19. Dr. Leada Malek PT What it takes to get to your starting lines healthy, over and over again
Release Date: 07/18/2024
Mary Denhom: Marathon OTQ to Winning Leadville 100, on Staying in Tune with Your Body
Lane 9 Podcast
"I saw the tie between, you know, delaying recovery, restricting food and ending up with a bone injury in my foot. And it was part of why I took six years off." Mary Denhom was a dual-sport athlete in college, competing in ski racing and cross country, track and field. After her first (and so far only) bone injury in college and struggling with restricting food intake, she took a long break from the sport. It ended up being six years off, while she went through law school and started her law career. "I can count on one hand the number of times I went for a run in those six years,"...
info_outline
Ari Hendrix: 2:35 Marathoner & LGBTQ+ Athlete, on Trail Running, Fueling, and Mental Health
Lane 9 Podcast
" ...definitely we're underrepresented and I think especially with the state of our country and the world now, it can be really scary to put yourself out there." Ari Hendrix is the third fastest US-Born African American marathoner (2:35, CIM 2022), and ran the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials Marathon in 2024. She works for HOKA and lives in Portland with her wife and two dogs. Ari joined the Lane 9 podcast to talk about her recent move to the trails, on which she's already had some success! She recently finished 9th in her 50K debut at the 2025 Canyons Endurance Run by UTMB, and also...
info_outline
Renee Hodges DPT: What endurance athletes need to know about Bone Stress Injuries
Lane 9 Podcast
" We have a lot of work to do to help improve the health of [running] culture, like the basic understanding of what it means to be a healthy runner," shares Renee Hodges DPT. Renee Hodges is a physical therapist (DPT) based in the Phoenix AZ area, specializing in endurance athletes. As an endurance athlete herself, Hodges shares that she has experienced REDs, low energy availability, overtraining syndrome, and more. She breaks down the basics of bone health (pop quiz on osteoclasts and osteoblasts!), and how low energy avability impacts our body's recovery, and overall health. ...
info_outline
Meghann Featherstun RDN: Running after a sacral stress fracture, and sports nutrition trends in 2025
Lane 9 Podcast
" I just needed to do all of those things for myself before I really talked about it publicly. Plus, I was not in a great head space about it at first, as most people aren't with a big injury," says well-known sports dietitian Meghann Featherstun, RDN MS CSSD, in regards to the post where she shared her sacral stress fracture injury at the end of 2024. Meghann Featherstun, aka "Feathers" (if you're a "Fuel for the Sole" listener), and maybe best known by her private practice's name and Instagram handle, Featherstone Nutrition, joined Lane 9 to talk about her running...
info_outline
Jess McClain on Fueling, Pro Running Round 2, and her 2025 Boston Marathon
Lane 9 Podcast
" I think I was just trying to make only running work for me and I just am not the kind of person that can only run. I need other things in my life," shares Jess McClain, who most recently finished 7th overall and first American across the finish line at the 2025 Boston Marathon, in 2:22:43, a 3-minute personal best. Jess McClain is professional marathoner for Brooks Running. In 2024, she placed 4th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, placed 4th at the U.S Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 10,000m, won the 2024 U.S. 10K road championships, and placed 8th overall at the 2024 TCS...
info_outline
Sasha Gollish on Perimenopause, and Gender Equity in Sport
Lane 9 Podcast
"My big fear with all of this is the trickle down," Dr. Sasha Gollish joins us on the episode, to chat about her work in Gender Equity in sport, her time as a professional runner for team Canada, how she knew she was in perimenopause, and much more. Gollish ran at a younger age, but took some time off and worked as an engineer in Toronto before getting back to the sport at a high level. We talk about what it looked like to go back into competitive running, working with Oiselle and Asics, going to the World Marathon Championships in 2023 for Team Canada, and eventually navigating perimenopause....
info_outline
Emilia Benton, 14x marathoner and freelance journalist
Lane 9 Podcast
"I didn't know what I was doing at all...I didn't take any gels in my first marathon...Now I take gels like every 5K or sometimes every 30 minutes." Emilia Benton is a freelance health and wellness journalist who is particularly passionate about sharing diverse stories and elevating underrepresented voices. Her work has been published by outlets such as Runner's World, Outside RUN, SELF, Women's Health and the Houston Chronicle. Emilia is also a 14-time marathoner, 50-something-time half-marathoner and USATF Level 1-certified run coach. We talk about the races she has run and...
info_outline
Alexa Efraimson: From pro runner at 17 to Registered Dietitian helping athletes fuel without restriction
Lane 9 Podcast
"For so long, every conversation, every day, was like, 'what is your weight?' So really like reinforcing confidence and performance all around the number on the scale." Alexa Efraimson signed a professional running contract with Nike when she was just 17 years old. She hadn't gone through puberty yet, and while did shortly after that, her cycles were "super inconsistent" for the next six+ years. She navigated challenges with weight, body image, and fueling for performance. She got a college degree while running professionally, and had some success during her eight years as a pro. But in...
info_outline
Molly Bookmyer, Elite runner on making big fueling changes, and finding what works for you
Lane 9 Podcast
"{Houston} was a really great season opener and showed me again that I could fuel like I even fuel in the half marathon now, it's I'm able to take fuel. It's, and sustain my training and feel healthy and finishing strong in my races," shares Molly Bookmyer. Bookmyer is an elite distance runner based in Columbus OH. She walked onto the Ohio State XC/Track and FIeld teams, but left the sport before graduating because of some frustrating injuries and health issues. She wasn’t getting regular periods, which actually led to her healthcare team discovering a small brain tumor. After some time...
info_outline
Navigating disordered eating, amenorrhea, and performance anxiety in collegiate athletics with Natalie Tyner
Lane 9 Podcast
"I had lost my period for a year. I was definitely not eating nearly enough, eating healthy to an extreme point...it was a very unhealthy relationship with my body," shares Natalie Tyner, who was a North Carolina State Champion in high school and went on to compete collegiately for University of NortH Carolina (UNC). Natalie is now focusing her work on supporting high school athletes who are preparing to compete at a higher level, navigating mental health, performance nutrition, and balancing their training with adequate rest. She's doing this work because she knows how hard it is to compete...
info_outline"What I'll see in PT {with REDS} is delayed healing...." Dr. Leada Malek, whom you may know as @drmalekpt on Instagram and TikTok, joins Lane 9 co-founder Heather Caplan to chat about what it really takes for athletes to get and stay "healthy" for the long term.
We talk about her athletic story, how she starts every assessment with active clients, the most common injuries and inquiries from runners, why strength training is a key component of running fitness, and what to actually do about stretching.
Her book, "The Science of Stretch" is available wherever books are sold. And if you haven't yet, check out her Instagram and other social channels for accessible, and very helpful, short physical therapy-focused videos and content!
Lane 9 Project is working to reduce eating disorders and REDS in female-bodied athletes at all levels.
Check out our upcoming events and resources via Lane9project.org and subscribe to our weekly newsletter at lane9project.substack.com.
Follow along on Instagram @lane9project