting with a full-time job and other adventures and I have learned a lot along the way. I am a strong black woman who may act as if nothing bothers me, but life sometimes sucks and we all need inspiration. My podcast is called Running is Cheaper Than Therapy. It features runners, triathletes, other athletes, and others who have overcome obstacles to make it to their finish lines. This episode I will talk about...

More Episodes

Dr. Tiencia James is a physician, a wife, mom, marathoner, and a triathlete. This mother of three started running as a child to spend time with her father who was a runner. She eventually fell in love with the sport. She ran track in high school and in her early college days but left the college team to concentrate on her medical studies. She however kept running for her own pleasure.

After the birth of her first child, she decided to start racing. Her first marathon was Disney, she ran so well she qualified for the Boston Marathon. This was quite an impressive feat, as runners have to qualify for Boston and Disney is usually a slower race due to all the turns and characters along the race course. She kept running marathons but after her third child she decided to challenge herself and started her triathlon career.. Despite a busy career as a doctor, being a wife and mom of three Dr. Tiencia James not only races but she strives to be the best. She is passionate about the sport and has often neglected sleep to train as she ever wanted to take away from her family. Dr. Tiencia James is the first black woman to qualify for the Ironman World Championship on merit.

Following the death of her brother, she has decided to take a sabbatical from medicine to focus on family, training, and other career endeavors. She even hopes to start a business inspired by her passion for running and triathlons. She is currently training for the Ironman World Championships to be held in October.

Episode Highlights:

Getting started as a runner to stay and spend time with her father.
Running through high school and college.
Dr. Tiencia James’s experience at her first marathon.
The new challenge of triathlons.
Qualifying for Kona
Balancing work, family and racing .
Dr. Tiencia James shares some life lessons from triathlons

Guest Bio

Dr. Tiencia James is the youngest of four kids and spent her childhood in Georgia. Her father was an obsessive competitive age group runner growing up. In fact, she is pretty sure that his divorce from her mother stems from how this took him away from his family at times. Somewhere around the age of 8-10, she started running with him. It was never because she had any strong desire to run at first, however, she figured out that if she ran, she would get to spend more time with him. Instead of just seeing him every other weekend like her siblings, she would see him for morning runs or weekend road trips to races. Eventually, however, she began to really love running and got very good at it. By the time she was in high school she was placed in the top three-four girls in the state in cross country and track/field 1600m/3200m. James never considered herself to be a talented runner, but because of her work ethic, love for the sport and support of her dad, she was able to outperform kids with more natural abilities.

When she graduated from high school, she decided that she wanted to go to medical school so running took a back seat. It was no longer about her racing and competing, but it continued to be something that kept her grounded and helped her deal with the academic stress. She did compete as a walk-on at Stanford for two years before quitting the team to focus on her studies. She kept running most days really just for her sanity to decompress. She graduated from Stanford University and then went to Duke University to complete her medical doctorate while also getting a master’s in public health from UNC. Eventually, she returned to Georgia and did her Emergency Medicine residency at Emory.

After getting married, being an emergency medicine physician, and having her first 2 children Dr. Tiencia James began to miss the competitive side of running. It was in 2010 that she got back into racing and decided to train seriously for a marathon. She did her first marathon at Disney in a time of 3:22 qualifying for the Boston Marathon. The following year, at age 33, she finished the Boston Marathon in 3:11. Over the next few years, she continued to race long distances. After having the third child, she was looking for a different
the challenge, something new. Somehow, she decided that she wanted to try long-distance triathlons. She hired a coach and after completing The Great Floridian and then Ironman Chattanooga soon after was hooked.

Since then, James has qualified for many Ironman World Championship races in the 70.3 distance. She has been determined to use sports and athletics to get closer to her family and not allow it to push them apart. She often will find ways to involve all her kids in her training and for most races, they travel together as a family. It has been a great way to see the world together and to show her kids that life has no limits.

Life has gotten a bit crazy, especially over the past two years, being a wife, mom of three kids and an ER doctor in the middle of Covid while also trying to keep up her training. She reached a major personal goal this past year. After more than 6 years of trying, she finally qualified for the Ironman World Championships in the 140.6 distance at the age of 44. She has been told that she is the first black female to qualify based on finishing place in a qualifying race (as opposed to legacy or slots awarded for charity). When she started giving away her ER shifts so she could go for a bike ride, she knew that she had to find a way to follow her heart.
After losing her 45year old brother unexpectedly this past December, she really had to rethink her priorities. We only have one life so why not take chances and go “all in” on your dreams? This May, she decided after 15 years, to step away from the ED so that she can train for Kona, spend more time with her family as well as starting two entrepreneurial businesses-one in real estate and the other in high-performance endurance athletic consulting where she hopes to combine her knowledge of sports physiology, nutrition, and medicine in order to figure how to make endurance athletes better. She is not sure what the result of this will be for her, but she is very excited about this next chapter of her life.