Don Gallagher -Ironman Enigma

By Kelly Joy

“Never give up until you cross the line, racing is about always moving forward.”

— Don Gallagher

I love doing these interview blogs, it is really heart opening to meet these athletes, who are of all shapes, sizes, ages, and abilities. All of whom are crushing distances and disciplines. Every time I meet them it always amazes me how intrinsically different, yet astoundingly similar each person can be. There are of course the usual unique personality traits and foibles, but there are also these fine layers and patinas shielding the stark reality that each of these individuals are very similar in their mental makeup. They have the same unrelenting determination, drive and dedication, a strength of will that is synonymous to athletes. The fact we all do the same thing over and over again, enduring exhaustion and often pain, yet we enjoy it, enabling us to do it daily!

The Hero of Our Story

Now this brings me to Don Gallagher, with his kind and open face, and a hovering shyness, I instantly like him immensely, and am very aware of my character force. So, I take a step back and allow him to lead the conversation, while I attempt not to bombard him with a thousand questions all at once.

Over the last couple of years, I have met with emotional athletes, fly by the seat of their pants athletes, structured athletes, obsessed athletes (said in the kindest possible way) and then there is Don! Don is different, he is free flowing to a point, but then his engineering brain kicks in to reveal an extremely focused, practical and science driven individual, who possesses a wonderful sense of humor. This combination is something I truly appreciate, because Don is 61 years old (not that he looks it at all) and as we age, we cannot rely on youth to keep our bodies bouncing back, a little science and a lot of humor can go a long way when one is a Master’s athlete (anyone over 40)

Who is this, Guy?

Well enough of me rambling…. Who is Don Gallagher?

My synopsis would be... he is a man with an Infectious enthusiasm, a calculated, steadfast base, that is layered with humor plus a sprinkling of science.

In a nutshell Don is a 61-year-old, Canadian, hailing from Hamilton, Ontario. A former high school runner, who stopped in college, due to the demands of his Mechanical Engineering Course. He eventually finds his way back to running and ultimately Ironman, which is essentially what an Ultra is to running, but in the world of Triathlons. After three races Don is good enough to win himself a spot in Kona (the pinnacle race of Ironman). This is a testament to how talented Don is. Of course, there is so much more in between, and I am about to get to that.

As mentioned, Don ran in his youth, well really, he tried out for football in Grade 9, a week later he got cut due to his 4”8 size, and the track team swooped in, as Don was speedy. In his first year he was running with the seniors and went on to help his school grab silver in the Cross-country championships for the province of Ontario, Canada.

Sadly, Don’s running career stopped in college due to the demands of his course. In his late 20’s however Don laced back up to run corporate relays for Honda, Canada (his then employer), 5Ks and the Toronto Marathon.

He then moves to Japan for two years, working for Honda Motor company at the Suzuka Manufacturing plant. (As a side note; what made me enjoy talking to Don was his sense of fun, where he and his wife both used to talk in Japanese so that no one knew what they were talking about; sneaky)

In Japan Don continued with racing relays for his company and beyond. Moving back home he then revisited the marathon, and began to race Duathlons (run, bike, run) he even represented Canada a few times; yup that is talent right there. So, it does not surprise me that he continually improves at the Ironman race, although he did not really start racing Triathlons until his Forties!

Let’s do an Iron Man!

Although Don will admittedly lay all blame on his sister😉 for his first Ironman. When in 2017 on vacation she decided, she was going to do one in Florida, and promptly convinced Don to join her. At the time this was a one and done kind of deal. But, a couple of weeks before the race his sister sadly broke her hip, and he was doing that thing solo.

During this time, Aubrey enters stage left… Because Don in the nicest possible way is a “snowbird”. A being who flies down south for the winter. He joins Aubrey’s group run at the track and let’s just say it was a match made in heaven. So, the Ironman train began, with Don at the wheel and Aubrey stoking the fire.

Don is now at Ironman FL, his first ever Ironman and “in his words” it was a “disaster”!!! From a combination of heat, nutrition and lack of fluid, Don our runner was vomiting at 2K in the marathon, and by 8K he was walking. He continued to walk until he had 10K to go, he was feeling a little better, so he ran. Yet, being the kind soul he is, and not wanting to ruin anyone’s photo, he stopped at the chute, then waited to run in solo in 14hrs 35 mins. One and done, so he thought, but his sister had other plans…

Fast forward 3 years (due to cancelations because of covid) we see Don toeing the line for IM (Ironman) Chattanooga; his second IM race. He finishes in 11hrs 46mins! He has been working on his swim and crushes the run– but we will get back to that.

Next up is IM Tulsa (the swim was longer) Don finishes in 12hr 6 mins and is first in his age group, he has earned a spot in Hawaii (IM Kona) – WOW – He admits this is the “best” race he has had thus far.

It’s all about the Swim!

By now, we all know Don can run, FAST! But what you do not know is that Don hates, well let me amend that, Don hated Swimming! Although, he admits he now loves it. Thanks to hard work, Aubrey’s swimming expertise and a lot of videos, which were sent to Aubrey to be critiqued. Now, for Don, his swim is just another part of his Ironman arsenal of success.

But why?

However, what is it that pushes a human who is aging to keep striving? As Don said, “it is the thrill of the race” that motivates him to train, to be better. Every race creates a new experience, a new moment in time, to feel, learn and grow. He reminds himself, “if I feel crappy, then so must everyone else”.

What I also loved about Don, was his attention to the details, hence the nuances of the swim, and then his nutrition, fluids, heat training, lactate testing and working in heart rate zones. The more a person can understand the variables and control them, then the greater the outcome, right?  Well, yes!

Then add in aging, Don has experienced calf injuries, and has needed to accommodate that. Getting older requires us to constantly, assess, tweak and change. Different races, in different places, a tweak and change it is a continuous problem to be solved, like science, like engineering, there is no failsafe plan, but you can get close.

What moves us forward – A Plan

5 Year plan in Sport

Well admittedly this has had to be adjusted as he has already achieved a place in Kona (IM Hawaii) earlier than expected. So, it has shifted, a new plan is to get back to Kona a second time, and to work on maintaining his running fitness, plus the bike.

5 Year plan in Life

Simple- to move closer to his grandkids, I mean a no brainer. Grandkids are the best. This is another thing I liked about Don was his ability to change to his life needs, he is very aware of time, and as he ages, he becomes more conscious of it. He knows that training can become all consuming, especially when you must work on swimming, cycling, and running. Yet, he has a family with young grandchildren, that he wants to spend time with. Which has meant he has needed to be less regimented in his training and allow for “flexibility”. Because, to enjoy his family he has had to arrange his sport around family activities. That there is personal growth. As an athlete myself with kids I know how hard that can be to do.

Keep Working

I am excited to watch Don grow as a competitor, to see how far he can push himself, to watch him prepare, race, and succeed. After only 3 Ironman’s I feel like he has only scratched the surface of his ability. I love the fact there is a Master’s arena That there is still a space for older athletes to achieve and thrive. Which means even as the body ages, and invariably gets slower, we can still push to be the best we can possibly be at the age we are, with the body we have at that moment in time. I have no doubt that Don will excel, and I am just glad I have been able to see a little part of what makes him the phenomenal athlete he is today. I cannot wait to see what he does next.

Don Gallagher Fun Facts

• What Inspires you? – “The person who runs the 6-hour marathon, these people are truly inspiring.”

• Quirks and superstitions! “Ever since I was a child, I won't walk under ladders.... don’t want to have 7 years of bad luck.... lol”

• Interesting characters you have met on your journey? – “There is old couple in Ironman who are pretty famous, he has competed in 200 races, and she has done 100, they are also from Canada 😊”

• Areas you want to improve in? – “Now I have swimming dialed in, I am going to start work on my cycling”

• Favorite fuel? First Endurance EFS

Reed Steele – The Humble Hero

By Kelly Joy

“Exercise is adult play! It is when we embrace that playful state, the real work can be done.”

— Reed Steele

Before meeting Reed Steele, he was just a name in a text and Aubrey had asked me to interview him as the newest Coach for All Day Endurance (ADE).

Let us start with the fact that I like names. Because names can conjure up an image, and a feeling before a person comes into view. Invariably nothing like the individual, you actually meet. Reed in my head was Superman! I mean Reed Steele, “man of steel” and “Christopher Reeve” (sounds a bit like Reed) all in one name – awesome! Of course, the man who came into view was not in a red cape, nor was he standing in a power pose, although that would have been pretty darn cool. Instead, the man that filtered into view, as Zoom kicked up a gear, was sitting patiently, poised and gave off the same quiet confidence. Initial impressions were of a calm, resilient, kind, passionate, steady, humble man. Which in fact is everything Superman is and more.

The interview began. I was here to find out more about the man behind the name, and what his love of people, and the sport he excels in would bring to the ADE family.

So, who is Reed Steele?

In the present-day Reed is a 42-year-old with a “Master’s in Psychology” and works as a corporate leadership consultant. In addition to that, he is also a two times Iron Man competitor; where he was first out of the water on both occasions, husband of Julie and father of one year old Ezekiel. He is now adding, “Triathlete Coach at ADE” to his arsenal of accomplishments. But where did Reed come from, what makes him the person and coach that he is becoming today?

Hailing from the Great Lakes region of America; Reed went to the University of Iowa on a scholarship for Division 1 Track. Here he excelled and was one of the “Big 10” Freshman of the year. Sadly, as with many young athletes, big jumps in training and milage cannot come without some repercussion. He sustained multiple hip stress fractures, which eventually meant an end to his college running career. A huge blow to the young college student. However, when thinking about this, as much as this is psychologically hard for anyone to go through, let alone a 19-year-old kid at the very start of his athletic career. It is over coming these hardships, where strength can grow, and lessons be learnt. From an injury a true understanding can made of the body, and the process it needs to go through to attain physical achievements. Therefore, now the man and not the boy has a deep appreciation for time and patience when working towards an athletic dream. Because dreams can come true if you are tenacious and give them the time to come into fruition. This is the understanding you will get from Reed as your coach.

Once his collegiate running career was over, Reed fell in love with swimming. I mean how else can one rehabilitate stress fractured hips; you can take the stress off them! Then in 2009 he bought his first road bike and the Triathlon journey begun.

The Road to ADE

As much as I could give a chronological timeline of Reeds sporting achievements, which are inspiring to say the least. To me that is not his superpower. Yes, he is talented and physically strong, but it is his ability to dig deeper into the person, that is a true strength. The ability to understand why people train the way they do, pushing their bodies to the limit, this is what really fascinated me? Reed understands humans.  I mean have you ever met anyone who pushes their boundaries in sport, and not have some underling quirk, demon, personality trait they are working on, keeping in a box, or running away from? It is these foibles that can open the door to sport.

I really loved this interview as there was a wisdom coming out in our conversations, an observation on the coaching process that was new and fresh and exactly what 2022 needs. Reed explains what he loves most about his sport, and what it has given him personally. Firstly, it is how he met his wife Julie, who is also an accomplished Ironman Athlete. He enjoys the camaraderie; he loves the silence and flow state one can achieve when pushing towards the mastery and improvement of a skill.

“Triathlon is like a chess game, playing with strategy and as the strategy works one can see an athletes’ confidence grow”. He excels in the water, and this will be a talent he brings to the ADE family, as open water swimming is where he finds his Zen and is his “happy place”.

What I found most refreshing about Reed was his enthusiasm for “people” after 12 years in psychology and leadership consulting, he truly has a love of “helping people”. Watching an individual grow athletically when physical work is put in to play with the mental work. Also, understanding that individuals are different and one should work with those anomalies, not against them. This means bringing in things like visualization, goal study and motivational drivers. Understanding that attainment is a journey, not a secular moment in time, it is a consistent dedication to the sport; this includes all the highs and lows.

Reeds athletic journey is extensive, and he admits that Aubrey is a mentor both as an athlete and as a coach, but he is also slightly intimidated by him. Because we all know how awesome Aubrey is as a coach, person, and his attention to detail for his athletes is second to none.  Yet with Aubrey’s already well know acumen and teaching skill, plus Reed’s additional skills and psychological awareness, this truly is a match made in heaven. They sincerely will make a formidable team at ADE.

As our interview winds down, I ask Reed what his 5-year plan is? A broad and ambiguous question, but also quite freeing to be able to put dreams out on the table.

Reed thinks for a while….

5 Year Plan

In life, his 5-year plan is to build up on his already growing leadership platform, and he has written a book….

“What is your, Big Scary, Hairy Goal?”

He wants to be able to support his family, especially as it begins to grow. As well as enable his wife Julie to pursue her ambition to be a photographer.

In Triathlon and coaching – in coaching “I want to be able to help as many people as possibly can achieve their dreams, and help them write those chapters”. In Triathlon Reed plans to do some smaller local races to feel that racing spirit and get back into competition,

“As racing is “play” you need to just strip it down, to have fun while you see how fast you can go”. Moving on from there he is looking at Augusta 70.3, and then Ironman Florida in November 2022.

Reed Steele ADE Coach and Mentor

I truly believe he can achieve all these goals and more. From the brief hour we had together, I managed to catch a glimpse of what Reed will be giving to ADE, he has this beautiful sense of steady calm, that is reining in a fire for pushing boundaries, a Ying and Yang in perfect balance of when to push and hold back. All of which is grounded by a knowledge of the body and the mind, plus a huge amount of ingrained respect that one cannot work without the other. That the mind, body, and soul are one finite package in perfect balance.

Reed is most certainly nothing less then a fabulous new addition to the ADE team.

A.D.E CORE VALUES

• Resiliency - creating robust and strong athletes

• Inner strength - to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable

• Good Health – you cannot be strong, unless you care for everything else in your life (nutrition, sleep, stress)

• Consistency – consistent in training. Random training = random results, you must believe in the process and trust it.

Reed Steele Fun Facts

• Favorite Fuel – Peanut Butter and banana – the perfect combination of Protein and Carbohydrates

• Favorite Sneaker – Hoka Carbon X

• Favorite Piece of Kit – The swim snorkel – a great tool to help people work on swim technique.

• Inspiration – My son, “we work to balance training, so we can spend more time with him”.

• What excites you about Triathlon – “the strategy, playing with the discipline to achieve results.”

• Secret Skill – can complete a Rubik’s Cube in 20 seconds

• Dreams – To stand on stage as a keynote speaker, and to stand on stage on an open mic night. To learn improv.

Welcome to the ADE team Reed.

Nailing the Basics

By Aubrey Aldy

I’ve heard this saying a lot lately when referring to how to be the best runner or endurance athlete you can be, but what does it really mean?  To me, the first thought that comes to mind is to stop looking for shortcuts.  Looking for every way to improve is a good thing, but this often leads us to obsess over the last 5% of improvement while overlooking the most important first 95%.  One of the most basic things all runners need is consistency.  How do we become more consistent over the course of let’s say a whole year?

1. Be as healthy as possible

2. Get enough sleep

3. Eat a healthy diet - Fuel your training appropriately every time

4. Staying well hydrated

5. Perform your activities to the intended purpose - not, "Well I felt good today so I ran faster” or sprinted to the finish because it was fun but can’t figure out how you tweaked your calf or got sick a week or two later.

6. Keeping your motivation - This is overlooked as purely a drive or motivation issue many times when the actual issue is incorrect training load, life stress, and the basics have been neglected for too long. There are only so many marbles in the jar to give each day. Then you start creating a deficit and eventually something breaks.

7. Intensity discipline Intensity discipline, I repeat, Intensity discipline - Not trying to be faster in training, but instead trying to be better! Nail the intent of the session as often as possible.

8. Miss fewer training sessions - How do you miss fewer sessions? Refer to above.

A few years ago I helped train 8 runners who met the Boston Marathon qualifying standard that year.  I thought it would be interesting to dig into the data and see what similarities I could find, especially when compared to those who had just missed the standard.  I stopped looking any further when I realized the answer was more simple than I thought, and that I was overlooking the basics in hopes of finding the top secret concoction of training application.  The biggest difference was that those who hit the standard had missed far fewer days of training in the previous one year.  Of course there was a lot of various training sessions and methods used for each, and this was individual to each athlete, but the fact that they missed fewer days was in my opinion the most important fact.  It’s not quite as simple as just showing up though.  The only way to accomplish that is to do the basics well repeatedly and ensure you are adapting and recovering well enough to be more consistent in your training than your competition.

Often when we have a bad training session we can trace it back to a basic principle being missed.  It might be that we paced our run incorrectly on our easy runs, that our intervals were too fast, or that we are performing an inappropriate exercise because we saw somewhere it was the next best thing.  It could be a missed meal a day or two earlier that seemed like no big deal until you tried pushing hard in that next interval session and just didn’t have any gas.

Like anything else habits are the key to nailing the basics.  I highly recommend “Atomic Habits” by James Clear by the way if you have not read it already.  One simple example is drinking a full glass of water first thing after waking up every day.  Another might be having a heart rate limit for your easy runs.  It doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective!  Easy habits like these can add up to have a huge impact on your health and your running performance.  So keep nailing the basics, and I hope to see many of you running even stronger all year long this coming year.

The body only adapts if the mind also adapts

By Aubrey Aldy

Think of a long run, and all the benefits we hear about from an aerobic and metabolic perspective.  Where a long run is essentially like plugging those benefits into a robot with no control computer (brain).  Assuming that there is a direct 1 to 1 relationship.  A 15mile run for example equalling the exact same response no matter what.  When in reality this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Of course peripheral changes at the muscle, increased vo2, better fuel economy, etc etc are helpful, but if the driver (brain) of the car (our body) can not replicate this, have we made the improvements we think we have?  If we have trained our brains to always be thinking in the future towards an end result are we limiting our ability to be present in the moment and ensure we make the gains we want?  The answer is yes, but how do we go about making this connection happen?  We do this through increased focus, being present in our training and racing.  Spending less time checking out mentally and just “checking the box” so to speak in training.

Focus is difficult and is a skill for those who are able to focus well for long periods, but it is absolutely trainable.  For example this makes me think of F.A.S.T. running, which stands for focus alignment stability and timing.  Picture a field full of Kenyan elites jogging around at 10-12min miles for an hour or more with intense focus while not talking.  These same runners will do much faster training runs and intervals of course, but they see the value in eliminating distractions and increased focus on their movement.  Even with fewer external distractions it is difficult to quiet the distractions in your own mind, but with practice this skill improves greatly.  Think of this like lifting weights for your brain, every rep counts.  Another example that hits home for many runners is focusing on the end result, finishing, finish time, a new PR, or qualification of some kind.  This focus on the future is training your brain to do just that, focus on the future.  In the event when the most important thing would be being in the moment we lack the ability to find that focus and may think of things like what will happen after the event or the people around us rather than the best way to manage your current situation skillfully.  I am guilty of this and often find my mind wandering during races.  Not sure how it started, but for some reason I sing the Fatboy Slim song line “Right here, right now” on repeat and it brings me back to the present.  After a minute of the annoying repetition I can usually forget about previous thoughts and get back the task at hand.  Whatever works for you is great, but start practicing now and you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you can improve your focus and ultimately your racing.   

Skill acquisition, motor skill learning, or better sports specific movement have been shown to be directly connected to and improved with sleep.  Specifically on the same day as the training occurred.  Getting a good night sleep after a key training session where you were present and focused will absolutely make you a better athlete faster.  Using external cues works better than internal cues in most cases when we are trying to move better, more efficiently.  An example of this is thinking of punching a hole in a sheetrock walk behind you with your elbows as you run, rather than an internal cue like moving your elbow to a certain place.  Another way of thinking about this is cueing and outcome rather than the movement itself.  We all know the saying that running is 90% mental and 10% physical.  Now we know there are simple and effective ways to work on the mental piece that we can do in almost every training session, and make those things stick.  It all starts with what we choose to focus on, and what we choose to focus on becomes our reality.

Aubrey Aldy – He who is “All Day Endurance!”

By Kelly Joy

“Coaching to me is caring for others, putting them before myself, being concerned for their wellbeing when they race and train.”

— Aubrey Aldy

The thing that has always struck me about Aubrey Aldy, Coach and Owner of All Day Endurance, is his physical silence. What I mean by this, is the sense of stillness and calm that seems to surround him. He remains unruffled, a steady pillar amongst the athletes that twirl around him at one of his track sessions at Naples High School. With an unobtrusive voice, he steers the athletes through their paces, guiding them with skill through their workout, and offering calm advice or congratulations as they break out to take a drink.

Driven to Succeed

However, what you would not know is that bubbling beneath that cool exterior, “All Day Endurance” baseball cap, dark cropped hair, and wiry, well trained physicality, Aubrey is a hum of energy. A tangible, electric passion for his role as coach and mentor, yielding an insatiable drive to be the best possible version of himself, as he helps others to reach skywards to their goals. Whether that be in a triathlon or marathon, a 5K or an ultra. You could be a swimmer or a runner, coming back from injury or a pro. Twenty years old or seventy, Aubrey has the tools, experience, and knowledge to propel you up your mountain of aspiration.

Once Upon a Time…

Like all great fairy tales, there is always a humble beginning. We start in Texas where we have with a six-year-old Aubrey, who like most of us kids of the 80’s aspired to be “Daniel – Son” the “Karate Kid”, failing that we wanted to be a great soccer player or run in the Olympics. Aubrey chose soccer. As the eldest child of parents, who in themselves were exceptional athletes (His father was Captain of the football team and had been scouted by the NFL, and his mother Captain of the Cheerleading team). It therefore comes to no surprise that the eldest Aldy kid excelled in sports, driven by a competitive nature.   “I wanted to win more than anything else.” This nature, however subdued with age, is still a propulsive force, as Aubrey strives to be his “ultimate self” in whatever he does. At the top sits coaching.

Life moves on, Aubrey finishes High School in Ohio and promptly moves to North Carolina. He is 19 and looking for direction. He is craving a regimented existence to guide him on his path, Aubrey enlists in the Army! The forces provided the path he needed, the guidance to discover who he was. He excelled in physical training, and with the yearning to win still prevalent, he was pulled up by his Army Sargent and told “Your problem is that you always want to be the best at everything!” Whether that is a good or bad thing, I am personally unsure. Without wanting to be the best, how can you look to improve? As the years flew by, Aubrey gained skills as a medic, then the medic on site for physical training tests. He had even run a couple of races by then, and so it had begun.

Aubrey Meets his Princess

After eight years (3 years active service and 5 years in the reserves) Aubrey leaves the Army. During this period, now in his early 20’s, he has already met and married his princess. Crystal enters stage left. He had been working as a Commercial Refrigeration Foreman for Supermarkets in North Carolina; the hours were long. It was at this time his friend suggested that he try a Triathlon. Then one day he strolls into a Triathlon specialist store and his life changes path. Hanging out in the store and chatting with the guy who had clocked Aubrey’s time in recent a local Tri race (it was a 33-minute 10K – GULP, that is fast) – he offers him a job in the store, a role in the Tri club and a personal trainer role. “I was kind of winging it. I was a terrible swimmer,” he tells me! He progresses and does a personal trainer’s course at the local community college and starts to train adults at a local Boot Camp. This now means he is travelling less and home more often with his new wife. He also acquires a nickname “All Day Aldy!”

An Athlete is born.

Aubrey is now excelling in both his competitive triathlon and coaching careers; he secures governing body training courses under his “hydration” belt.

USA Cycling / Track and Field / Triathlon / Personal Training / Swimming (he has additionally read a lot of British courses too)

As much as Aubrey does not want to highlight his professional career, it is important to note that he has trained as a Triathlon Pro and this means a) he is talented b) humble c) been trained by multiple people who are at the top of their game. He had been racing for a couple of years when he decided to take the leap. It took another 6 years for him to eventually hit his goal and turn pro. Which highlights a drive and tenacity that translates to the coaching arena. He was mentored by Peter Kotland (Pro Ironman athlete, Ultra Man and Coach), David Tillbury – Davis (Pro Triathlete Coach) and Tim Floyd (Magnolia Masters Swim Coach), amongst others, each imparting knowledge, and a different coaching style on our story’s hero.

The Aldy’s arrive in Naples, FL on a whim and settle.

The story could continue in a chronological fashion, and we could cover every tiny detail of Aubrey’s life, from working at the YMCA, creating All Day Endurance, racing world class races and so forth, you know the regular stuff (add sarcasm here, this is not regular - “racing world class races”). But I think what is essential to know is what makes him the coach he is today, and how he continues to evolve in this area. We discuss his core values and coaching style.

Aubrey works off a personalized coaching style. That means he will create a plan for the individual, which is specific to their goals, age, needs, lifestyle and starting point. He describes it as “flexible coaching.” He uses both his personal and scientific knowledge to tailor a plan to that particular person, molded to their needs, not his ease. Aubrey’s perspective has changed from that competitive 6-year-old. He now sees himself as the example, he needs to reflect his own core values as a coach:

A.D.E CORE VALUES

• Resiliency - creating robust and strong athletes

• Inner strength - to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable

• Good Health – you cannot be strong, unless you care for everything else in your life (nutrition, sleep, stress)

• Consistency – consistent in training. Random training = random results, you must believe in the process and trust it.

As the years ticked by, Aubrey’s coaching flourished, and he now also offers lactate testing. But what has he learnt over this time? Personally, in life and training he understands he can push hard, harder than many, but he has also learnt that everyone has limits. We are not limitless! These physical boundaries are things we must understand to push occasionally, but not ALL THE TIME! And that is something he tries to convey to the people he trains. He explains, “You cannot make an athlete push too hard too soon, or often”. He continues “Of course an individual in training can make mistakes, and that is where a coach helps. An outside perspective is a good thing, it can help a person stay on the rails, not overdo it, and get stronger, without getting injured.”

The 5-year plan in life and coaching.

So, what is the 5-year plan? Aubrey aspires to grow his business, to continue to do the individualized, one-on-one coaching plan, but then to also introduce small group training sessions and, build a world class Master’s Swim Program for all levels.  This would include an offering of twice daily training sessions for triathletes, open water swimmers and people striving to improve.

What I do know about his coaching is, he genuinely is putting you above himself, and he takes the time to give you a thought out and rational plan.  This comes from personal experience, because when I chose to use Aubrey as my coach, it was on talking with him. I could feel his passion, his quiet drive and tenacity. He was well educated and versed in all aspects of the training, from not only the workouts (which are personalized to you and your goal), but the delicate balance of pushing you and holding you back (I like to run to exhaustion, way too often), making you rest, advice on fueling and being respectful to a person’s life and the stressors that involves. Take my example:

I have now known Aubrey for over a year and as a “late to running” (age 40 to be exact – yup that is officially middle aged) individual, a mother of three boys under 12, a wife, I work, no family to help with the children. With all this EXTRA stuff I have, he has helped me lower my marathon time significantly. I have gone from not running at all, to now being able to run 50 miles and a fast 5K at age 43 years. It is with his kind, but firm holistic approach, careful study, and sustained dedication that enables his drive, care, and expertise to get you where you desire to be. But you must be ready to listen.  Note, I have never been injured under his tutelage.

Wherever Aubrey decides to take the business, I can assure you it will be with meticulous thought and most certainly “done right”! He will provide a solid base on which the building blocks of the ADE values can be secured upon. You will know you have a coach that cares for you above himself! If you are willing to trust, you will have a greater chance to attain your dreams, and even if that takes 2 years or 6 years, you most veritably will become a stronger and improved athlete for it.  You can still feel emanating off him the competitiveness, which was integral to the success of that small kid kicking a soccer ball. It is what drove the young man to join the army and get back on the right path. It guided the adult to work hard, study hard, train hard, to create the “very best” version of himself. It is this “best version” of self he gives to you, as his athlete, client and eventually friend.

Aubrey Aldy Fun Facts

1. What Inspires you? – “When someone goes after whatever they are passionate about, as you do not have to be motivated to do something you truly want to do.”

2. Quirks and superstitions! – “I only ever take one pair of sunglasses to a race, so I do not have to make a choice.”

3. Interesting characters you have met on your journey? – “I have coached so many interesting people over the years, who all look at sport so differently. On a broader note, I have had so many coaches and mentors all of whom have been amazing influences on me.”

4. Areas you want to improve in? – “Public speaking and to be a better teacher.”

5. Favorite fuel? First Endurance EFS

6. Favorite sneaker? – Nike Vapor Fly Next %

7. Favorite gadget? - Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

8. What do you have planned next in racing? – I am looking to still run a fast marathon, try out for the Track and Field masters, and Race Across America (RAAM) as a 2-person team and fight for the record.

9. Tell me one thing that people would not know about you? - “I am slightly addicted to Jimmy Deans Breakfast Sandwiches I can have them at least 4-5 days a week. Oh and chicken nuggets. “

“I am not an entertainer; I am here to be a good coach.”

— Aubrey Aldy

Cary Edwards – Heart Runner

By Kelly Joy

“I never regret a run. Every run is a positive. It is a fresh start to my day.”

— Cary Edwards

Cary Edwards and I chat over the phone. To be honest we chat on the phone most days. She is my running sister, my confidant, my therapist and she will laugh at my jokes. Cary Edwards is a ball of energy, with a smile that is infectious, a ballsy laugh that can warm the coldest of souls and she will always make a friend at every race she runs. With her dark hair swinging, fierce determination plastered across her face and her decisive, practiced stride, she truly is a running force and man that girl can bust out speed when she wants to.

At 46 years old (she does not look it) Cary has achieved a lot, run a lot, and cycled a fair amount. Cary has run track (she was a sprinter), X country, marathons, she has played competitive tennis, long jumped for the high school team, completed Iron mans, can ski, water ski and in 8th grade competed in the Junior Olympics; yes people, the Olympics. She ran in the 4x100 relay. Phew, that woman has done A LOT.

As a person, Cary is open, raw, bright, and intelligent. Everything she does is with an honesty and gusto that is refreshing in an age where people like to hide in groups and behind social media. Basically, if Cary Edwards likes you, then you have a loyal friend for life.

Born in Austin, TX, a single child residing in a small, countryside town, Cary’s sole companion was her pet goat (yes I did say goat) called Pinto Bean, who she swears would bleat her name, “CAAARRRYYYYYYY” (now read that in the voice of a goat, I amused myself, it sounds pretty good, give it a try). Pinto Bean liked to run. Cary goes on to explain that to catch the bus to school it was 2 miles to the Highway and then 2 miles back. So, to save time Cary would run, Pinto Bean would run with her. She would like to run fast, Pinto Bean liked to run fast. They would run as fast as they could, and Cary’s running days began at the ripe old age of 12.

As an aside, the “running to the road” and the “goat running” remind me of two books, one I have read and the other to read.

Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed, by Matthew Futterman

Bill Larsen, the main protagonist of the book learnt to run by running on his farm and to catch the school bus at the road. – Just like Cary Edwards.

Also, Pinto Bean, the goat that loved to run reminds me of a book by Christopher McDougall (of Born to Run fame) called Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero. Yes, I know it is a donkey, but a donkey that runs with people, just like sweet Pinto, the perfect companion to a probably sometimes lonely child, living in the middle of nowhere.

Both books are available on Amazon.

But I digress. On with young Cary. Now she is running, and she hits the X – Country team in middle school, track and field and is the 3rd leg of the 4 x 100 team that gets to the Junior Olympics in California. Sprints are her love and forte and as she gets to high school, those quick legs are eating up the 100m/200m/400m and 4 x 400m relay distances. That explosive power is also making its way to propel Cary in the long jump.

“I was always very loud on the track, I have always landed on my heels and even in my spikes you could hear me coming, I sounded like an elephant.” Cary chuckles. “I loved the rush of sprinting, I still do. I have always been competitive and if someone is in front of me, I will chase them down.”

Life moves on and Cary is still running. In college, where she is studying biology and nursing (Cary is a nurse practitioner by trade), she takes a job as a lifeguard at a country club and she starts to swim recreationally. Which also keeps her safe when she fell in love with water skiing. Not something you would imagine Cary doing, which reveals her sense of adventure and mental strength to push boundaries.

After running her first marathon in Austin, in 1996 at the age of 23, with a drive to achieve, the natural progression seems to be the Triathlon. But what about the bike? AHA but this gritty, I will have a go human, is also mountain biking, thanks to an old boyfriend. Although, she had a habit of flying off her bike.

It is around 1998, Cary is in her mid-20s, she enters her first Tri, Olympic distance, to help a friend in Denver, CO. In her own words “WORST RACE EVER!?!?” On her old mountain bike, with no bike training, no wetsuit; the water was freezing, no bike shorts or water bottle cage, I mean what could go wrong? She finishes the race, thirsty, sore, and freezing and that was it for the triathlon until she met her current coach, Aubrey Aldy from All Day Endurance. Where she went on to do a ½ Ironman in 2018, driven by a back injury and she needed to do cross training.

I could sit here and run through everything Cary has run, jumped, swam, and biked. I mean she has run around eight marathons, run 5Ks, 10Ks, ½ marathons, a fifty miler, she has run Boston, which is no mean feat.  But WHY does she do this and after 34 years, why does she keep striving to achieve. What is running to her?

The thing that has always struck me about Cary is her heart and her capacity to care for others, I mean she is a Nurse Practitioner after all. Her ability to run in any situation and still manage to make time for others. For example, in her fastest marathon (which was a Boston Qualifier) she stopped to give a lady who was struggling some of her base salt; can you imagine what her time would have been?  One year in the Naples half marathon, she assisted in helping a man who was having a heart attack; he survived. Whenever she runs, she comes back with a friend, but as much as she gives herself to others, what does running give back to her?

“I run for myself, it helps with my anxiety, it creates time for ME. It gives me a forum to feel balanced, physically, and mentally. It is my natural Prozac. It puts my problems into digestible bites and at the end of every run, it is like being given a fresh start to my day. I love the process, I love training, the accountability it gives, the sociability of the run”. The “process” of the run, over the years has guided Cary to figure out who she is. Morphing from the little girl running to the highway, with a goat by her side, to the woman who continues to drive and strive forward and be the best she can. Like us all, Cary feels unsettled if she has no race to train for. It helps us to dial in our training and to justify having a coach. Cary runs with Aubrey Aldy and he is an especially important element in her life. He is a person she can check in with and be accountable to. He keeps her injury free. “Aubrey helps to keep me running as I grow older and my family likes it because happy momma, happy family”.

Cary’s 5-year plan in running and life.

When a person has already accomplished so much, what is next? As we get older, we do slow down, we can get injured and we have lived many dreams. But it is OK to have new ones, to reach for new goals and to power onward and upward. So, what is next for Cary? She reveals that she would still love to try and PR in the marathon, ½ marathon and maybe a 10K. Additionally, run more interesting races like the Leadville Marathon, to experience something challenging and new. “Life” she says, “is best lived one race at a time”. Maybe she will go back and do another triathlon, as she did love that process, take up trail running, maybe biking. Who knows?

In life she is studying and working on opening her own functional nutrition practice, maybe move to a cooler climate, like Montana, Idaho, or Colorado.

Functional Nutrition, my interest piqued. We went on to discuss this further. Cary has very recently set up her own functional nutrition practice, called “Life Change Healing”. A practice of medicine that believes no life change is too small and gets to the root cause of a medical concern.

Cary goes on to expand that a lot of clients are looking for a quick fix without taking into consideration what this could mean to their future health, and that is where “life Change Healing” comes in to play.  Cary wants to fill in “that” gap for clients when they feel they are not being helped or heard.

How and what can functional nutrition treat?

How – “Clients and I can work together to determine how deeply we go, and how much time we spend working on optimal health”. I consider each individual’s uniqueness, and I focus on finding root causes and solutions towards improvement. I can also collaborate with a client’s traditional medicine team to achieve the best possible outcome. Acting as a bridge when they may not have time or resources. I have learnt that food and lifestyle are the most powerful medications available, this is not disregarding all medications, it is just people are over medicating these days”.

What – “I can tackle just about any ailment from a functional medicine perspective. I particularly love working on digestive issues, because to me this is where most medical ailments begin. In addition to endocrine disorders (Hormones) – for example, Hashimotos Thyroiditis, adrenal fatigue or sleep disorders. I also work on autoimmune disorders like Crohn's and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Then there are skin conditions, asthma, allergies, food sensitivities, memory disorders, mental health concerns, weight control issues and just simply wanting to feel your best, these are all areas I can address”.  

Where – “I am currently practicing functional nutrition in my home, through telemedicine, sometimes in my friend's office, sometimes in the park, and I have even met a client for walk, where we discussed treatment strategies. I will also communicate certain aspects via email or even text or phone calls. Being flexible is important to me, because I know there are a lot of barriers to optimal health.

Contact – If you wanted to reach out to Cary with any issues you would like to discuss, you can call her on 214-475-1281, or email at CaryEdwards@lifechangehealing.com

What I do know about Cary is, whatever she does, it will be pursued with her heart open, ready to receive what nature throws at her. She will strive to do better, be better, love harder, work harder, run strong, run with abandonment, run as fast as she can. Just like the little girl and her pet goat Pinto Bean, with the wind in her hair and letting the freedom her legs provide wash over her and drive her demons into the dust. Keep running, keep loving and keep caring, as Cary, after all, is her name.

Cary Stats

• Favorite race – Leadville Marathon – why? Because it was beautiful, scenic, new, and different. No pressure to perform, as all ran at altitude.

• Fueling – Honey Stingers, Tailwind, “However I am still searching for the perfect nutrition”.

• Favorite Sneaker - A combination of the New Balance 1080 - Fresh foam, mixed with the Altra Torin 4.0 plush.

• Runner Quirks – I get up 3 hours before a race to have my coffee and pre - race meal and I always pray.

• Runner Superstitions – I visualize an ugly thing on my shoulder (this is my negative thought) and I flick it away. I also like to Sharpie 413 on my arm to remind myself I am not fragile. 4:13, Philippians “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

• Inspiration – “My Kids, if they can get up to swim in cold water super early every day, I can get my ass out of bed to run. Also, my friend Bob, who has been through so much and still gets out to run and that helps me to want to keep going”.

• Things people do not know about me – Cary can speak Spanish. She was taught some Spanish by her Grandmother who helped raise her, which she leant from her Mexican husband, Cary’s grandfather, whom sadly she never met. I am her friend and I never knew that.

“Go big or go home, moderation does not work for me.”

— Cary Edwards

Adjusting the sails

By Aubrey Aldy

Change can be a good thing sometimes.  Changing up a training routine can be just the right thing to bring an athlete to a higher level, or to put the icing on the cake after all the work that’s been done previously.  A forced change due to illness or injury can sometimes be exactly what was needed to keep you from showing up to your “A” race overtrained.  There are countless stories of athletes having this happen both early or late in a season yet still succeeding on the biggest stage when it matters most.  Had they forged ahead like normal and not had the setback I highly doubt the outcomes would be the same.  If they had not been resilient and worked through the issue with the right attitude they just as easily could have lost their chance to succeed in the end.

Often times we become dependent on the routine, and everything needs to line up perfectly in order for our training, or our lives to continue on this predicted path of perfection.  Of course that’s always the goal to strive towards perfection, it is far from reality.  Rather than allowing ourselves to be derailed by a change in our plan, the consistent performers are the ones with most resilience to these changes, whether unforeseen of not.  As athletes, I know we can all think of that race when everything seemed to go perfectly and we had an unbelievable day.  Was it really perfect though?  Could it be that on that day you were in the “zone”, and more resilient overall?  I do believe there is more to being in the zone, finding the flow state, and how to actually get there.  More to come on that topic in the future.

We have all been forced to change our plans and our lives for many reasons relating to the recent Covid-19 pandemic.  I have had days when I wondered why I was going to get up early and train hard alone for hours within a .5mi radius of my house too!  If you like that sort of thing more power to you, but it’s not always easy.  Being resilient and remembering my why’s of running keeps me going.  When this is over, and even before it is, try to remember the positive aspects of the experience, and carry that resilience into your next challenge.  Being the best runner you can be is never about having the perfect plan (there is no such thing).  It’s about believing in it whatever it is, being resilient and adjusting when you need to, leaving the past behind and doing your best in the future.

Kyle Krafft – Ultra Trailblazer the Endurance Entrepreneur

By Kelly Joy

“The second you cross the finish line of a tough race, every memory you have, becomes positive.”

— Kyle Krafft

The moment Face Time flips up (we are in a social distance movement), Kyle greets me with his signature grin, warm and open, that he instantly puts me at ease. Chatting away, Kyle is truly as chilled as his “California dreaming” locks would suggest. Yet, beneath the natural, relaxed demeanor lies an undeniable force, steely grit and fierce intelligence, that cements his effervescence securely to the earth. Flighty he is not, adventurous and determined he certainly is.

So, who is Kyle Krafft? Well he is a 37 yr. old Ironman triathlete, ultra-runner and snowshoe racer (yes people that is a thing). He is a man who pushes boundaries, his own personal boundaries and then continues to force them further and further from his center, just to see how damn far they will go, before they rip apart. Maybe they never will?

Let’s stop for a second…

Before, I dig deep into what makes Kyle tick and discuss extensively his journey, I wanted to express that I did not really know Kyle before this interview. But after talking with him for the brief hour we had, he truly is one of the most well rounded, interesting, articulate individuals I have ever met. He thinks deeply and calculatedly to reach informed, albeit sometimes non-conforming plans to his life. Yet, he is by no means dull and is a true adventurer at heart. What I loved most about Kyle (that unlike many humans who like to push themselves physically and mentally to the brink) there is no obvious darkness simmering beneath his sunny disposition. Nothing to temper his lust for life or the aged earned wisdom in his eyes.

Where it all began…

Indiana born and raised Kyle played the usual contenders in sports, with only a single season on the high school cross country team and a toe dip into swimming. Let’s just say young Kyle was not one for conventionality, and they created an anxiety that worked against his innate yeaning to express himself freely when moving himself actively through space. Therefore, he rejected the ordinary and the high school tick sheet, instead replacing it with a passion for snowboarding and skateboarding. Both sports testing his limits and just how far he could push himself both physically and mentally - two elements that are the foundations of endurance sports, clearly a natural progression. Life moves forward and Kyle is now a fresh-faced Finance undergraduate from Indiana University, which is known for its innovation, creativity, and academic freedom. So, with that as his starting block, it is on a whim that he upped sticks and moved to California, a state that clearly sits well with his outlook on life.

California Bound

Where it all began! California! The state that has everything: ocean and mountains, beaches and big cities. Kyle now added surfing to his “alternative” sporting repertoire, and this is also the place where he started to run. He was coaxed out by his colleague in their lunch hour, taking a break from his financial job and working towards his Master’s in Business from UCLA, and off they went. Out to run a nice hilly course at 105F in Calabasas, CA. The match was struck, and the fire ignited a passion that started to build. Kyle explains to me that he compares running to whiskey, some people just don’t like it, however some folks love it. But if you don’t like it yet keep trying it, then the taste for it can be acquired. AND that is what he did, he just kept running, driving himself forward to eventually complete his first ½ marathon. AND the fire roared higher. Then he runs the LA marathon at age 26. From there and exactly like Forrest he just kept running. But now the Triathlon had seeped in, and Kyle completed his first Malibu Olympic Triathlon the same year as the marathon. “IT WAS AWFUL” Kyle exclaims, as he swam in tri shorts and forgot to use his asthma inhaler – gulp. Needless to say, it was a shock to the system. Yet, he still goes on to do 3 more Olympic Tris, and the stage was set, and IRONMAN came into the picture. “It’s all about being comfortable, with the uncomfortable,” he tells me, and Kyle’s achievements start stacking up.

• 3 x Malibu, California, Olympic Distance Triathlon.

• IRONMAN Austin, Texas 70.3 (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run)

• IRONMAN 70.3 Vineman, California.

• IRONMAN 70.3 Florida.

• IRONMAN 70.3 Miami, Florida– “Terrible race” in Kyles own words.

Kyle was still self-trained and had now moved to Naples, not a choice he had made lightly. But, with extensive family in town, now an uncle and a life changing job offer, he decided it was a life change he could not refuse. So, he took the plunge and moved across the country (and down a bit) to start his life in Florida. Plus, whether Kyle would agree or not with the fact, but without that move to Florida, he most certainly would have not have been sitting in a bar in Key West, eight beers in, feeling sentimental (maybe a touch inebriated?) when he made the decision to pick up his phone and register for IRONMAN Lake Placid 2018 at age 35 – yup a FULL TRIATHLON. Oops (alcohol can be very helpful to lower the fear factor in these situations).

Well it must be time to get a coach.

After the awfulness that was the Miami half, it was time to get serious and finally get someone to help. So, after asking a few local athletes in Naples, Kyle found All Day Endurance and Aubrey Aldy. What he loved about Aubrey was his knowledge, he was well educated, an athlete himself and did not stroke egos. It was all business, and that generates results. Lake Placid went on to be an amazing race for Kyle and maybe the turning point for him to realize what he strives for and recognizing his strengths. Kyle is humble enough to admit he will never be the fastest in the pack, but if you stick to the plan and the training, you can execute efficiently and have a great race. It may be challenging, but you can be the smart runner, the gritty fighter, hitting your goals and then pushing higher. How far can this body go?

Endurance enters the scene, stage right.

Well with an Ironman under your belt and a self-appreciation for the fact you will not be speedy, long and slow is a natural progression. Kyle explains he enjoys the struggle, he thrives on hard runs, what pain teaches you about yourself and has started to dabble in the long run arena. With a couple of 50K races under his belt; with one being a win at the Everglades Ultra 2020. Now that was a perfect execution. He strives to do more.  Kyle is strategic and he understands his body, he sees the value in recovery both physically and in maintaining a healthy balance mentally. Let’s also throw in some stretching, especially as he ages. I ask him why, and he says, “I JUST LOVE IT!” I love both the tri and the ultra, it is pure love for me, beyond a hobby. I love the feeling of accomplishment, but don’t hold yourself too accountable if you fail.”

I ask him why Ultra? He explains that he feels he is built for endurance, (his body sinks in the water, not the best trait for a triathlete) and that he can improve and potentially go great distances. Kyle is a self-proclaimed introverted extrovert; he thrives off the energy of others. And in Ultra running, albeit a solitary endeavor, its roots support an energetic, collaborative collective of bad asses, gnarly, fun loving, raise you up individuals, yup and Kyle slots in nicely. Every race is a pure celebration of what the body can do and the people who toe the line.

5-year plan in Endurance and Life

And he doesn’t stop there, Kyle has big plans and it is an eclectic mix, with an aim to run a 50 miler and potentially a 100 miler in the next year, both I know he will kill, if social distancing allows. Aspirations of a 200-mile gravel bike (Dirty Kanza 200 in Kansas) race, aim high to get into Western States. “Because if I can do it, I am obligated to put my body through that’, “The passion drives me and if I have a passion and a drive, I will always be the kid that never grows up”. Between you and I, that is a personal goal of mine too, because, when you stop seeing the world through childlike eyes, you miss the wonder and awe of living.

He aspires to continue his life switching between the ocean and the mountains, to work hard, train hard and play hard with a fearlessness and intensity that will surely excel in the ultra-world arena.

Whatever Kyle decides to do or what races he enters he will do with a drive, lust for life and calculated tenacity, and I truly am excited to see where he will go next. It may be a snowshoe race up a mountain in Colorado or a gravel bike race, California Tri (skateboard, surf and snowboard all in one day). It could be the Grand Traverse Ultra (40 - mile point to point race) in Crested Butte, or it could be another IRONMAN, who knows. But, know this he will train hard and he will finish, and he will thrive. Because Kyle Krafft, endurance athlete is a true contender.

MORE Kyle Krafft stats

-Favorite sneakers – Road – Hoka Carbon X, Trail – Hoka EVO Speedgoats

-Fuel – First Endurance – EFS and Gu gels.

-Trademark – A big smile and a California vibe.

-Inspirational figures – His Father, who is ambitious, active and always striving to be more. In racing the person just in front.

-Things most people do not know about him – He has an inner green thumb and a love to grow nature. He also summons up memories of his old dog, Abidog, when a race gets hard. Because, that pain is nothing compared with the ache of losing her and the race will be dedicated to her, to power through.

-Special power – Unbreakable positive spirit.

-Furthest run – 50K.

- Longest Tri – Full IRONMAN.

-Weirdest Race – Aspen Snowshoe race

“Don’t hold your self too accountable for failures, because, if you never fail, maybe your goals are just not high enough?”

— Kyle Krafft

Erica Szilagyi – Marathon Maven

By Kelly Joy

“With the marathon you must struggle, you have to move to a painful place.”

— Erica Szilagyi

Erica Szilagyi strides out to meet me, expressive hands waving, her voice warm and loud. She is such a petite little thing, but there is no hiding her open, all-encompassing presence, it pretty much socks you in the mouth and then hugs you better.  I am quickly guided into her bright and airy conservatory, the evening Florida sun dancing on her fledging paintings, a new skill she is dabbling with. The serenity of the room is an interesting contrast to the woman who has just scooped me up at the front door and thrust a red tea in my hand.

OK let’s stop there! I think before I move on, I need to do a quick Erica statistical run down for you, so you can truly comprehend how epic one woman can be.

Erica in Numbers: -

Years running – 46

Total Marathons - Erica Szilagyi, teacher and mother of three grown women herself, has run 34 Marathons. Yes, people you heard correctly THIRTY-FOUR MARATHONS. WOWSERS!!

Boston Marathon - 12 of those marathons have been at the breathtaking, revered Boston Marathon - The world’s oldest annual marathon established in 1897, which makes it an astonishing 123 years old.

Fastest Marathon – 3 hours 13 minutes – fast.

Fastest 5K – 18 minutes 50 secs – even faster.

Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that at 59 ½ years old (her own words, by the way she does not look a day over 50) that Erica is an animated bundle of running knowledge, a force to be reckoned with, all cemented in a heart of gold. PSSST on another aside, she turns 60 the day before she runs the Gold Label Chicago Marathon, the perfect way to celebrate a new decade of life, don’t you think?

As you can imagine, I was excited to sit down to chat, pick her brain and dig down to the core of what makes Erica tick. Eager to discover the drive that has kept her running all these years, since that day when she first laced up at age 14 years old? To be honest, there is pretty much nothing Erica does not know about running and especially the marathon.

Originally, a native of Philadelphia Erica did most of her growing up in the urban landscape that is Detroit. But, at the fresh-faced age of 20, as the eighties hit; the age of computers, conservatism and end of the cold war, Erica chased the sun and headed south to land in Naples. Via a sojourn in Texas where she went to college and earned her degree in Biology and Nutrition. Her path led her to become a teacher of AP Environmental Sciences and then on to study a master’s degree in counseling. Which is where her skillset now lies, helping teens to become the best possible versions of themselves. What better role model, than Erica herself?

My question to her was, why running? Sure, we could discuss her recent race, the Jacksonville marathon, where she ran a 3 hours 38 minutes with change (impressive). We could chew the fat about her big races of years past. We could skip along her athletic journey. But what I truly want to comprehend is why Erica runs, what keeps her running as she grows older and as her body changes? How does one move through time, life and keep being able to bound through marathon after marathon, still relishing the journey, the struggle and achievement? Of course, with age we slow down. We may peak in our 20’s or 30’s, and then we must adjust our goals or reason to run. Or maybe the reason has always been a constant, never wavering, concrete?

Erica was not a college runner, but she always ran. It was a part of her day, her routine, her wellbeing. I mean, there was no cross-country girls’ team in her high school and with there being no set path to her education, she flitted to different colleges as her degree focus shifted, Erica never settled in a track team. Remember these were different times, Title IX was only introduced in 1972, which brought about equality in sports and increased athletic opportunities for females; hence let’s have a female cross - country track team!

Now comes the history lesson: -

The following is the original text as written and signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

— Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute (20 U.S. Code § 1681 - Sex)

Did you know It was not until 1967 that Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon. She was subjected to disgruntled officials trying to shove her off the course, because at the time women were still deemed unable to compete at these distances.

Did you know that a female was not allowed to run an Olympic marathon until 1984? It was at the L.A games and the race was won by the phenomenal Joan Benoit in a time of 2:24.52

Yet, Erica kept on running. And at age 24 years, completely self-trained, she ran her first marathon. It was in 1984 at the NYC marathon, the same year Joan Benoit ran her first Olympic marathon. Serendipitous?  I think so.

Taking another sip of delicious tea (I am British after all), I ask her what it is about that distance she holds so dear? She goes on to explain that the beauty of the marathon for her is, “We have everything in life all laid out, but in the marathon you must struggle, you have to move to a painful place and reemerge to finish. Every time you run one you learn something new.”  Erica carries on expressing that running is not something she “needs” but, “it is a part of my life. I do not feel good unless I run. So, I run.” It is a parallel to breathing, eating and being. Without it, things stop ticking over and equilibrium is disrupted.

After Erica’s recent impressive time at Jacksonville, she will be running Boston again for 2020, this will be her thirteenth time, almost four months shy of her sixtieth birthday. How has her training changed? How has she coped with slowing down? Erica confesses, that yes, it is difficult mentally, not to be as speedy as she was in her twenties, but it is the process of the run that is the challenge and the drive, not necessarily her speed. As you can see, she is still kicking ass in her age group.  She goes on to explain that strength training has become a greater focus as she has aged, because with age, we lose muscle mass. It is also about respecting her body, avoiding injury and letting her muscles and mind rest. She now does yoga to help with her strength and flexibility. All of this has meant she can still do “that thing” she loves.

If you know Erica, you know you cannot have talk about her running, without discussing Boston, her heart race. I ask her what it is about the Boston that she finds so beautiful and engaging that it keeps drawing her back? She explains that on top of it being the oldest marathon in the world, when Boston is run on Patriots day, the whole city stops, the whole city comes out to cheer, it is a holiday, a tradition and it is a tough course with those hills. Erica’s feet have pounded the course from Hopkinton to Copley Square in 1988, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001 and then she decided to try her hand at triathlons for 10 years (as you do) and then continued her streak every year from 2012 – 2017, 2019 and now 2020. Need a blow for blow account of running Boston, Erica Szilagyi is your number one resource.

What I love about Erica is her openness, her resilience, her passion and that there is an innate gentleness simmering underneath. This makes her quick to care, nurture and to see the good. She strives to be better. There is so much more to her than what you see. For instance, she paces every year at the Naples Half Marathon, pushing others to achieve their own goals, a pursuit she finds enriching. I want to know more. We move into her five-year plan. What does she have left to achieve, when you have already achieved so much, and this is where you truly see the woman that is Erica Szilagyi?

5 year - run plan

Run the Comrades Marathon (55 miles) in South Africa, it is the world’s oldest and largest ultramarathon established in 1921. Women are currently excelling at these longer distances; I am excited to see her knock this out of the park.

To stay healthy and continue to run.

To continue to run Boston. (You know she will and continue to strive.)

5 year - life plan

To explore, express and celebrate her creativity with her painting and writing. Erica also would like to join the Peace Corps. I could not think of a more perfect person to travel the world and help others.

While interviewing Erica, I certainly did not have enough time, and I most definitely do not possess the adequate vocabulary to give her the written justice she deserves. How can one condense her journey so far, her commitment to her sport, her successes, her challenges in to one article? She is strong and has so much to give. Just like in her twenties, she is still growing, changing and evolving in life and her sport. For me though, I will remain an interested bystander, watching in fascination and delight as she pursues her goals. She will most certainly still crush the marathon. But to see her attempt a longer distance is something I cannot wait to witness, because for Erica Szilagyi even though her speed may be winding down, I believe her true potential is only just beginning to shine through. Erica may be turning 60 years old in 2020, but her running journey is far from finished and may even be just truly beginning.

MORE Erica Szilagyi stats

-Favorite sneakers – Training - Saucony Kinvara, Racing - Nike Vaporfly

-Fuel - Gu, Sports Beans.

-Trademark – A big smile and positive outlook

-Inspirational figures – Betty Lou Tucker from the Gulf Coast runners, still running in her eighties.

-Thing most people do not know about her – She loves to paint, journal and garden.

-Special power – Experience, talent and grit.

-Furthest run – 50K.

VLa Max

By Aubrey Aldy

What side of the endurance physiology fence do you sit on?  Most likely you’re a mix of both sides unless you’re an extreme outlier like marathoner Eliud Kipchoge or sprinter Usain Bolt for instance.  The rest of us have a variety of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers, fat oxidation rates and carbohydrate storage ability that land us somewhere in the middle.  The problem is that we are not truly the average, which most training and scientific studies are based around.  We fall somewhere on the graph, but almost certainly we are not in the exact center.  If you want to maximize your potential in the 5k, 10k, marathon, you name it, you may not want to do what others are doing exactly.  You would be better off knowing how to train as an individual and not simply training for a distance as though we are all robots simply needing to perform x amount in training to always get y in response.

Having an experienced coach can help an athlete fine tune their training, and the longer an athlete and coach work together the more insights will emerge into how to train most effectively.  This doesn’t happen overnight and positive results can come from a number of contributing factors which make the process of understanding what truly works for you even more difficult.  There are some ways to speed the process up, know if you’re on the right track, and find out if what you’re doing is working.

If two athletes run a 5k in the same time for example, they don’t get there with the exact same metabolism.  One athlete may use a higher percentage of anaerobic energy metabolism than the other.  When the race is lengthened the athlete using more anaerobic energy will have higher lactate levels at lower intensities, meaning faster burning of precious stored carbohydrate (glycogen), greater acidity in the blood, and will be forced to slow down sooner.  These two athletes at shorter distances could look one in the same, so how could this be?!  There are two measurements for rates of energy production that relate to this.  The first is one everyone has heard before, the Vo2Max.  This is the rate of energy production during exercise using oxygen to create fuel for the muscles.  The Vo2Max will tell someone how much oxygen they can take in and how much of it they can use to create energy.  The more important part in my opinion is the VlaMax.  The VlaMax is the rate we create energy during exercise using anaerobic metabolism, without oxygen, using glycogen to create the energy for the working muscles.  The Vo2Max and the VlaMax overlap though, so they don’t work in isolation.  In other words, you can have a strong aerobic system, but if your anaerobic system dominates it you will be forced to slow down sooner than those with equal aerobic strength, but lower anaerobic involvement.  I hope you’re still with me!  An example of this is strength training.  Lifting weights is an anaerobic activity, using primarily fast twitch muscle fibers and firing up the VlaMax.  Don’t get me wrong, strength training is necessary, but how much and when matter.  Peaking for a marathon, and you’ve had trouble with fueling or bonking?  Maybe you’d be wise to limit the intensive training farther out from your race in favor or dialing in your race pace and metabolism.  Not sure how to fuel properly and finish your race with positive energy stores?  Having an idea of how many grams of carbohydrate you burn at race intensity, and how big your glycogen fuel tank is can help make this possible.  In longer races this is more important than shorter races, but burning through glycogen at higher rates will create higher lactate levels and slow your race speeds in shorter races as well, even though running out of fuel isn’t an issue.  On the opposite side, having a low VLaMax can mean you have trouble accessing your glycogen stores, limiting your overall energy availability, and lacking the ability to hit high speeds when you need to.  Understanding where you are on the spectrum can be extremely helpful in dialing in the best training for you as an individual.  As always feel free to reach out if you have any questions and I’d be happy to dig a little deeper into these topics for you.

Keep working hard, and recovering harder.  I will look forward to seeing my GCR friends excelling in 2020.

Marco Tona- Warrior Runner

By Kelly Joy

“Greatness is achieved the moment you decide you cannot do anything else, other than that one thing.”

— Marco Tona

With his halo of wild curls, enthusiasm for life and relaxed demeanor, on initial inspection Marco Tona comes across like any other regular 22-year-old. Hailing from Destin FL, a student of Exercise Physiology and the third youngest of 8 children, he grew up surrounded by family and well loved.

However, not every 22-year-old that you meet has just completed a 24hr. running race and run 100 miles. WHAT you say!?! A 100 miles! Now let us relook at Marco Tona, underneath his big smile and gentle personality there lies an old soul, the heart of a lion and a steely grit that is seldom found in the youth.

Okay, so who is Marco? I sat down and chatted with Marco on a wet, storm riddled Florida winters day to discuss his journey into ultra-running, what drives him and his aspirations for the future. Because at age 22, this is merely the beginning of his great journey.

Let me start from the “Big One” and take you back to his beginning. “Icarus Florida Ultra Fest”2019, a looped road race, where a runner will run as far as they can in an allotted time. Your choices being….

12hr / 24Hr / 48Hr / 72Hr / 144Hr

GULP! EXACTLY!

What they say about the race “What this means for seasoned ultra-runners and new runners alike is that the Icarus Florida UltraFest is not just a place to test your limits, but to abandon them” taken from website.

So, what is it about this race, after running only three 50K (Calootsahatchee, Croom Fools, Washington Red Devils) races previously that made Marco dive off at the deep end and jump straight in to 100 miles? Well, as with all great beginnings and heroes, it started in a bar. Marco goes on to explain that one evening before a long run, he was designated driver, as all dedicated runners are on a Friday night. His epiphany hit! He was finished with the nights out and wanted to push his limits. It was about, in his own words “shattering his ceiling” and really seeing what he could achieve and there in that bar he signed up on impulse for Icarus. Because in the realm of the unknown a person’s boundaries can be found, accepted, crushed, then rebuilt once the core is exposed and they know who they are. It was from that point, in that dingy bar that the training begun. As 100 miles is literally the only step one can take, to really find out what they can do.

In his youth Marco was a swimmer and as he moved into high school he began to run. He joined the cross country and track team as they did not have a competitive swim team. Blazing a trail through 600/800 m distances and the 5K, Marco carried through his running to college. Moving to Florida and continuing his studies, Marco met Aubrey Aldy, (his now trainer) in their local pool and another piece of the puzzle clicked in place. Marco kept running, he dabbled in triathlon and at 21 years old he signed up for his first 50K. Why? To see if running was “great”? So minimally trained and with the zeal that only a 21 year can bring, he completed his first 50K in 6hrs 40mins. The bug had bitten and in his 2nd 50K with some training he took 2 hrs off this time. From here his ascent had commenced. One more technical run, the Red Devil 50K in Washington and his love of endurance running was secured and the next big challenge set.

We went on to discuss Icarus and what it meant to Marco, how the race broke down and what he discovered about himself as each layer peeled off with every 1.0408 Km paved loop completed. The key was to take heed of Icarus’s story. To listen to and respect your body, to push boundaries but not destroy your limits, to hit the edge but not melt and fall. Fly close to the sun but not too close, because like Icarus you could be doomed and not rise again to complete another loop. Running 100 miles is a fine balance, of training, respect for your body, nutrition, honoring the distance and to push the edge, while holding back. It takes grit and mental toughness, and this is what Marco had to discover and layer it thick upon his enthusiasm base.

After 4 months of long slow runs, he was hitting he said 50-60 miles a week, pretty moderate for ultra-training, with most of his mileage being at the weekends and with some double day running, he was ready. Nutrition was dialed in, he likes to use Electrolyte Fuel System (EFS) drink brand and not eat too many of his calories. This helps his stomach and reduces usage of the dreaded port a potty, that my friend is a whole separate mental game in itself. The long runs revealed his weaknesses, he hit mental barriers and drove past them to more manageable mental ground. Marco said he loved figuring out “where his walls were” and obliterating them.

The Start Line: -

Saturday November 23rd, 2019, 9am, seasoned ultra-dogs and young puppies alike, wait at the start line. Marco is there, mentally steeled, pacers in place, nutrition lined up and they are off, “let the games begin”. Because if you have ever run an ultra, you know that nothing invariably goes to plan. Its about managing the situation, driving away the demons and embracing the crazy and the crazies around them. Because, to be a person who can step up to this line and cross it, then manage the next 24 hrs, that element of crazy must lie deep within you too. As, it is that insanity which will ultimately carry you up to your goal and past it, then vomit what is left of you at the finish line. Kind of like the Exorcist, running 100 miles is like an exorcism, exposing all your demons and making you face them, because that is all you can do when you are that exhausted.

Marco’s personal race to victory: -

We discussed in depth his race, how it panned out and what it threw at him. Marco revealed that no matter how tough it got he “never wanted to quit” that was not an option. It was never in his dialogue and he was convinced he would hit his 100-mile goal in 24HRs. Now my friends that is a very good base to any personal win. He found a steady pace and stuck to it, now remember this is not easy and he hit two huge low points. He told me that between mile 42-48 he felt terrible, yet he pushed through and only thought of the race loop to loop, or his next drink or next piece of food. He was lacking a little in the nutrition and was given Ensure by his pacer and trainer and Marco said that totally put the wheels back on and he felt fabulous, with 15-20g of protein a bottle it was definitely the way to go. Miles 50-70 he felt awesome as the miles and the hours ticked by. Through into the night he kept running, lulled by the solitude and hypnotic darkness, relaxing into his stride and putting his mind at rest; the ultimate meditation. Day breaks, mile 80 hits and he tumbles down a crevice of “low”, muscles are locking up, as the lactate acid builds, feet are numb, stinging from over use and at 20 miles to go, his cousin jumps in for 5 miles to eek him through the discomfort. Waiting until his brother arrives, fresh off the plane from Oahu, Hawaii,  to run the last 10 miles and push Marco to his goal. The pain is excruciating, every mile an eternity, but he remains steady, his goal taunting him and waiting for him to grab it with two hands and with that and a mere twenty minutes to go to the 24HR cut off Marco hits his 100 miles. He hits 100 miles, can you even imagine what that feels like, the pain, the elation, the relief, the tiredness sweeping over, the excitement. AMAZING! His total mileage was 100.29 miles. He crushed it, ringing it in to second place.

The Future:-

We go on to discuss his plans for the future, what inspires him, what he learnt from the race and areas he wants to work on. When working on his running Marco takes inspiration from the strengths of the people around him, his trainer, friends, running partners and creates a person of pure inspiration and looks at what he can draw from that. We talk about what he needed to work on, and he said “consistency” in his training, to get out there and run the miles and not be lazy – his own words.

His love of the outdoors drives him and when we talk about his 5 year plan in life and running, he reveals that he is striving to do some faster 50K races and 50 milers, begin to work on doing some long trans through hikes (think PCT – Pacific crest trail and AT - Appalachian trail) and a maybe a 200 mile race. In life he aspires to move to the beautiful, Rocky Mountains of Colorado, indulge his love of technical trails and being at one with nature. While there he aims to utilize his Exercise Physiology major and build up his own endurance coaching business, partnering with shoe companies and work on training and nutrition of athletes. I mean the world literally is his oyster, with his determination, lust for life, intelligence and cool confidence, I feel we will see and hear a lot more of Marco Tona in the years to follow. He truly was a joy to talk to and a person already in tune with themselves, which can take most people a lifetime to discover. I am excited to follow Marco’s journey and to see where he goes from here as he continues to shatter his ceiling and lift higher.

Marco Tona stats

-Favorite sneakers – Altra Torin

-Trademark look – Wild curls

-Thing most people do not know about him – He was a book worm and home schooled.

-Special power – Enthusiasm and excitement to run.

-Furthest run – 100.29 miles.