Women's Running Stories Evergreen Podcasts

In August 2020, marathon and ultra-distance trail runner Emily Halnon set out on an FKT (fastest known time). The goal: cover the 460 miles of the Pacific Coast Trail that traverses Oregon, from south to north, faster than any other human yet recorded. The purpose: to honor her mother, Andrea Halnon, who had been her inspiration and her biggest supporter.
Emily Halnon is also a writer, and this episode is being released on the publication day of her first book, To the Gorge: Running, Grief, and Resilience on 460 Miles of the Pacific Coast Trail.
In January 2020, Emily's mother, Andrea, died of a rare, aggressive form of uterine cancer after a tragically short but fierce fight against the disease. Up to the end, Andrea had lived much as she always had: big, bold, and brave. For Emily, to honor her mother's passing and to process the deep grief that followed, she felt moved to do the same.
Emily had first been inspired to go after athletic goals that took her out of her comfort zone by her mother. She'd begun running road marathons and then, seeking ever more challenging adventures, moved on to trail ultras, including several 100-milers. But the pursuit of truly pushing her limits had languished a bit prior to 2020. So, setting her sights on a goal that would undoubtedly take her to the edge, in her mother's honor, felt exactly right.
The first thing that came to Emily's mind was running across Oregon, a place she'd settled in several years earlier and fallen in love with. For its jaw dropping beauty and the terrific trail running community she'd become a part of.
This is the story of Emily Halnon's running journey, the pivotal role her mother played in that journey, the totally epic, multi-day trail record that Emily went after in her mother's honor, and how that FKT helped her process the overwhelming grief of losing her mother. At its heart, this story is about one woman's path to rediscovering how to live a beautiful life after a devastating loss.
This episode is big, it's emotional, it's intense, and it is ultimately triumphant.
Keep Up with Emily Halnon
Instagram: @emilysweats
Website: emilyhalnon.com
Emily Halnon's book, To the Gorge: emilyhalnon.com/book
Music Credits
Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh
Music by Grand_Project from Pixabay
Lidérc Bell, via Pixabay
Rockot, via Pixabay
penguinmusic, via Pixabay
SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay
Coma-Media, via Pixabay
RoyaltyFreeMusic, via Pixabay
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Instagram: @over50sub20_5k_project
Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adidas professional runner Emily Durgin is back on the podcast! She shares how it all went down at the 2024 USATF 10-Mile National Championships, which took place April 7, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
This is a follow up to Durgin's last appearance on WRS, where she told the story of how the USATF Olympic Trails Marathon played out for her. While Durgin had a really strong showing at that race, she didn't walk away with her ultimate goal: making the Olympic team. She placed a solid 9th and most importantly, she had prepared and raced with total determination. But, the marathon is tricky and unforgiving, and sometimes the day just doesn't go your way. That said, however, it was still a challenging disappointment to overcome.
The next question was then, How was Emily Durgin going to move forward?
Durgin tells you the answer here, and it's a strong, exciting statement!
In this episode, get great insight into life as a professional distance runner and what it looks like to bounce back big.
This episode is part of the WRS series of Race Report episodes. Just like last year, 2023, you can expect a Race Report episode for each race of the USATF Road Circuit series of races. Each episode features one top 10 runner telling the story of how the race went down, from her perspective. And because a race is never just about what happens on race day, you will get to know a little bit more about each one of the runners featured and how this race figures into their larger running story.
The USATF Running Circuit championship series of races happen throughout the United States all year long and each race serves as a national championship for the distance or the type of race that is being run. Also, at each one of these races, in addition to vying for a national title, runners earn cash prizes and they earn points. The points go toward the series overall, which is determined at the end of the year.
The next race on the circuit: the 1-mile National Championships which took place in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 23. A WRS Race Report is coming shortly. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss it!
You can catch up on all the Race Reports on our website or on your favorite podcast app.
Keep Up with Emily Durgin
Instagram: @em_durgin
Photo Credit
Rob Perez: Instagram: @r.oh.bee
Mentioned in this episode
Race Report: Emily Durgin + 2024 USATF Olympic Trials Marathon: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-emily-durgin-2024-usatf-olympic-trials-marathon
Race Report: Annie Frisbie + 2024 USATF 15k National Championships: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-annie-frisbie-2024-usatf-15k-national-championships
Race Report: Rachel Smith + 2023 USATF 5k National Championships: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-rachel-smith-2023-usatf-5k-national-championships
Previous Women's Running Stories Race Report Episodes: https://womensrunningstories.com/podcast/women-running-stories
Music Credits
Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh
Music by Grand_Project from Pixabay
Rockot, via Pixabay
penguinmusic, via Pixabay
SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay
Coma-Media, via Pixabay
chillmore, via Pixabay
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Instagram: @over50sub20_5k_project
Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women's Running Stories is moving to Tuesdays; expect the next new episode Tuesday, April 30. This Friday episode is a re-air of a great story featuring running great Sally Kipyego. The episode first aired back in March 25, 2021, and it centers on Kipyego's return to competitive running after having her first child, and the journey to making the 2020 Olympic Marathon team.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Race Report: Emily Durgin + 2024 USAFT Olympic Marathon Trials: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-emily-durgin-2024-usatf-olympic-trials-marathon
Michelle Sikes: NCAA Champion, Author of Kenya's Running Women: A History: https://womensrunningstories.com/michelle-sikes-ncaa-champion-author-of-kenyas-running-women-a-history
Sally Kipyego is one of the fastest distance runners in the world, with a long resume of incredible performances. And, she also wanted to be a mom. This is her journey navigating pregnancy and returning to elite-level competition, just in time to compete at the historic 2020 US Women's Olympic Marathon Trials. 
Sally was born in Kenya and started running at a young age. She discovered early on that she had talent and a will be seek the ultimate limits of her potential. She had early success as a junior, and when she came to the United States and ran as a member of the Texas Tech cross-country and track team, she dominated by winning total of 9 NCAA championships. 
Sally turned pro after college, in 2010, and has been internationally competitive ever since. Among her many accomplishments, she placed 2nd in the 10,000 meter at the world championships in 2011 and 5th in 2015, and she won the silver medal at that distance in the 2012 London Olympics. During that time she was competing for her home country of Kenya, and in 2017, she became a US citizen. She currently calls Eugene, Oregon, home, and visits Kenya regularly.
In 2016, Sally decided the time had come to become a mom. This episode traces her experience going through pregnancy and the bumpy, uncertain journey returning to her job of elite running. And it all culminates at one epic race: the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials. 
Through Sally's experiences, we learn about patience, listening to your body, and honoring the reality that every single pregnancy journey is different. 
Follow Sally Kipyego on Instagram: @sallykipyego 
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Twitter: @WomenRunStories
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2016, elite ultra-distance trail runner and writer Katie Arnold experienced a traumatic river rafting accident that left her questioning whether or not she would ever be able to run again. This is the story of how Arnold healed after her accident and how that process helped her rediscover a pure joy of running and a magical return to racing. This happened over the period of time when Arnold was 46 to 48 years old.
This episode was made on the occasion of the release of Arnold’s second book, Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World. The book was just released April 16, 2024. To borrow the description that her publisher put out, “This book is a Zen study wrapped in a memoir that tells the story of a search for stillness by a woman born for wildness.” And it’s an apt description.
This book is exceptional. And this episode does focus on the same period of time that is covered in the book. Of course, Arnold's book goes into much more detail than she gets into in this episode, but in either case, the story covers the same period of time, roughly the two years between 2016 and 2018, beginning with Arnold experiencing a traumatic rafting accident through her process of healing.
Arnold studies the teachings of Zen Buddhism and she practices Zen mediation. Weaved throughout Arnold’s story is how her Zen practice manifests in this whole process.
The story, as it is told here, focuses on the power of belief, participating in your own healing, and the interesting dynamic of achieving goals while not clinging to them—or put another way, staying with where you're at instead of focusing on the finish line. 
Keep Up with Katie Arnold
Instagram: @katiearnold
Website: katiearnold.net
Katie Arnold's books, Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World and Running Home: katiearnold.net/books
Mentioned in This Episode
Sarah Lavender Smith: Ultramarathon Trail Running Longevity: womensrunningstories.com/sarah-lavender-smith-transitioning-through-competitive-running-longevity
Sarah Lavender Smith's website: sarahlavendersmith.com
Sarah Lavender Smith's newsletter, Colorado Mountain Running & Living
Sarah Lavender Smith book, The Trail Runner's Companion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trail Running and Racing, from 5Ks to Ultras
Music Credits
Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh
Lidérc Bell, via Pixabay
Rockot, via Pixabay
penguinmusic, via Pixabay
SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay
Coma-Media, via Pixabay
chillmore, via Pixabay
RoyaltyFreeMusic, via Pixabay
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Instagram: @over50sub20_5k_project
Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Emilia Benton focuses on how she discovered the approach to marathoning that earned her a Boston Marathon qualifying time, and then how it all went down at last year's Boston Marathon.
Benton is a well recognized journalist in the running world, with a particular focus on professional runners as well as runners and stories that have typically been underrepresented and overlooked by the media.
As a runner, a big focus of Benton’s has been marathons. She has run over a dozen of them, and for about a decade, her efforts focused on what many ambitious marathoners focus on: getting a Boston qualifying time, and then running the Boston Marathon. 
Over the course of her marathon journey, Benton has become astutely aware of her own needs as a runner, and that not all conventional marathoning wisdom met her needs. She's been through a lot of trial and error, and she's found what does work for her, and she's learned how to trust that knowledge.
Benton also found a coach who backed her approach. And that coach is Nell Rojas. Rojas is both a coach and she is also one of America's very best marathoners: among her many accolades, Rojas has twice been the top American finisher at the Boston Marathon. 
Working with Rojas, Benton raced a terrific 2022 Houston Marathon to earn her BQ, and run at Boston the next year.
Benton shares it all in this episode, and more!
What shines bright here is that what works for one person in marathoning may not work for another. Every runner needs to discover their own path, which is exactly what Benton did.
Keep Up with Emilia Benton
Instagram: @emiliambenton
Website: emiliabenton.com
Mentioned in This Episode
"My Run Club Was Profiled for ‘Cheering While Black’—Here’s Why It Only Reaffirms Our Mission," Sidney Baptista, as told to Emilia Benton: https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a43878096/my-run-club-was-profiled-for-cheering
Liz Rock: A TrailblazHer's Journey, Running the Boston Marathon for Mile 21 Joy: https://womensrunningstories.com/liz-rock-a-trailblazhers-journey-running-the-boston-marathon-for-mile-21-joy
Alison Mariella Désir: Running While Black, Her Story, Her Book: https://womensrunningstories.com/alison-mariella-desir-running-while-black-her-story-her-book
Race Report: Nell Rojas + 2023 25k National Championships: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-nell-rojas-2023-usatf-25k-national-championships
Boston Marathon Expo Live Stage event, Sun., April 14, 2pm: "Making a Statement: Breaking Barriers in Women's Running" featuring Briana Boehmer, Kelly Bruno, Alisa Harvey; moderated by Cherie Turner, Julie Sapper, Lisa Levin; presentation of Team Bevans takes place immediately following this conversation
Music Credits
Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh
penguinmusic, via Pixabay
chillmore, via Pixabay
SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay
Coma-Media, via Pixabay
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michelle Wheeler is an internationally competitive marathon and distance road racer. Last year saw Wheeler race marathons in Boston, Berlin, Sydney, London, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, in addition to traveling throughout the US to shorter-distance races. And, this year, she'll also be returning to shorter distance racing on the track. Wheeler will be competing at the Paralympic Trials in the 800, 1500, and 5000, vying for her play on Team USA.
Wheeler has been an athlete since childhood in a number of sports, including wheelchair racing. Her early focus was on the track, in sprinting events. Back then, she had no interest in anything longer than those short bursts of speed, the 100, the 200, the 400 meters.
As she entered adulthood, Wheeler's focus shifted to other parts of life. She became a mom. She moved from her childhood home in New Jersey to New York City, where she earned her bachelor's degree. Competitive wheelchair racing wasn't top of mind, but as it would turn out, fate stepped in to change that.
Today, Wheeler is a professional marathon wheelchair racer, earning invitations to line up at races all over the world.
That is what this story is all about, how Wheeler returned to racing and discovered her passion for competing in marathons; and how she's learned to navigate life as a mom, full time rehabilitation and mental health counselor, and professional athlete. As Wheeler goes into, finding balance and focusing on mental health has been key to this journey.
Wheeler opened her 2024 season at the NYC Half-Marathon on March 17, where she finished a strong 4th place. Next on her schedule is the Boston Marathon, taking place on April 15. At Boston, Wheeler will be racing as a member of Team Bevans. Team Bevans comprises exceptional Black women marathoners running the Boston Marathon. They run in honor of Marilyn Bevans, the first American born Black woman to run the marathon in under 3 hours. This is just one of many accolades Bevans earned as one of the best marathoners of her day. Wheeler and the other women on the team embody the spirit of Black woman excellence in marathon running sparked by Bevans, and help solidify her incredible legacy.
Keep Up with Michelle Wheeler
Instagram: @shellyrunstheworld
Mentioned in This Episode
Black Unicorn Marathoners: blackunicornmarathoners.org
Team Bevans: facebook.com/blackunicornmarathoners
Roads to Boston series: womensrunningstories.com/home-2/roads-to-boston-9-runners-1-finish-line
Boston Marathon Expo Live Stage event, Sun., April 14, 2pm: "Making a Statement: Breaking Barriers in Women's Running" featuring Briana Boehmer, Kelly Bruno, Alisa Harvey; moderated by Cherie Turner, Julie Sapper, Lisa Levin; presentation of Team Bevans takes place immediately following this conversation
Oiselle, the apparel brand rooted in running; made by women, for women: oiselle.com
Music Credits
Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh
SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay
Rockot, via Pixabay
Coma-Media, via Pixabay
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices