Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Runner's Podium Podcast. Today we have the icon, Ron Romano on the podcast, which I'm so excited about, man. I've been wanting to have you on for so long, Ron, and our so you know your schedule's crazy, my schedule's crazy. it's It's a miracle we made this happen. So give thanks for that to all the listeners out there. If you don't know Ron,
Speaker: absolutely inspirational person in New York City running community, in the global running community. i mean, Ron is closing in on 100 marathons. You are well into your 60s and you continue to absolutely crush not only just the amount of running you do, but your time doing sub-330 marathons, which just amazing.
Speaker: And being such a global ambassador for the sport, man. I feel like the word ambassador gets thrown around now. It's kind of been cheap in just social media circles, but you are a true ambassador of the sport, representing to us the potential of what you can do. And you're a journeyman. And um just I just have so much respect for you, man. It's always fun. I've seen you you know in the corrals of the New York races. It's always good to give you a dap and give you ah some respect in person. And so grateful to have you on the podcast today, man.
Speaker: Well, that is the most warmest and ah most awesome intro I've had to a show. So thanks so much for the incredibly kind words, David. Yeah, we haven't got a chance to share any actual miles together. One of these days, we're going to go out there and and bang out some miles and have have a life, ah a run chat and catch up on life. But for today, we're going to do it on your show. And yeah, it's been wild with your running and your music and my travels this year doing this global run tour for my mom it's just been hard to pin down but race week at new york city what could be a better time right exactly and yeah just to recap so ron you've done five con marathons on five continents this year you're gonna do i guess do they call it now the eight star or the seventh star
Speaker: ah No, it's going to remain the six star. Six star. That's not going to change. um what What they've done is there's ah the seven seventh star, seventh official Abbott major became Sydney. Cape Town became the eighth this year.
Speaker: And for everybody that doesn't know that maybe isn't following as closely as me, Shanghai is going to become number nine. But Abbott has said many times they're not going to change. ah Can you see my six star medals? They're Actually, if I tilt my screen a little there, there's my five six-star medals there, but they're not going to change the six-star medal, David, because so many people, that's been their chase forever. So they're going to maybe like add tiers or levels. If you're a seven-star finisher, an eight-star finisher, they have an eight-star wall. When you go to the New York City Expo, my name, along with however many people that have run all eight,
Speaker: And um I've actually run six continents this year, not five. um yeah Yeah. And the first the first six marathons of this year were all on six continents, which was, you know, just bananas. um And that was like worked out to like less than one per month with all those travels. And ah it's just been a ah wild adventure this year for sure.
Speaker: Yeah, and some of those probably very close back to back. Like you did the Boston-London, right? Yeah. yeah I mean, that's that's a tough recovery, you know, and and get right back to it, man. And plus the travel and the time difference. Like there's a lot going on there.
Speaker: Yeah. you run um You run Boston, London six days apart. I don't care if you're 20 years old and you're a college runner. That is going to be a challenge to get up off the deck.
Speaker: ah Boston, with its course, with its rolling nature... And most especially because you're doing a lot more downhill early in the race until you make the turn at the firehouse in Newton. ah That's when you start to do a lot more of your climbing, but you still have more downhills. It doesn't, the downhills still keep coming. ah Everybody, everybody,
Speaker: gets hung up on the net elevation, but no matter there is no straight downhill in Boston other than when you bomb down that last hill before you cross the highway. That's the only true straight downhill. Everything in Boston is like this and like this and like this. But you come out you come out of Boston and you're pretty beat up. So to come back six days apart and go 320, 328 at that was On Friday with my partner in London,
Speaker: You know, she's never seen me just like stop on a run. You know, we're in like Hyde Park and just, I mean, when I say jogging, David, I'm talking like, you know, maybe 11 minute pace, just a shuffling. shuffling yeah And that's not a put down on any 11 minute pace runners. God bless you, man. I love every runner. I don't care if you walk 26 miles. I don't care if you walk, run, whatever you do, you're out there. You got my love and respect. But we were just shuffling easy.
Speaker: And she said, what's wrong? You keep stopping. I said, hey, man, I'm sore and I'm tired. I'm also having trouble breathing. But what else do you want me to tell you? And she's like, I've never seen you like this before. And I go, well, the good news is it's Friday. I got one more day. And Saturday I went out without her, I don't know, about six o'clock.
Speaker: um Very late to be going out, putting any miles on the night before a race. And I just said, let me just see, man. I got to just see what I'm going to be dealing with tomorrow morning. And I didn't run more than two, two and a half miles, but.
Speaker: Thankfully, the legs had felt better. And then, you know, somehow on Sunday, you know, race day with the adrenaline and all the people, you know, was able to rally and and have an unbelievably ah shocking, you know, result. But yeah, it's been ah the year has been a blessing for sure.
Speaker: And do you attribute it to just all your experience over the years, like stacking your training blocks and, you know, just all the volume? Or is this some kind of mind over matter thing that you're able to to do to do that?
Speaker: Um, it's not, it's not Jedi mind tricks. I wish, I wish I had those to share and, you know maybe I'd hold onto them at 65 and really I should stop saying 65, like two months from 66 now, but however getting closer the other way. But I think a lifetime of running David, a lifetime of mileage, uh, in my mid thirties, when I started in the sport, lower thirties, mid thirties, I was a huge mileage runner, high mileage runner, and would frequently average 80, 90 plus in my blocks. And, you know, things were different. We didn't forget about no carbon shoes. We didn't have gels. We didn't have any recovery products, no Normatex, no cryotherapy, no hotspot. We didn't have any of this stuff. I mean, you know, we just went out and ran. And most importantly, our shoes, they weren't built for this stuff. The shoes of today, you know, people like go way too much one way or the other on everything. Right. Oh, carbon shoes are bad. Oh, they're terrible. Don't use them. Or or they're the greatest thing. Or I can only run in carbon shoes.
Speaker: And where's where's the real answer is always somewhere in the middle. They're great. They're amazing. But not just because we can run faster than them, but because they they take the load off. They take the pounding off. And I always preach, like, mix it up, man Don't run. Never run in the same shoes two days in a row. Never. for sure. I mean, that's why i got a whole closet full of shoes. And, you know, i look at them and I'm like, OK, I'll go a little lower stack today or I'll.
Speaker: I'll go a little heavier weight today or something that's really squishy and just because my legs need it or try to run on the bridle or something grassy or rocky, something that's just going to distribute the load a little different. But for me, I just think it's a lifetime of running and definitely it's really – you know say from my so late 50s on, when I really started to run like six plus marathons a year and do all this travel, I think my body just really has adapted to it. And I can go, sometimes two weeks is better for me than three, because I just take an easy week where sometimes I don't run till Thursday or Friday.
Speaker: And then I'll do one run that race week, you know I'll throw a couple of marathon miles in and I'm like, I'm ready to go. That's so interesting. Yeah. So um when I see some people's training and you know I keep that stuff to myself, I'm not one of these people who's piling in people's comments unless they're asking my opinion personally, then I will absolutely share. What I do doesn't mean it's going to work for you, right? And what you do doesn't mean it's going to work for you, right? you're you're in a band, you're a guitarist, you're amazingly talented. My son's a pianist. Like how he practices, how you practice, what does that have to do with how some other musician does it? Like maybe it'll work for you. Maybe you'll be like, what?
Speaker: Yeah. I would never do it this way. Like, and how you develop your talents, right? As a musician or as a runner or anything else we have as a practice in life that we love and we pursue with passion, man, you got to you got to experiment and you got to try and figure out what's going to work for you.
Speaker: yeah And most importantly, like chasing these goals and dreams, are they your goals? Are they somebody else's goals or your girlfriend, your partner, or somebody out there you're trying to impress? Or is it something you really want and that you're really chasing with like real passion? And if you are, you'll get it. You'll get there, man. You'll figure it out one way or the other.
Speaker: Yeah, totally. But you got to do the work to find that path. Yes. The work always has to be done. yeah And we all we're in a generation of people looking for the hacks and the cheat codes and the word of the year is maxing. And it's like, no, stop.
Speaker: Yeah, I know I'm old. I get it. I'm old in age numerically. I'm young in spirit. yeah And I'm a tech guy. So i I use technology that people would be like, how does he know how to use this shit? I'm like, because I embrace new stuff. I want to learn about it. I'm not afraid of it.
Speaker: But you know what? do the work. Okay. There is no shortcut to being successful in a marathon period, full stop. End of story. Are you running the miles? Are you doing the work?
Speaker: Are you figuring out your weaknesses where you need to get better? That's how you improve, right? Study self-analysis, like take a look in the mirror, be be a little Goggins ask, right? And you can love David. You can hate David. Uh, you know, the, the ultra runners out there that inspire me, even though I don't do a ton of ultras, like I, I learned from them. I don't have to be doing backyards. I don't have to be doing, uh, Laz's kind of races. I don't have to, to be inspired by those kinds of guys. Like Harvey's been on your show and Mark is amazing. But, um,
Speaker: You know, I've been a huge fan of Courtney and some of the other amazing women ultra runners for years, just because I'm not in that arena doesn't mean I'm not studying them and trying to learn from them and apply it to my own running.
Speaker: Absolutely. Yeah. There's a lot to take from them, even if you're not running 400 miles. Yeah, that's crazy, right? It's insane. right. Let's jump into our categories, right? Runner's podium. We run through our eight categories. What about your top three? And I know you're going to have a lot with almost 100 marathons, but your top three most memorable running moments. Okay. Top three. Number one's got to be running in the 100th Boston Marathon. 1996. It's conceivable that some of your listeners weren't even born yet.
Speaker: My son wasn't born until 1997 and he's 29. So it's totally conceivable. Some people that might see the show or check in or listen, and I hope they will, they might not be born yet. So it's hard to imagine turning the clock back that far. But I was 35 years old.
Speaker: I was a college Division I baseball player. Oh, wow. god Got into running and just realized you know I was always the fastest guy on my baseball team and football and other sports, maybe not always football, but one of. um And always had strength. I was a captain of the wrestling team too. So I was a strong kid.
Speaker: um I had an endurance background and ah I was tough and rough and tumble. My older brother was like fully grown 12 and you know, getting chased by him and his friends playing football or were twice my size, you know, i' was going to get killed if I got tackled. So um I always had the endurance. And so for Boston, to qualify for Boston very early in my running, I don't maybe a third marathon, second marathon I qualified. So I knew I had some some actual talent there, natural talent. And when I went up to Boston, the first time was 95. I mean, I didn't even know what was happening. um
Speaker: And now, The world we live in today, it's one brand activation after another. You go down four blocks in Boston and everyone has a pop-up. And it's amazing. It's mind-blowing.
Speaker: But when I think about Boston, when I went up there, I walked up and down the street. We lived at the expo. There was nothing else. You stayed in the Heinz Convention Center and just wanted to meet all the other runners. And yeah there were no shakeout runs. There were no organized...
Speaker: group runs, you went to a bar and maybe you saw some of the other people that were running and then race day came on Monday and we started by the way at 12 o'clock. No way. Yeah. Patriots day, the hundredth Boston. Um, We start at 12 o'clock and they invited all the past champions back. um They had the first lottery. So it was the largest marathon in the world for Ida. It might've been almost 20 years before it was surpassed because fields at that size used to be 10, 15,000, maybe around there was tops, maybe 18,000. You didn't have any of these races like today with New York. We're going to probably crack 60 this weekend. So we, we have 40,000 runners between a lottery and all the qualifiers.
Speaker: And to give people perspective how much things have changed, at 34, my first Boston, I ran 246. I was in the second corral with a 246 marathon. The second. I wasn't even in the first corral.
Speaker: Okay? So imagine running a 246 today and not being in an A corral. Like, no. I don't care what age you are. It could 18. You're going to be in the first corral. Like, no questions asked. You're a bid with low number.
Speaker: And so I just – went up there for the second time with my mind blown that I had earned this chance. And I treated it like the Olympics. I ran 90 miles a week for 12 weeks with a hundred mile, you know, longest week peak weekend and train like I was running in the Olympics. And, um, I ran two 41, which was my PR. It's still my Boston PR, you know, again, no super shoes, no gels, you know, drinking Gatorade out of cups, drinking water, And I placed 400th out of like 40,000 runners. And it was in experience that changed my life in every single way because it made me believe that i really had found what I was good at. And that if I keep working at my craft, that I could really become
Speaker: like my best in the sport, that maybe this could be the thing that I could keep doing for a long time. Because as I looked around and I saw back then, I remember thinking people that were 40 or 50 were old. You know, it's so funny when people say to me, dude, you're old. I'm like, yeah, I i know. I get i get it.
Speaker: um But it's age is like a state of mind. Absolutely. That Boston experience running with all the old champions and being a part of that pageantry, Something I'll never forget. So that's number one. Number two, i would honestly have to say running 318 in Tokyo um this year at 65 because one of the last conversations had with my mom, my mom passed last year 13 days short of 93. She worked full time until she was 85. Strong, powerful little Irish lady. Toughest lady I've ever met.
Speaker: ah Most inspiring woman I've ever known. And um she lived with lymphoma for 30 years, David. She outlived her treatment protocol and every patient her treatment protocol by 10 years.
Speaker: um So that kind of strength, you just don't find. It's old. We called it old Irish strength because it is like it came from the potato famines and, you know, built the subways underground and the construction workers on those steel beams, you know, hanging off buildings. I mean, just tough people, strong people. That was my mom. That was her spirit. And she...
Speaker: just She just thrived off my running because I would say to her, mom, how do you get to work every day at 85 and you get these treatments every day and you you have to do them for 30 years? like How do you keep going? She'd be just like, put one foot in front of the other, keep going down the road, always keep moving forward, Ron, because it beats the alternative. Because you know what the alternative is?
Speaker: I won't be here anymore. And I want to be here for you guys. And it was such a simple way to live her life is to be there for me, my brothers, you know, her daughter-in-laws, the grandkids, need you know, everybody. She wanted to be there for everybody. So when I would tell her,
Speaker: about my darkest, toughest moments in races. And I would say, mom, i hit this incredible spot. I didn't know if I could make it through. And I was in a dark place and I just thought about you. And I just said, I'm goingnna put one foot in front you and going going. And eventually I turned that into stay in the fight, right? Because I felt like we all need a mantra. We need something that we can use to kind of guide us the same way we we need a why. And so I turned her one foot in front of the other, keep moving forward and to stay in the fight. And um when I would share those moments with her post-race, David, it just would she would just light up, man. Her eyes would twinkle. And it made her so proud that I was tapping into her strength, that I was leaning into her in my toughest of times. And the converse would be i would tell her how I was crushing a race and I'd be blown by people late in the race and I'd you know run a negative split.
Speaker: And then she'd be like, were you passing those younger people? Were you showing them how it's done? I'm like, yeah, mom, I did, man. I went by a couple of 20 year olds and 30 year olds. And she would just love, them she would just live for that, like back and forth with us. So when she got to the end at my brother's and I got to spend a ah beautiful week with her, an awful week in many ways, we all, most people have been there when you're praying for your person to go. And um she said, I want you to think about something you don't think you can do anymore, something impossible, something really hard. Cause I know how you are. You need something really hard to hold on to when I'm not going to be here anymore. And I was like, okay, mom, I'm going to try to run a sub three 20. I haven't run one since 57 or 58. It's probably impossible, but I'm going to call it my stairway to heaven goal. And if I do it, I'm going to be able to reach up and touch you. And um when I made that happen in Tokyo,
Speaker: I was like, how can this be over? It's it's March. like it's If mom was still here, it wouldn't be over. mom would be like, Okay. All right. You did it. See, i told you it wasn't impossible. Like, what are we going to do?
Speaker: So I added two other elements to it, which was the six continents in six races and under sub three 30 average. And I did three 25. So that's like two check boxes. And the third one was like, could I finish all Avenue majors in the same year?
Speaker: Um, and then keep the average again under three 30. So it was kind of like a three part, goals So I would say those three things together are the second one. It's an incredible accomplishment, all that stuff. And it's so cool. you really It sounds like you obviously drew strength from your mom, but I think she also drew strength from you.
Speaker: A hundred percent. Um, this is my Celtic cross for anybody who will see the clip of this or the video of this, but yeah, there's not a day that goes by that don't touch this and, and feel it. You know, I run the West side path more these days than the park. Um, just cause I'm trying to just keep my fresh in my legs. I can still run Hills. God bless. The strength is there. You know, when I show up at Sydney and you've got ton of Hills, like it's there. Yeah. But i so I see her out there. I feel her out there. I talk to her through it all. But yeah, it was that dialogue that made it so special. And that's why I know that she's like watching down as I've gone through this crazy amount of races and 245 days to run nine marathons. It's nuts. But I draw strength from that, but I do want to have a third one. That's not an actual race because, um, you remember COVID times, like people were doing a lot of different things just to keep our mental state up and our physical state. And however we choose to try to stay healthy at that point and Um, you know, I ran 10 marathons in 10 weeks for frontline healthcare care workers, but that wasn't one thing. That was 10. So I decided I ran 60 miles, uh, for my 60th birthday for Tommy Riv. Amazing human. Just, uh, you know, he's in New York. He's still so connected with Kraft and the brand and they've stuck by him all these years. Um,
Speaker: For him to survive. And when I ran that 60 miles on my birthday, I had this vision, ah David, of like you and 20 other runners like meeting me and chopping the run up, you know, four miles with you. And, you know, everybody's like, I'm going to run with you. i'm going to run with you.
Speaker: Forecast goes nuts. Everybody's like, dude, change the change the day. I go, it's my birthday. I'm not changing the date. I said I was going to do it on my birthday. It was a Friday morning.
Speaker: It was, I think, three or four degrees air temp, and it was like minus 12 or minus 13 wind chill. The wind was blowing like 30 miles an hour. And I live on the water on the Jersey side now, so I'm not on the Upper West Side. That's right. Yeah, yeah. So my route was I was going to run to Liberty State Park.
Speaker: And then I had planned to run up to the George Washington bridge and then cross over and then run all the way down into New York. And I knew it would get me what I needed. I didn't know exactly where I would end up finishing. It wouldn't matter. I just figure it out as I went along.
Speaker: And, um, that day came and, uh, Only two souls joined me that day. Two souls. One used to live in this building with me, the estuary where i live in Weehawken. Tadi, a really good running friend of mine from Brazil, super person. And um' she was worried about me and messaged me when I was in Liberty State Park because I put it on Facebook Live and she saw me getting like blown over by the wind and my face was red.
Speaker: And um she said, just stop on your way by the bridge. Just stop by and I'm going to give you some bananas and some some drinks and some fresh stuff. And um I figured, you know, let me just stop by. And then like a great human that she is, she she popped and ran, i don't know, five miles or so, something like that with me, five, maybe six. And that really helped me.
Speaker: And she talked me out of going up to the George Washington Bridge because she said, you're going to get blown off the bridge and we're never going to see you again. So I ran back to the ferry, went across, took the ferry and then finished in New York. And then I had a second great friend, my brother, Greg Run Love New York. i don't know if you follow him or he follows you, but...
Speaker: good buddy of mine, good friend. And he joined me late when it got dark and even more cold and ran some miles with me and then went back into his car late and just like warmed himself up and had snacks in there and things for me and driving me home, which was amazing. But I have to say that that was a really meaningful thing because it raised a lot of money for Rebs and his family. And to do something so hard and not, you know, turn it away and just say, let me look for a better day. So the 60 for 60 as the, as the third.
Speaker: That's amazing, dude. That's amazing. Ron, what about your top three pieces of essential gear? Well, my Puma Fast R3 race shoes are like live and die with them. I mean, just best racing shoe that I've ever raced in. And I was in, you know, Alpha Fly forever. Lived in those for how many years in iterations? But the Fast r three s are...
Speaker: The best racing shoe. Again, the caveat always for me. don't know how they're going to fit somebody else's foot. Of course. They're amazing. In non-shoe, I would say my stride foot pods are an incredibly essential a piece of tech that I rely on. So I have the two stride foot pods. Me too. which will tell me my left, right foot balance, you know, impact load rate.
Speaker: But most importantly, gives, it's giving me a power yeah number that I can look at and I can assess, even though I don't run 5Ks very much at all anymore. Okay. If I were going to run a 5K segment, because if I might be trying to hit 5K pace in some loops just to keep my speed, card even though I'm not doing that, it might tell me my power number for that's 295 or 310 or And then It takes away the what pace am I supposed to be run? So I feel like that has been an essential part of my running for many years. And that guides a lot of my decision making on the course. I never pay heart rate. I know
Speaker: that I have a crazy, I still have a resting heart rate of like 38 to 40, which is kind of crazy. um But I know that I can actually run runs outside when it could be as high as 85 degrees. I can do runs at a hundred heart rate or even lower, sometimes like 98, where I'm running in the nine something pace range, like nine 30. That's hot wild. Which is not that slow, you know, but because of all the development of like all those years. And like, I don't, because of that, I don't have a crazy high,
Speaker: heart rate anymore on the upper side either. So i might average, I don't know, say like 135 for a marathon because I'm not, I don't have that high end piece anymore, but I'm not ever running a race based on heart rate ever. And even my stride foot pods, because I think this is an essential piece of advice to share too. It's like, I know their power target they give me.
Speaker: David, I know what it is. In Tokyo, it was 262 or 263. I averaged 275 for the whole race. Why? Because I was fearless enough to say no I feel good. yeah I don't care if that number's higher than what my target number is. I feel good. I'm not i'm not struggling at all to breathe. And you really shouldn't be struggling to breathe in a marathon. You know that. It's an aerobic you know race. It is. And you know even when I ran six-minute pace, I could still talk to somebody next to me. I wasn't have a full conversation, but I could certainly say, David, are you feeling, brother?
Speaker: you know Whatever. I'm not going to be like, hey, let's have a chat. you know like You're out there to get your business done. um So I think the stride piece is super essential. Yeah. And you know, that, that just comes with experience too. You've done it enough to know your body well enough to say, to trust yourself, to say, I'm feeling it. I can go for it.
Speaker: That's a dangerous road to go on. If you're not experienced, do you know what I'm saying? Very dangerous. And it can also bite you. yeah So being fair, I'm not just trying to promote my wins because I have L's too, brother. I got L's too. In Chicago, my partner Sarah's kids were supposed to be on the course and they're just awesome some kids and i love being around them. And they're just like so amazed by my running. And I was like, I don't care if it's hot.
Speaker: Don't care what the weather is. I am not coming out here to run over 330 today. Don't care if the weather conditions tell me I'm going to run over 330. I went for that race ah hard.
Speaker: And I got to a couple of points where I looked down and that was like 282 in my power number. andre like, I know better, David. I know better. And I rarely let my ego win. i almost always am able to push like the hubris aside and say, no, no, dude, this isn't what we want to do. Now, Tokyo, it was a lot closer to where their number was.
Speaker: I knew better in Chicago, so I should have pulled it back. And it cost me. It cost me with three plus miles to go. I end up cramping. And you know no matter how much how many gels you can get in, sometimes you just can't match the sodium side of it.
Speaker: And for me, that's that's something that I struggle with. And I would say my third piece of tech, my Norma techs are indispensable. They can't live without them. They are just...
Speaker: you know They saved me a ton of money on massage. I still go to get worked on when I can fit it in between races, but a lot of times I just can't. so The Normatex are just absolutely at the top of top of the rank ranking board for for tools.
Speaker: The compression boots. Yeah. All right. so That kind of leads us to your Chicago story. What about your top three runs that didn't go as planned? Oh, I love it. Great question. I would say Boston 2018, anybody that was there, other than Des and Yuki, you know like you'll never see more pros drop out of a race in your life, ever.
Speaker: Just won't happen. ah You'll never see more people miss their goals. And by miles, conditions matter. And there's just too many people out there. We live in this culture, the Strava culture and all the stuff where People only want to show their best data.
Speaker: Or you got people out there that are saying, well, at 26.2 miles, my time was this. ah No, dude, that was not your time. OK, your Garmin watch is not 100 percent accurate. OK, like, sorry, i hate to break the news to you. When you cross the line is what your time is. All right. Let's not play this game. Right. So in Boston, 2018, you know, I, I would honestly say I was probably close to sub three shape. Maybe not exactly, but you know, 305 would have been a really good day. Certainly 258 to 303 would have been like solid, but even 305 would have been a good day, but I didn't adjust.
Speaker: for the weather. um I just said, let me just take my chances. Let me see how I feel. And I was really strong deep into the race. But I think what hit people ah hardest on that day was just that it was so cold and the wind was so crazy. It just blew all the water in the gate raid was like off the table. So it just kept getting blown over. So you were going by tables and you really couldn't get fluids in. And people are thinking, hey, I don't need fluids.
Speaker: You always need fluids. It doesn't matter. It can be 12 degrees. It can be 30 degrees with no humidity. You still need to be getting fluids in, right? You're running in dry air. Still got to get fluids in.
Speaker: You also still need to get carbs in. Gels, people were dropping them like flies because your hands are frozen. You know, who's going to go back when you're in 30 mile an hour wind? So... I call that race Team Hypothermia.
Speaker: um Most of my friends ended up in Team Hypothermia. Many of us ended up in the medical tent, including me after the race, thankfully. A lot of my friends ended up in the medical tent during the race and didn't finish. So I'm super proud that I hung in there, man. I lost a contact lens in the last couple of miles that I couldn't see. I was like, you know, running and banging into people. Oh, my goodness. And, you know, like 319. And I remember thinking, dude, what the hell? You ran 319. And now I'm like, I ran 319 in the perfect storm. So didn't go as expected.
Speaker: And that's not always like when you look back on things, which is what I try to tell people, man, when you're around long enough, you have time to look at this stuff. Yeah. Things that you might think that you sucked at, you may not feel that same way in a couple of years from now. You might actually feel, holy shit, man, I was brave. I tried something. new I tackled this a different way. So I think Boston 2018, amazing.
Speaker: Columbus Marathon, the year of, let's see. So that would be also 1996. wow. So I ran 240 in Chicago that year and couldn't get under 240. So I ran Columbus just a short time later.
Speaker: And my only goal at that point, David, was to break 240. And it was a windy day. it wasn't as cold as like Boston because Boston was so cold because of the rain. That's what made Boston so cold that year. We're running through puddles. The wind was blowing. I don't know how it wasn't snowing with those two things, but somehow it wasn't.
Speaker: But ah I've never... dropped out of a marathon in my entire life. And I started to do the math 20 miles, 21, 22. My hotel was at mile like 23. It's Hyatt hotel in Columbus. No pre-thought whatsoever.
Speaker: Not once in my brain did I say, I'm going to drop out of this race. I'm running along. There it goes to the Hyatt Hotel. I run right into the revolving doors. I go right up the stairs and I go up to the elevator and I wrap myself like a pig in a blanket, like a hot dog.
Speaker: And I shiver for like, I don't know how many minutes until my teeth stop chattering. and Oh my God. only marathon I ever dropped out of. And just like, it happens, man. It's going to happen to everybody. You're going to have a day somewhere out there where you do something unexpected. And so that is definitely one for sure. And I would say the last one, i probably say London and, um,
Speaker: twenty 2023. It's a year that I did all the majors. I've done all of them. This will be the third time I've run all avid majors in one year. That was the year i lost my um first rescue dog, Princess Coco.
Speaker: Shout out Princess Coco. Beautiful chocolate lab pit, beautiful soul. I lost her four days before Boston. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge and I Had some knee issues at the time. It was not a stress fracture. it was like borderline stress reaction, but just hadn't been running.
Speaker: And then this happened. And I, you know, just said that I had was going to run the six. I looked at the calendar and I was like, if I could get through Boston and London, I'll have all that time before Berlin. I don't know if I'll make it or not, but I'm in so much pain. I live in a small space these days. I'm downsized after living in a big house and big townhouse and my son's moved on and he's a grown man. Gotcha.
Speaker: So I live in a small space. And the idea of coming back to this little place where this dog and I had spent the last, you know, nine, 10 years, it's, I just couldn't do it. So I showed up at Boston, got through Boston, made it slow as hell.
Speaker: Didn't care. Didn't matter. um Ran it, but you know, really gingerly trying not to put too much stress on that knee that had been bothering me. Made it through. Okay. London was six days later.
Speaker: uh, I felt better in London, david better than I did in Boston. And I was actually running like my regular gate, my regular stride. I crossed the, uh, I crossed the bridge there. You know, I'm still feeling great.
Speaker: You come around the bend to the right. I'm going up the road. And it was like, somebody took a sniper rifle out and shot me, hit me in the knee. It was just like, it just buckled. And I mean, really buckled, you know, almost like when you fracture something, like a bone just like snaps. And I was like, i was like, okay. So I just like kind of went over to the side a little and it wasn't a calf or muscle thing to stretch. And I was just like trying to, rub around the knee and just walked a little bit more. Then I started to try to run it again. It was just completely buckles again. And I was just like, oh man, this is, this is bad. This is bad. I'm at mile probably 14. So I got 12 miles to go.
Speaker: And so I walk into a medical tent day after signing all these forms. You can't just do anything in a medical tent these days. You got to like give them all your information because God forbid if something happens to you, they got to have a record of, they take your blood pressure, all this stuff. I'm like, can I just get some Tylenol? Like Advil? They're like, no.
Speaker: I'm like, what do you mean no? i can If I'm at the New York Marathon, couldn't I get some Tylenol? Maybe you can't. what do i i It's not like a normal occurrence for me to hit the medical tent, but- Yeah. So I got out of there and you know got some Tylenol finally. And then I passed the second medical tent and I got them to just kind of tape it up for me. And I didn't try to run anymore. I walked it, but I walked the last 12 miles. But I did finish those two.
Speaker: It ended up being a stress fracture. And I had plenty of time between then and Berlin and it healed. And I finished and ran the last three of the year. So I finished it, but I was in I would never tell anybody to do stuff like that. Cause I don't, you know, people will follow the guy or the Goggins or some, I don't ever tell people to do stuff like that. Look, I'm, I'm older, man. I can take risks that other people can't. I, my best days are behind me. I'm not going to break any course records. I'm not going to run any PRs. And if I want to do something that's a little crazy or stupid, I can, you know, and I can try it including a backyard or a hundred miler.
Speaker: And those are some things I'll be thinking about, but, um, Now, again, dumb at the time, but I'm still proud of the fact that I, that was a way to channel my pain and, it's incredible you know, just everything with losing her and, um, it helped me get through it.
Speaker: So it was good. That's amazing, Ron. How about your top three unwritten rules for running? Oh, that's a good one. I think one thing that, you know, you're in the park a lot, I'm sure. Well, you're Brooklyn more, but you're probably still running the park a lot, right? Sure. I love running in the park. Yeah. I think everybody does. I love running in Brooklyn too. I didn't, for you know, going over to do runs with Bandit and stuff. I ended up coming over there more these days and yeah beautiful beautiful running over there, especially along the water. That's near me. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: So I think, yeah, I got so i saw you one day. Yeah. Remember? Yeah. Yeah. I was over there. Probably one of my biggest things I think people just need to be way, way the hell more aware of. How many deaths have we had recently in Central Park, right? With two two recently. um And there's – I don't know how there aren't more.
Speaker: um I don't know how – when I see it happening and I see the speed of the cyclist, not a – I've cycled many years. I've done tri-likes. I am the last person who's going to hate on cyclists. That is not me. I'm a person who's trying to bridge those gaps and find peace between everybody. But sometimes it isn't easily found.
Speaker: Spatial awareness, people. Spatial awareness. yeah Be aware of where you are on a solo run. First and foremost, are you in the bike lane? Get your ass over into the running lane. Are you like just literally cutting people off that are maybe walking? Do you really need to do that? Just be aware of other people, be a good human being when you're on the West side path, be careful, man. You got motorized bikes. You got people wailing at crazy speeds on those scooters. Yeah. You know, be wear bone conduction headphones. Okay.
Speaker: You know, be smart about things because you want to be around. Right. And, I would also so extend that to these just massive, wildly huge group runs that you see taking place, training runs for Any any group, not going to single out any group at all because it's not about that.
Speaker: yeah You don't get to monopolize the entire running lane wherever you are. It doesn't work that way. You're on the west side path. The bike lane's twice as wide. Why? Because it's two directions, right?
Speaker: Our running walking lane is shorter. How many times do I see four people walking across the lane? They're looking at me like I'm out of my mind when I'm going like this.
Speaker: Because I don't want to say anything and have it come off the wrong way with tone. And then finally I'm like, move over. I'm like, F you. And I'm like, F me? You don't get to push me out into the bike lane so I can get steamrolled. So that's a good one.
Speaker: That's a great one. And something people really, really need to be aware of. A huge, huge pet peeve. And another thing people have to have way more awareness on is in actual races, aid station tables. Like have some decorum, people. Have some some manners. If you're driving your car, David, do you literally change lanes without looking? No.
Speaker: Not unless you want to die or end up in the er If you're cycling, do you change lanes without looking? No. So why would somebody think that because they're running in the middle of the road, they could just make a 90-degree cut to the left or right and just go plow into people like they're bowling pins and Because they just realized the Gatorade was coming up.
Speaker: Be aware of your fellow runners. Be a good human being. I don't even think about moving over until I turn my head and look to the left or to the right and see, do I have clearance? Do I have an opening? And if I don't, I will either...
Speaker: wait and let people go by me or way more importantly, if I know there's more tables up ahead of me, I will just take a very different angle and go further up. And in the races like New York and Chicago that are just amazing, you know, it's Gatorade first, water second, or water first, Gatorade second. What are you pulling over for? Be aware.
Speaker: Just be aware. that eight tables tables are coming up. Are you looking to take a gel where you need to drink some water, then just slide over one way or the other and prepare yourself, whether you're at Boston or even a local race, just be aware. That's a huge one. And I think people do a terrible, terrible job of it. And they've got headphones on to begin with. So you may not hear the people around you, be aware of your fellow runners. And then the last one is more, I know, know I'm old school,
Speaker: And I'm proud of being old school. But you know it doesn't hurt to make eye contact with people on a run and just give people a little shout out. Man, you don't have to hit them with hello, anything else. Man, it can be a salute. It can be like up here. It can be a hundred things. But I know myself, I've had some people on the New York City side, the whole book inside. Hey, go run, run to NYC. What's up, dude? I follow you And I'm just like, dude just made my day. yeah Lady just made my day.
Speaker: um you know, I see somebody out there struggling on a run. Great job, man. Keep it going. Like I've had cyclists come up to me, dude, your pace is crazy. Like on the West side path. And i'm like, man, thank you, man. You know, you just made my day. Like, thank you for sharing that little bit. So just realize that you might be able to lift somebody up that's having a good day, a crappy day, a medium day, just by making eye contact, whatever, ah that type of deal. So yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, it's so true. I remember like, you know how it is training for Boston in New York. It's in new York City in the winter. It's freezing. And one of those crazy, it was like snow. Like it was a pretty tough winter. And just one morning I'm out there because I run in the mornings. It's dark. It's absolutely freezing. I think there was snow everywhere. Some like sanitation workers saw me and he was just cheering me on. And I still remember it. was like, yes, that guy's awesome. Thank you, bro. I needed that right now. We all we all get such a lift from something like that.
Speaker: And look at your face, man. You you remember that moment. yeah You carry it with you. And so like when you give that back to somebody else, man, they're going to take that with them too. And then hopefully they're going to think of some way I can yeah hate pay this forward. you know It's like you give up your seat on the subway. Yeah. give up your seat on the ferry. And, you know, like people look around and somebody noticed that you don't do it because anybody noticed it. You don't do it because somebody says, thank you. Just do it because it's the right thing to do. That's all. But yes, other people are watching. They always are.
Speaker: And, you know, like if those habits out there, you know, if you spread a little positive energy out there on a run, man, hopefully somebody else will think about doing that. Totally. We're on for the final category. And I'm curious about this with everything you've accomplished. What are some goals you have moving forward?
Speaker: Oh gosh. Well, I think, you know, I'll just share quickly what my goals were for this year because it was such a deeply meaningful year, you know, with running for my mom. So for people who maybe aren't following my page, you know, I, decided to commit this year a global running to my mom.
Speaker: Like her amazing legacy, her strength, you know, just wanted to honor her. So my goals were projects of 320. That was one of my three goals. Two was to run six marathons on six continents. That was goal number two. And the third was to finish all eight avid majors this year, which would give me nine marathons total um in a little bit less than than nine months, March 1st to November 1st. So I'm going to hit all my goals this year. The last piece of it, though, because I added these other you know quantifiers that weren't there because my mom wasn't here anymore. like I had to make it under sub-330. No, I didn't. I just figured, hey, I'm already under sub-330 through all these. why I got to have something else to hold my feet to the fire. and You know New York's the hardest course.
Speaker: so I've run 327 the last two years. I'm tired, David. I ain't going to lie, man. I'm beat. I'm tired. This year has been tough, but my mom was tired a lot. So, you know, I'll think about that a lot. And I will think about how she always found a way to keep going. She always found a way to rally and always put the attention on others. So I will... um you know the New York crowds, you know there's nothing like New York. I mean, look, I love Boston deeply because that's where I found myself and it like changed who I am as a runner, but there's no race like New York. There isn't even a close second.
Speaker: New York is one um it's like World Cup energy for 26 miles. you know It's like World Cup final energy for 26 miles. and You give the people the energy, they're going to give it back to you. so Those are my three goals for this year. They're big.
Speaker: and I think like a bigger overarching goal, I think something that's really important to me, and I don't ever, i don't really share it much on my page, but man, I hope that I am inspiring some people. I really do. And I mean, particularly maybe older people that maybe aren't even running yet, or maybe people who've been injured or sidelined. It's not like my running has been this perfect trajectory and I've never had any injuries, didn't have any stress fractures, didn't hit any speed bumps. I've had those things happen.
Speaker: And I've come back off the mat. I've come back off the deck when a lot of people told me, and maybe not to my face directly, because you know how that can be. It's like, hey, I don't know.
Speaker: Maybe he shouldn't be running so many marathons, or maybe he should start running shorter distances, or maybe he got everything out of the sport he could get. you know what, that's fine. That's fuel for me. I don't i don't take it i take it personally, but I use it in a good way. I don't take it personally like, oh yeah, I'm gonna like paste this comment. No, that's not me. Somebody thinks I can't do something any anymore, good, i I love it. But I just wanna show people that, hey, getting to 65, 66, it's all about how you feel about yourself and how hard you're willing to train and how much you're willing to invest in your health.
Speaker: And your commitment to staying healthy and strong. And, you know, I don't want to do this until I'm 66. If I can be running marathons at 100, that's what I want to do. I might be gone tomorrow, though. And that's the caveat I always tell people. Don't wait to start a living your life, man. Because guess what?
Speaker: People, incredibly healthy people get ALS. Incredibly healthy people are not with us anymore. Things happen. So, you know, live your life now, like find big goals and make sure they're your goals. Right.
Speaker: I tell people that all the time. Don't chase the Boston Marathon because your friends chase it. Do you really want to run Boston? Is that important to you? Or is there something else important? Like figure it out. you know, and, and if it's not marathons, then go do high rocks. And if it isn't high rocks and, you know, do triathlon. If it's not that, maybe it's not sports that everybody else is doing. Maybe it's just out there on the trail, like, or backyard stuff, you know, that aren't these bigger things that are more just like mental, like, well, they're not just mental, man. This is insane that what these, what these guys and ladies can do, man. um Absolutely. It's fascinating, you know? And, um,
Speaker: I think so much of what we do is physical and requires our bodies to be strong, but that's, this is where I'm always working at. Like how much stronger can I get mentally? Like when I get to these spots, can i figure out strategies to, you know, treat it like a fart lick run? Okay. I'm suffering right now. I got a side stitch. I'm really not, I'm not going to be able to hold this pace right now. right. So let me just back off a little. Like I'm in a fart lick run. I'm in a recovery cycle for three minutes and see if I can dial it back up or maybe this mile is just going to be a slow mile.
Speaker: And then maybe I can rally in the next mile. You mentioned in that answer, whether you're, whether you're hoping that you're inspiring some people, I can say with certainty, with great certainty, you are inspiring many, many people daily run and I, and everything that you're doing and showing up day after day, the way you've been, uh, dedicating this to your mom. And, you know, I think that alone is just so inspiring and, and it, it's hit so many people. So many people have these struggles and the way you've channeled that into something so positive is, is just such a great thing. And and I'm so grateful that you took the time ah to be on the podcast today. Thank you so much, Ron. It's been awesome to hang so much great information here and so many great stories. So yeah, thank you so much, man.
Speaker: It's been an absolute pleasure chatting with you, David. Like I said, we got to share some miles and yes you're going have to come on my show. Anytime. so I got to return the favor. So we got to get you on.
Speaker: We got to share some miles and we'll ah schedule some time for you to come on. I want to learn more about your music and how that guides your running and other things in your life. Because I know that that's a big part of probably where you get your creative direction and other things yes sir that you're tapping into with your running. So anyway, it's been awesome. And to everybody who's listening, man,
Speaker: Keep lacing them up. Keep getting out the door. Always remember to stay in the fight. You heard it here The great Ron Romano. Thanks again, brother. Take care, David. Yeah, man.
