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Jerry Faulkner: Top 3 Running Moments & Lessons From a Lifetime of Running
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Episode 1: Jerry Faulkner
What are Jerry Faulkner’s top three running moments, favorite races, go-to shoes, and biggest pet peeves?
In the debut episode of Runners Podium, host David Bailis sits down with Adidas athlete, coach, and accomplished marathoner Jerry Faulkner, whose running career includes multiple marathon victories, top-30 finishes at the New York City Marathon, and years of leadership in the running community.
Jerry shares the stories, gear, lessons, and experiences that have shaped his running journey—plus one final piece of advice for runners.
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Transcript
Introduction of Jerry Faulkner and his influence
00:00:02
Speaker
Today I am joined by the legend, Jerry Faulkner. So honored to have Jerry on, coach, multiple time marathon champion, Olympic marathon trials qualifier, and just a great leader in our New York running community. Someone I have a ton of respect for. So really grateful to have you on. Thanks for being here, Jerry.
00:00:22
Speaker
David, thanks for having
Jerry's coaching philosophy and community impact
00:00:23
Speaker
me, man. And it was definitely, it's always been honor to be able to coach, but also to have a little bit of influence on your running. Definitely. Big influence, big inspiration, big inspiration. I remember the first time I saw you, Jerry, you were winning a race that I was running and i was just like, oh my God, who is that guy?
00:00:39
Speaker
and need to learn from him. And man, you're killing it right now. You're killing it. And just living in the the New York community, it's just like spreading that love, but also getting to know people and then believe in that running culture, man. So yeah, thanks for having me again.
00:00:53
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah,
Fast-paced Q&A: Memorable running moments
00:00:55
Speaker
man. And so, you know, this is a fast paced format where we, you know, runners work through recurring top three categories. So let's just jump in and, you know, let me know what comes to mind. We're going to start with Jerry, your top three most memorable running moments.
00:01:10
Speaker
I would say
Jerry's first marathon experience
00:01:11
Speaker
my top three most running moments would probably be my first in, I would say, 2005. 2005, I was running my first marathon.
00:01:23
Speaker
And i was running the Memorial Oklahoma City bombing marathon. marathon. And this marathon is a race that raises money for the Oklahoma city bombing.
00:01:34
Speaker
And so like 1995, the Oklahoma city bombing happened on April 19th. And so this race actually raises money for the Memorial. And so they would have a marathon and it's been going on for its 26th year. So when I ran it, my 2005,
00:01:51
Speaker
I had no experience from running marathons, but also I just came out of college and I was a college walk-on. So I was a walk-on my freshman year. So I was only been running competitively about maybe four years, around four years.
00:02:05
Speaker
And so – I use this marathon as a, like trying to get little bit of street cred, but also try to get my foot dabbed into this marathon sport because that's where it's at. I
Winning strategy at the Oklahoma City Marathon
00:02:17
Speaker
mean, if you're a runner, if you haven't ran a marathon, you're not a runner. So I had to get that, get that my feet wet.
00:02:22
Speaker
And so, I ah went out for the first 13 miles, didn't take any water, didn't take any gels. And this time also they didn't have so many water stations. So I went through the halfway at 112. So 112 through halfway is about 530 per mile pace.
00:02:43
Speaker
And, you know, I was feeling good. i had the news truck. I had channel four, like tracking me through the whole race. They were videotaping me through the whole race. And then I get to halfway. I'm right there. I'm like, okay, all I have left is another 13 miles. So I'm halfway, another 13 miles.
00:03:01
Speaker
Use it as a, uh, a long run. And man, was I wrong. Hmm. Man, I was wrong. I ended up getting to mile 20.
00:03:12
Speaker
Dehydration started to kick in. The temperature was about 60 to 80 degrees. So like, you know, when you're running that long and you don't have liquids, David, it it gets you. It gets you.
00:03:23
Speaker
And so I was running like coming from 530 miles. And then I got to about about 200 meters left in the marathon. And I've been leading the race for the whole race. Oh, man.
00:03:35
Speaker
And then a guy passes me on the end. And that's 200. And the people, the news people didn't know who he was. They're like, who was that? Who who just passed us?
00:03:46
Speaker
And they're like, oh my gosh, I think that was the second place guy. he now Now the second place guy passed the leader. And I'm like, oh shit. So I end up crawling to the finish line and ended up running like 232 marathon, got second in Oklahoma City for my first marathon.
00:04:03
Speaker
So which is still an amazing result, just doing amazing result, but not really being prepared to run the marathon. I, I used it as like a normal race, but not as a training for the marathon. Like, all right, I'm going to take these gels. I'm take these waters. I'm going to like, I'm go out a little bit more conservative. I mostly went out and just blown the, the barn doors off of this race.
00:04:27
Speaker
So that would probably be my number one. ah
Running philosophies from major marathons
00:04:31
Speaker
The next year I ended up winning it and I ran smarter, but I feel like I had a better story for my first one for 2005. 2006, I ran 236, ended up winning the marathon and ran a lot smarter. I ran with somebody and then I ended up taking off at the end and ran 236.
00:04:48
Speaker
And then i would say my second favorite race is the New York City Marathon. I mean, the community, the people, the competition, the different parts of the city is insane.
00:05:03
Speaker
And you've ran New York as well, haven't you? Yeah. Six times, I believe. Yeah. Six times. It just keeps getting better and better. ah I'm running it this year, but man, uh,
00:05:14
Speaker
I got to run it in 2016 in the elite field. And that that was awesome because I ended up running a 221 at Hartford, Connecticut the year before. And so I qualified to run in the elite field. And so I got selected run the elite field.
00:05:30
Speaker
And when you're on the Verrazano Bridge, and the Verrazano is the start of the New York City Marathon. Yeah. They start playing New York, New York. i was like, shit, this is crazy. yeah Me from 2016 asking the runner from 2000 saying, hey, you're college walk-on.
00:05:48
Speaker
You're going to be in the elite field for the New York City Marathon. You're going to be living in New York because I was living in Oklahoma. I've lived in ah Oklahoma for 30 years, and now you'll be living in New York, running the new York City Marathon.
00:06:01
Speaker
the community, the crowds, and then being able to go out and compete. And I ended up running like 226 that day and came on 29th. That was freaking awesome. And that was one another huge moment. And then I would say probably my second favorite, i mean, my third favorite moment is probably running Boston. Boston ran 225, very competitive race.
00:06:22
Speaker
And our team ended up winning the team series for that race. So those three big marathons, definitely have influenced my, uh, thinking about running, but my philosophy on running, but also my experience.
00:06:35
Speaker
Amazing.
Discussion on running shoes and preferences
00:06:36
Speaker
Incredible. Um, Jerry, tell me, like, I know you work at Adidas. Tell me about your top three running, favorite running shoes. So I've been in running retail for about 16 years.
00:06:49
Speaker
So I've started at a running shoe store for like, ah for six years being a store manager, learning about footwear and seeing all these technologies. So for example, 2006, shoes were starting to become over $100.
00:07:05
Speaker
So ah they're starting to go over $100. The Brooks Adrenaline went over $100. That's when people started using stability and supportive shoes. And then we went to more barefoot and now we're completely flipped and now we're in high cushion shoes right now.
00:07:19
Speaker
So I would say one of my most favorite shoes right now is the Adizero Pro 4. And reason why reason why is because this stack is great. It's very soft. It's very durable. Also, it's not too high, but it's not too low. So it gives you a little bit more cushion for a 5K, but also it's light enough to run a marathon in.
00:07:43
Speaker
Cool. Yeah. So i I love that shoe. That's my favorite workhorse shoe. So if you follow me on Instagram or see me out doing a track workout or even racing, I'll probably have some fire type of color of an Evo Pro 4.
00:08:00
Speaker
And then my second favorite shoe right now is the Evo SL. And the Evo SL is our lightest weight neutral hybrid running shoe. It doesn't have a carbon plate, and it runs $150. It's soft. It's cushioned.
00:08:15
Speaker
It's more like you can use it as an everyday trainer, but also you can use it as a race day shoe. But I use it more as a sneaker culture, like kicking around in the streets of New York. Nice. You can match everything. And ah I don't know. I really love the stripes where we got right now. And then – Just to show you guys something very, very special.
00:08:32
Speaker
This just released. o The Hyper Boost Edge. And the Hyper Boost Edge is becoming my favorite love. This shoe right here. Nice. Ooh, I love the look.
00:08:44
Speaker
So look is awesome, but the technology is another level. We're using a super foam in this shoe, but also we're using a foam that keeps the shape of the shoe all climate. So if it's hot outside, it stays supportive.
00:08:59
Speaker
If it's cold outside, it stays soft. So the Hyperboost Edge, is been one of those high cushion trainers that has a stack height. It's at a 45 and it's a six offset. And then we have Addy Prime that fits a foot great.
00:09:12
Speaker
And then I'm definitely get you a pair of these to run in. They've been my favorite shoe right now. Amazing. what
Adidas technology and marathon records
00:09:19
Speaker
What are your thoughts? Because Sebastian Selway, right, that he was wearing some kind of super high tech new Adidas. Have you tried those?
00:09:26
Speaker
I've touched them. I got to touch them at Boston and I have the previous ah two pairs from when that shoe relaunched. So I have the Evo one that weighed about three ounces that has the energy rods.
00:09:40
Speaker
And then we have the Evo two that has ah like an ounce off of that. And that's still with a little bit better upper on that. And then the Evo three, I got to touch it. It's half an ounce.
00:09:52
Speaker
And then they changed the rod technology where they're putting a rim rod technology around the rim of the shoe to get more energy return. yeah And it's it's so crazy. um When I ran Oklahoma City this year, that was the same debt day same day that they were running the London Marathon. okay And I saw on the social media feed, like two people ended up breaking two hours in the marathon. And I'm like, that is insane.
00:10:18
Speaker
So that's about... Running wise, that's about like 20 to 19 miles per hour for 26.2 miles. And that's amazing. That is just really amazing. And also I was super happy to to see Adidas do that. And with that innovation, with that technology. So yeah, that is
Challenging running experiences
00:10:37
Speaker
great. Incredible stuff. all right, Jerry, let's move on to top three running moments that didn't go as planned. It sounds like your first, that first marathon was sort of a lesson in that way.
00:10:47
Speaker
Yeah, my first marathon was that um I've had stomach issues. I feel like every runner has had stomach issues or or have an issue where you think that you brought everything and you forget your most important thing, your watch.
00:11:04
Speaker
You forget your your shorts. You forget your singlet. Or even you forget your race bib. You left it at at a restaurant. So I would say my first one would probably be the Oklahoma City Marathon, not really hydrating well and then bonking like crazy, bonking like crazy. Second would probably be the Columbus Marathon.
00:11:24
Speaker
um When I ran the Columbus Marathon, that was 2009. two thousand and nine And Columbus Marathon is kind of a tricky marathon because it's an out and back. So you do the same course. You do the first loops, 13 miles, and then you have an option. This is what really you got to dial it in.
00:11:43
Speaker
When you get to halfway, the half marathon people pull off and finish. yeah You have to do the same loop that you just did the first loop. yeah So I was like,
00:11:54
Speaker
It was crazy because me and my one of my my one of my friends when we were living in Oklahoma, we came to go do this race to qualify for the Olympic trials. And so we got an elite entry. We had a hotel and we're staying at the elite hotel with all the elite runners.
00:12:11
Speaker
And then we got up super early. Got on the van. And then we found out we got in traffic and we sat on the bus for about two hours before the race. Oh, no.
00:12:22
Speaker
So we didn't get to go the restroom at all. So we just threw everything in a bag, threw our shoes on, got to the line, gun went off. Oh. The first 13 miles, I was like, okay, okay, I don't know about this because I haven't went to the restroom at all.
00:12:39
Speaker
And I don't know what i'm goingnna do. I don't know what I'm going to do. i don't know what i'm gonna do And so I try to fight that urge of going to restroom. And, man, I fight it and I fight it. i'm like And also, this is the thing. 2009, social media was starting to have a lot of memes. So, like, runners that have pushed themselves to the limit and went on themselves – Became a meme. And I was like, I don't want to be a a guy that went went the restroom of myself and then I'm finishing the race and I didn't get the time that I wanted.
00:13:09
Speaker
Yeah, so I end up have to go in the restroom, but I ended up pulling over and finding a port-a-john to go the restroom. And then I missed the trial time by like three minutes and all stuff I ended up like running like 223 marathon.
00:13:23
Speaker
marathon so Yeah, it was crazy. It was crazy. So I would say that was my number second worst experience. yeah And then i would say probably my third is showing up to a race and not having my race day shoes, like showing up to a local race race and finding out like, oh, crap, I left my racing shoes in my apartment and then I have to run in my trainers.
00:13:48
Speaker
And I've had that happen to me in New York and it's not, not the funnest thing. So not hydrating well, uh, not being able to get the preparation of your stomach well, and then also forgetting items. So I would say that's mostly going to happen to a lot of runners.
00:14:03
Speaker
Yeah. And that kind of leads
Essential running gear and preparation
00:14:05
Speaker
to the next one of your top three outside of shoes. What is like top three, um, most essential gear to you? I would say top three central gear is probably your GPS watch.
00:14:18
Speaker
And then I would say number two would probably be like my nutrition. And that's the thing is where you got to figure out your nutrition because there's different types of gels out there, but also it's the the weather too.
00:14:30
Speaker
Because it could be like really, really hot and you may not want something too sugary, but also you may want something with little with a little bit more sodium. So with sodium, it will hold the water a little bit better.
00:14:41
Speaker
And then like if it's a little bit more colder outside, I may want some with a little bit more sugar so I can get my heart rate up a little bit more quicker because you lose a lot of heat when you're just like – not being able to burn stuff, but you're losing a lot of energy if you're like in a colder environment and you're not replacing it with calories and all stuff.
00:15:01
Speaker
So taking in calories such as like when you're in a colder environment, you may not feel hungry, but you are burning calories until it's too late. And then you become hungry and you feel like you don't have that energy.
00:15:12
Speaker
So I would say definitely GPS and then watch. And then I would say next is probably your race number and being there on time on the race. all right Well, let me ask you just quick about that. So I get that like you're going to increase the frequency of gels potentially on a really hot day where you're burning a lot more energy. Are you saying you actually use different brands yeah depending on? Yeah, you do. Wow. Yeah, I use different brands because of the sugar content. Okay. thing So like with goo, goo is going to be like more sugar, especially like e-gel is going to be more sugar.
00:15:49
Speaker
ah Morton is a little bit less sugar. It's more starch. And then also Morton has a little bit more caffeine as well because caffeine is really good. For preventing off ah dehydration as well, like helps the brain stimulate heart like hot climates, especially, especially when you're doing a lot of sweating.
00:16:08
Speaker
So that's a really good type of gel to hit at the last part of your race because it's kind of a good stimulant to give you a little bit more of a focus. Yeah. I just started taking calf gels this year. I'm not like a caffeine drinker, so I was shied away. And then I started this year and it's been great. And I took one about a mile before Heartbreak Hill this year. Man, I was just qui cruising on Heartbreak Hill. I was feeling on top of the world.
00:16:34
Speaker
Man, that's a good point to hit that spot right there. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So Jerry, we're
Running pet peeves
00:16:41
Speaker
moving on to our next category, which is top three running pet peeves, which could be about run culture. could just be about training. Do you have anything that comes to mind?
00:16:50
Speaker
I would say running pet peeves is, i would say, you know, always pick up your trash if you're running and you're having your gels. Good one. ah don't Don't leave your gels. Don't don't trash the environment where, ah you know, other people are using this public space.
00:17:10
Speaker
I would say also don't walk in lane one. Don't walk in lane one. So number one, don't pick up your trash and wherever you go, where you run and anything or any part of the environment, especially in a public space or park or track.
00:17:25
Speaker
Lane one, don't walk in lane one, but also don't walk four wide in lane one too. And then also go with the traffic when you're running.
00:17:35
Speaker
Don't go against. ah just It just makes it safer. Yes. And we covered
Favorite races and the excitement of competition
00:17:42
Speaker
a bit in your most memorable moments, but do you have a top three favorite just races in general? Not necessarily like your favorite or your most memorable, but just races that you have really fond of.
00:17:53
Speaker
I would say probably always the america the the US Olympic trials for the marathon. Oh, wow. I feel like that's always the most exciting time of the year when we get closer to the Olympics is usually the trials is in February or March. ah This year, I mean, this next coming Olympics for 2028, it's going to be in St. Louis.
00:18:14
Speaker
So, It's really, it's really ah an exciting opportunity because it's not a, uh, like a shoe in for anybody to actually make the team for the marathon. It's usually whoever runs that best time that day makes the team. And so it makes it a little exciting and everything. So it's, you may have some famous people that end up making the team, or you may have somebody that's say a dark horse that makes the team. So it's very exciting.
00:18:38
Speaker
Cool.
Favorite running locations
00:18:39
Speaker
And what about, uh, top three favorite places to run? Top three places favorite places to run. I would say my first favorite place to run is probably ah Eugene, Priest Trail.
00:18:53
Speaker
I've ran around there. Cool. That was amazing. Is the Nike in Eugene? So Nike is in Beaverton. Oh, Beaverton. Okay. Beaverton.
00:19:04
Speaker
ah priest trail Priest Trail is in Eugene. It's right and the unit know by the University of Oregon. Yeah. It's beautiful there, Yeah. So it's all, it's all wooded chips and bright. It's kind of like a soft surface. It's all green, natural green. It's in the countryside.
00:19:20
Speaker
It's a great little running Mecca place. So I would say priest trails, the number one thing you got to go to, to go run on. And then I would say next place is probably ah northern part of Tokyo.
00:19:31
Speaker
Wow. Northern part of Tokyo around Utsunamiya, around the mountains. They have some amazing running trails but also a lot of rice farms. So you can run on these soft surfaces and you can see this mountainside, like the mountains around you.
00:19:47
Speaker
So that would probably be my second. And then – One would be my third. My third would probably be running at the Oklahoma State cross-country course, OSU. Cool. And that's a really nice place, too, because it's it's mowed really well and it's rolling. And then they have these hay bales that you jump over and all that stuff. It's pretty cool.
00:20:08
Speaker
Amazing. All
Recovery tools and advice for enjoying running
00:20:09
Speaker
right. Let's move on, Terry. What about your top three recovery tools or foods? Recovery tools, I would say number one would probably be my ah always a iced coffee is a great recovery tool for me.
00:20:22
Speaker
I use the Normatec boots and then probably number three would be sleep. So coffee, number one, Normatec compression, number two, and then sleep be number three.
00:20:35
Speaker
Amazing, Jerry. And I mean, you have so much wisdom. ah Anything you want to just, what's one piece of thing that, you know, running has given you that you can take away maybe to to pass on to some other runners that have so much to learn from from you, Jerry?
00:20:48
Speaker
i would say I would say it's just the culture and enjoying it and everybody's different and set your own goals. And just get out the door. Just out get out the door. You don't have to run a marathon. You don't have to win a 10K.
00:21:01
Speaker
You don't have to do an ultra to become a runner. At the end of the everybody's a runner. And just put one foot in front the other and the sport is for everybody. That's what it is, man.
00:21:12
Speaker
Jerry, thank you so much. This has been amazing. David, thank you, brother, so much, my friend.