Micromobility DC with Edie

Welcome back! This episode I spoke with Kris Sooklal. I lost a bet this Fall at the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile - you'll hear about it if you listen. The result was this roughly thirty-minute conversation that covered *a large range* of topics - a bit different than the last few episodes, an equally good listen.We touch on how Kris began running in high school - track was a sport with low barrier to entry, so he went for it. We talk about how he works with the US Postal Service, and the organization's plans to electrify its fleet of delivery vehicles. We speak about Kris's venturing into the DC running community - he has become a staple in the DC running community.We discuss public transit, cars, etc. Kris drives twice as much as the average American (according to his calculations) and lives in one of the most transit accessible and walkable regions of the US. I still haven't figured out how this makes any sense whatsoever. But you can listen to hear him talk about it... and the roots of April Fools!A few links for additional reading:Thailand's First Car Rebate Scheme 2011Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan in Bangkok Metropolitan RegionBeijing Subway HistoryNY Times on need for MTA Subway UpgradesHistory of the Interstate Highway System"How to End Americans' Obsession with Driving"Electrifying the US Postal Service Fleet

"I didn't tell the regular world I was pregnant because I didn't really want to hear it...frankly, I just talked to my doctors and asked, "I want to run a marathon. Is it safe for the baby? If not, I won't do it."First of all, a big congrats to Sami Tewolde Rowley who recently had her baby Teddy - he is absolutely adorable! This episode was recorded a few weeks before that major life event though, and we delve into another of Sami's accomplishments - running her first marathon in Chicago this Fall! (While several months pregnant; she's a badass.)We delve into what training and exercise has looked like for Sami over the past several months. We talk about her experience joining Northeast Track Club - going from working out quietly on the track to finding a few of her best friends and serving as a leader in for the group. We cover it all.I found this conversation incredibly meaningful. Onlookers from the internet are quick to espouse opinions on what pregnancy and motherhood should look like (often without much qualification). Yet despite the ever present pressures on parents and soon-to-be parents to fit specific molds, we are seeing more and more of them doing things their way. We saw the likes of Makenna Myler finishing in the top ten of the Olympic Marathon Trials ten months after giving birth and Maegan Krifchin running eighteen miles of the trials while pregnant. We are seeing powerful people demonstrating that pregnancy is a natural condition that can still allow for new and exciting experiences including and beyond those associated with parenthood. It is inspiring to see these role models in our communities and beyond.Anyways, emotional spouting over - this is a wonderful episode full of whimsy, joy, and DC running!

If you've been to a Pacers track workout or race, you've probably met Xiuya Yao, a Pacers Run Club leader. She's smiley, welcoming, and encouraging while also being a super badass runner. I was thrilled to have her on the podcast to talk about her running journey - from how she got involved with Pacers as a side hustle to what her upcoming goals are.We talked marathon training - from how Xiuya increased her mileage to how her fueling strategy has shifted (hint: no longer candy bars). We also talked using running as commuting and what it is like to get all around DC on foot. (Small shoutout to the Metro!)Xiuya discusses her favorite shoes (we are both big fans of the Adidas Bostons) and what it is like to work for Pacers. We laugh about sharing life stories on the run before knowing someone's name. This conversation is a wonderful listen, and Xiuya is truly a wealth of knowledge. I hope you enjoy! 

"I just think [running] is a really cool thing that those of us in DC have the opportunity to do."Hello! Happy New Year! Welcome back to Micromobility DC. I am attending the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (#TRBAM as the cool kids call it, I am told) and was called out yesterday for my lack of recent episodes! So here it is - the first episode of 2024! (And in my humble opinion, it is a great listen.)I had the opportunity to speak with Sarah Johanek on all things running and DC in December. We cover her big breakthroughs at the DC Half and Chicago Marathon (she ran 1:20 and 2:52 respectively). We speak about her experience moving to DC during the pandemic upon returning from Peace Corps, and later running her first marathon on the C&O trail. We speak about how she's found community around movement through Northeast Track Club. We cover how she gets around, best spots to run (first person in a while who didn't choose Rock Creek Park!), and how she has fun with running and getting strong (she shouts out Doc Sarah on the last point).Sarah is incredibly friendly, humble (she tries to tell me she doesn't know anything about running at one point), and fun loving. You can tell she chases joy and camaraderie in all she does. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!I am excited to be covering runners, bikers, walkers, and the people who help provide the infrastructure to make those things possible this year! Have a big goal of 24 episodes for 2024! Name it for accountability they told me!

"Showing up consistently over time with B+ work... is what actually brings you longevity in the sport."Hello, and welcome back to Micromobility DC! You are about to listen to an episode recorded way back in AUGUST. I know, I know, I am slacking on the editing process. In my defense I've been traveling to England, Germany, and random cities around the US. All in the name of RUNNING!The good news is that this episode has aged like fine wine. It is just as relevant as people go for big goals, get inspired by marathon majors, and decide to pursue a new training regimen this Fall. In this episode, I speak to Laur Hudson and Devon Genua. These two met at Northeast Track Club and hit it off. They realized that they had similar philosophies around training and with Devon's extensive marathoning experience (she's a sub 3 hour marathoner!) and Laur's experience as a D1 high jumper, running local races, and working as a Solid Core coach, they decided to start a coaching business. B+ Run Club was born!The two have many nuggets of wisdom, but one of the things I took away was their ability to jump at opportunity. Devon talks about encountering Northeast Track Club by chance at the track one day and just joining. Laur discusses agreeing to go with Molly Applegate (featured on Episode 4) to the track group without knowing too much about what was in store. I hope you enjoy and learn from this episode. Maybe it will inspire your training for your next big race.

If you've come to a Pacers Social Run on Monday or Thursday, you've probably come across Sam Burmester. He will introduce the workout, probably tell a few jokes, and cheer you on the whole way. Sam is the community lead for Pacers Running. In this episode we delve into what that role means, how Sam became involved with Pacers, and how Pacers engages with the community through its social runs and a variety of activations meant to make running more accessible and less intimidating in the District. One of the ways Pacers has made running more accessible this year is through its free training plans (and corresponding social runs) for various race distances. The current half marathon training plan is culminating with this weekend's DC Half Marathon. Catch members of the running community racing, pacing, cheering, and water stopping (I think think this is called thirst trapping?).Along with talking shop about Pacers, we delve into Sam's own journey with movement, as a runner and swimmer growing up and eventually as a triathlete. We talk about the training, the coping with injury, the PRs, the Ironman attempt, and all of the lessons learned along the way. Sam give a bit of helpful tips for those attempting multisport events. (Spoiler: Don't forget your nutrition plan!) We talk a lot of connections: movement, mental health, supportive community, feeling confident enough to go after big goals.

"Actually my training for the marathon was quite a disaster." Bettina described signing up for a marathon as "a treat" for herself for completing her LSAT studying. She ran a 50 miler just for kicks, with friends and family as a support system after graduating from Smith College. She is a true student of the sport, mentioning how she coached herself through the process of training for these events by researching the science behind why we do certain types of runs and how they benefit us. I absolutely loved picking her brain on her training strategies (she used a modified version of the SWAP plan to train for the OC Marathon), how she got into running (she wanted to be a sprinter, her coach threw her in the mile), her advice for other runners pursuing long distance events (tl;dr: enjoy the process).In this episode we also covered a lot about fueling and how that is such a big puzzle piece in marathons and ultras, the transition from college to post-college racing, best spots to run in the DC area, and how - despite getting sick during training - Bettina's first marathon turned out to be a great success. (She ran a 3:12:09!!)I loved getting to chat with Bettina, and I hope you find a bit of inspiration for Fall race season in this conversation!

Welcome back to Micromobility DC! For episode 25 we have the first of two episodes with runners on the move from DC to NYC. I had the chance to sit down and chat with Danielle Zarnick, a marathon training buddy and good friend. At the time of the recording, Danielle was a few days from making her move away from the District. She reflects on her time navigating around the district - running, walking, and forming community.In this episode, we also got into how Danielle began running (in Ohio), the trials and tribulations that came with elementary school cross country races, her decision to run at Colgate University, navigating injury, creating running friendships after graduating, marathon training (she's run Philly and Wineglass, and now she's gearing up for Chicago!), race pace, and her hobby mentality.I am very sentimental about this episode, and I hope you enjoy it! Also, send Danielle all of your favorite NYC running routes!

Welcome back to Micromobility DC - officially one year old now! Happy birthday, pod!This episode I had the opportunity to speak with my former colleague and wonderful friend, Nate Steele, who is a wealth of knowledge on all things transportation. We did discuss EVs and EV charging for the "macromobility" fans out there. In this vein, we discussed challenges around EV charging in urban spaces (like DC!) and integrating cars into larger transportation ecosystems. We also talked about Nate's bike commute up Klingle Hill, making cities pedestrian friendly, train comparisons with other cities, bike lane comparisons with other cities, and general impressions about getting around in DC on a daily basis. This was a fun (non-running-centric) one! I hope you enjoy!

Hello, hello! Hope everyone is staying safe during this very polluted week in Washington, DC. I've heard that listening to a podcast about running gives the same endorphin boost as going for a run itself, so hopefully this podcast does the trick until we can get back to exercising outside.*This episode is with resident Pacers Run Club Leader, Dan Kalinowski! Many of you know him from the Pacers Monday 6 mile route or Banneker Track circles on Thursdays. On this episode he discusses how he got into running, his journey to run marathons on every continent (he's run marathons in North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Antarctica so far), his recent foray into triathlons, and how he goes about his role as an official pacer in local DC races (just like race day, don't try anything new on pace day!). This episode was a ton of fun, and even having known Dan for a while, I learned quite a bit. I hope you enjoy!*Not scientifically proven.

Hello, hello! Welcome back to Micromobility DC. This week we hear from Willis Chen, a dedicated amateur runner who recently broke the 3 hour mark at the 2023 London Marathon. This episode is a full-on running deep-dive.For those who don't know Willis, he can often be found trotting along the C&O Canal and around the National Mall or pacing NETC track workouts. I first met him while doing laps in front of the National Gallery of Art about 14 months ago and remember him being both friendly and humble. He is incredibly knowledgeable about running - from knowing what pros are breaking national records to keeping track of (and cheering for) his DC friends' PR successes. If asked, Willis will happily provide very useful and well informed training advice, and he knows all of the best races to run. In this episode, we talk about how Willis started running - he was not a high school or college athlete. We get into how Willis went from being an over 5 hour marathoner to a 2:58 marathoner. (His first marathon was local Marine Corps Marathon!) We discuss the ins and outs of the World Major Marathons. And we get an in depth recap of Willis's London Marathon quest. Thanks so much to Willis for taking the time to speak on the pod (and matching my enthusiasm for the sport). And thanks as always to Dan Hoffman for the soundtrack.

We are back! (Took both a podcasting #springbreak during April and am feeling refreshed and excited for what's next!)This episode is with Amanda Earl - a running pal for a few years now. Amanda discusses how she got into running, then trail running, then ultra trail running while living in DC on this episode. Quite the progression! We also spend a lot of the episode discussing Amanda's most recent race - the Big Sur Marathon. I've fact checked the elevation gain, and officially it is 2,182 over the course of the 26.2 miles (but many internet runners report that they believe it is more). Amanda discusses how she prepared for this race, dealing with injury mid training cycle, and the race experience itself - think 3am pitch dark bus rides with no cell service and a piano man several miles in. We talk about running as a de-stressor from DC work life, Pacers Running marathon training community, and big next goals. I really appreciate Amanda's curiosity drive in the running space, and I hope you do too.Thanks to you for listening, Dan Hoffman for the soundtrack, and Amanda for the conversation. Enjoy! (PS: The podcast is enough episodes deep for a post race beer!)

For this episode, I had the joy of speaking to Tim Choi - one of my first running friends in DC. Tim is a staple in the DC running community. You can catch him organizing happy hour runs with friends and circling the track in his Altras. (He also has an amazing food Instagram @timwich.eats.)During this episode, we covered his experience at the Tokyo Marathon, along with all the lead up including the immigration protocols and best food spots, his experience running the North Carolina Krispy Kreme Challenge (and the best strategies for crushing a dozen donuts quickly), his favorite DC races and a pre Parkway Classic tale, and his advice for running the Berlin Marathon. I hope you enjoy! (Also, I am pretty sure we got a few digits of pi wrong while speaking, but I'll leave it to the audience to call the pod out for fake news.)Thank you to Tim for taking the time to speak with me. And thank you, as always, to Dan Hoffman for the soundtrack.

"I credit [running] with my sense of placemaking and belonging..."This week I had the opportunity to sit down at my dining room table and get back to recording podcasts with Louisa Sholar. We talked about running in Georgetown (where Louisa lives and studies); we chatted about how Louisa started running solo and then became involved in the DC running community after years as a dancer; we chatted about Louisa's job at Pacers Running and her current go-to running shoes; we delved into more serious topics of women's health in the movement community, the good and the bad - and the serious lack of information on period health for athletes who menstruate; then we moved to topics on policy for micromobility and ease of getting around. As a runner and a policy graduate student, Louisa has deep insight and passion for ways in which we can improve access, welcomeness, and awareness to information and community in the movement space. I really appreciated this conversation, which really covered a lot, and I hope you will too.Thank you to Louisa for the conversation and to Dan Hoffman for the soundtrack.A note: This conversation touches on sensitive health topics, including eating disorders. If this is not something you're feeling ready to listen to, this could be an episode for you to skip - the topic comes up a bit after minute 15. Additionally, the few minutes we spend speaking about women's health issues are no substitute for consultation from a medical professional - if you are concerned about your health, we encourage you to speak with your doctor. Lastly, Louisa passed along two resources for additional learning that I have linked below:Runners World Article on AmenorrheaProject Heal

Hello! Welcome back to Micromobility DC! It has been a while since the last episode because I've been doing a lot of non-podcast work and travel (that has led to a whole host of new understandings around micromobility)! This podcast has covered micromobility mostly from a sport perspective the past few episodes (many marathon training episodes!), but this episode delves into our daily movements from an infrastructure accessibility angle.For this episode, I had the opportunity to speak to the Urban Institute's incredibly knowledgeable Beatrize Stephen-Pons. I met Beatrize at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (TRBAM) in January.  During this conversation, Beatrize covers how she began studying public transportation accessibility and its effects on previously incarcerated populations, viewing transportation through a feminist lens, her experiences traveling around the US and learning about different cities' public transportation offerings, and a bit of what she learned from attending TRBAM.It was a joy to delve into public transportation and beyond with Beatrize - I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.Thanks to Dan Hoffman for the soundtrack! Thanks to you for listening!

Hello! Happy New Year!Many exciting things to come on the pod, and to kick off the year, we have Sarah, aka Sarita, aka Beanz talking about fresh starts and big goals. Two big goals turned accomplishments for Sarah last year were completing both the High Bridge 50K and Marine Corps 50K. We talk about the ultras, and we go beyond the races themselves to talk about how Sarah got here - able to run multiple speedy long distance races in the same month. There were the more obvious aspects, running and strength training. Then there were the more intangible aspects... a sense of community, a feeling of pride in identity and greater comfort embracing that identity, resiliency after repeated injury... Sarah talks about being Latina in the distance running space, joining Northeast Track Club for the first time, and her moves from Mexico City, to Texas, to Minnesota, to DC. She absolutely loves the district, where she works making maps. I loved this conversation with Sarah, who is incredibly open and authentic. I hope you do too. Thanks as always to Dan Hoffman for the music.

"Because you can do it...and I think just believing you can do it is a challenge."Happy holidays and last episode of 2022! To finish off this season of podcasting, I spoke with Liz Grufferman, who offers both joy and wisdom to the conversation. She also offers a deep dive into what it was like to run the 2022 New York City Marathon (in a Boston Marathon qualifying time and PR)!Liz is an accomplished runner, and in her year of living in DC, she's become an integral part of the running community. Prior to moving to DC, Liz began running inspired by her mom and ran at university in Scotland. She describes exploring the Scottish countryside through running with friends. Upon moving to DC, she began training with Northeast Track Club. A few months later, she joined Sara (Episode 13) in training with Coach Mo. This Fall, she decided to go for that sub 3:30 time and went all in on training for New York City Marathon - as she grew up on the NYC Marathon course, the race already held a special place in her heart. On race day, she was served up some of the hottest weather the NYC Marathon has ever seen, and she still managed to crush the race.Liz offers insight on the mental side of getting over the 3:30 barrier, how training with a coach has helped her, why the running community is amazing, and how she appreciates training for a big goal.As always special thanks to Dan Hoffman for the soundtrack. And thanks to YOU for listening!

Another duo episode! In this one I spoke with Tim Hughes and Tatsu Osada - accomplished marathoners and triathletes in the DC area. The two have been friends since 2014, when they met at the fateful polar vortex run referenced in Mike Katz's episode. Tatsu and Tim are supportive friends AND intense competitors. For many of their races, they have "bets" over who wins. This includes betting on whose version of a peanut butter jelly sandwich is "correct" and betting on which of them will have to buy the other a beer every month for the rest of their month. (Listen in to find out who won what.) Tim talks about going from an 4+ hour marathoner to a 2:35 marathoner. Tatsu discusses crushing six ironman triathlons. The two mention their favorite races and what advice they have for those hoping to get faster and stronger.Shoutouts to Pacers Running and YTri Program in this episode!

"I've always prioritized training and running in a way...I've just continued to do it no matter what."Hilary Cairns is a staple in the DC running and triathlon community. She is the founder and leader of Track Pack, a group of hearty runners who meet at 5:45am on Wednesday mornings year round. She sits on the board for Run Hope Work, an organization founded by Jose Ortiz (and modeled after his own experiences) that combines running, mindfulness , and workforce development. She casually "jumps in" many local races. Most recently, she jumped into the Army 10 Miler and won her age group. Hilary has a bit of a different relationship than many others on this shows. Rather than loving the marathon or going after ultras, her favorite distances to race range from the 10K to 10 mile. While her mom was a runner - who ran Grandma's Marathon, a favorite destination race amongst DC runners - Hilary played tennis growing up. She found running in college. While she is an accomplished runner and an organizer in the sport, she approaches training with a bit of lightness. She doesn't overthink the Track Pack workouts she plans, she finds local races on RunWashington, and being a mom of three, she understands that she understands that sometimes you have to adapt to what life throws at you.I really appreciated hearing about how Hilary has found longevity in running and triathlon and managed to prioritize the sport over decades - I think she provides a strong example for those of us who are faced with pressures from all directions and still want to be part of the larger running community and go after big goals. She doesn't overthink running, she just does it and adapts where needed.

If you've seen a smiley blur with a ballet bun whizzing around town, it is probably Sara Borrasso. Sara is an active member of the DC running community, participating in Northeast Track Club (NETC) and Friday West End Running Club (WERC) regularly. She also recently started working with Coach Mo'ath Alkhawaldeh, fondly referred to as Coach Mo, in order to go after some big goals. She accomplished a significant one when she ran 3:08, an over twenty minute PR, at the Berlin Marathon and Chicago Marathon this Fall - races that are only two weeks apart.Sara ran her first Chicago Marathon in 2014 and has continued participating in it every iteration since. Coming from Chicago, she describes it as her hometown race. She also mentions not really knowing other marathons existed when she first signed up. Strangely enough, Sara learned about NETC in a corral at the 2021 Chicago Marathon from a fellow NETC runner. She decided to check it out and immediately loved being part of a club. Other runners in the group suggested that she work with Coach Mo. With the ambition to qualify for as many World Major Marathons as possible, Sara went for it. In this episode, we talk about Sara's 10k first race (all uphill), why she decided to run her first marathon, her first NETC run, how her training has shifted since working with a coach, her aim to run all of the World Majors, and how having running friends has made the sport really fun.As always, thank you to Dan Hoffman for the music! Enjoy!