Performance Running Gym Podcast

Jess Simmons is a Minneapolis-based Health Coach and Personal Trainer who helps clients build strength, resilience, and lasting health habits through a unique blend of fitness programming, nervous system regulation, and behavior change coaching. She specializes in helping high-achievers feel strong, energized, and in control of their health—without burnout, perfectionism, or restriction. On this episode of the podcast, we dive deep into the topics of chronic stress, recovery, metabolic health, and their relationship to health and body composition. Jess’ unique insights on managing wellness, athletic recovery, and weight management from a truly holistic perspective make this an episode a must listen for a wide variety of athletes.

On this episode we welcome Kari Gibbons, the champion and fourth woman ever to complete the Iditerod Trail Invitational 1000 mile footrace! Kari is one of our Team PRG sponsored athletes and is an absolute legend in Minnesota Ultra Distance athletics. Kari has been in the ultra endurance game since 2014, and is known as the local queen of winter ultras. In this episode, we take a deep dive with Kari into her race at the Iditerod 1000, including how she trained, how the event itself played out, and lessons that you can take from Kari and apply to your own training and racing.

In this episode, we discuss the mental and physical side of training for your best marathon, from finding your why and shoring up your mental game, to the specifics of what makes for a great training block.

Jeff Miller is a lifetime endurance athlete, running coach, and a friend to many in the Midwest trail and ultrarunning community. He holds four grandmasters titles at the rugged and relentless Fall Superior 100, won the Firetower 100k and Duluth’s Last Runner Standing in 2023, and has dozens of top 10 and podium finishes to his name over the last decade. In addition to being an amazing athlete, Jeff works full time as a running coach with his company, Northwoods Running. Today we’ve invited Jeff on to talk about longevity in running and his secrets to being a podium level athlete as he approaches his 60th birthday, including tips on how you can improve your longevity in the sport and continue to reach your full potential into your next decade and beyond.

Landon has a B.S. in Kinesiology with a minor in Sports Coaching, is a NASM Certified Trainer, and a RunDNA certified Gait Analyst and is the head of our gait analysis program at Performance Running in St. Louis Park, MN. Landon specializes in working with runners to develop custom strength and run training programs to help them run stronger, injury free, and achieve their running and fitness goals. Today we’re going to touch on a topic that is right in Landon’s wheelhouse, Strength Training for Runners. While the topic is well covered and frequently talked about, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about the specifics of how, why and when runners should do strength training, and how to make the most of their time in the weight room. Today we’re going to ask Landon the tough questions about why strength training is so important, what areas and types of strength training runners should focus on for best results, how to incorporate strength into the busy life of an athlete with the demands of a full time job and/or a family, and lastly we’ll talk about how to get started today with a strength plan that is right for you.

John Storkamp is the Owner and Director of Rocksteady Running, the organization that directs some of the biggest trail races in the midwest, including the Superior Fall Trail Races, Afton Trail Races, Zumbro Trail Races, and the Endless Summer series. John himself is an amazing athlete with an incredible athletic resume. John has over 140 finishes at races of the marathon distance or beyond, including 27 wins at races like the Arrowhead 135, The Death Valley Trail Marathon, Chester Woods 50k, Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon, Zumbro 100 miler, Door County Fall 50 and more. Under John’s leadership, many of the events he and his wife, Cheri, direct have gained national and even international recognition for their beauty, challenge, and above all else, the exceptional race experience and unmatched community vibe. Personally, I’ve run races all over the country, and I’ve never found an organization or community that has come close to matching the class act that is Rocksteady Running. In this episode we take a peek under the hood at RSR and learn more about the history of the events that John and Cheri direct, as well as hear the stories of some of the challenges, triumphs, and adventures that will give us a window into the world of heading up the premier race organization in the upper midwest.

On this episode we discuss some of the most popular diet plans and nutritional approaches for athletes, the common mistakes that hold athletes back from real progress, and Josh's four pillars to address to optimize your nutrition and fueling strategies to improve your running, energy, and overall health. Josh is the most recent addition to our coaching team at PRG and begins working with athletes 1-1 this November! Josh, a competitive road runner himself with an impressive resume. Professionally, Josh helps athletes master their nutrition habits for both health and performance, improve their fueling and recovery strategies to help them increase mileage and maximize their performance potential, and to overcome mental roadblocks, navigate the complex web of diet related information, and ultimately find the program that works the best for their body, lifestyle, and sports performance goals.

Dr. Kailee Carlson is a licenced acupuncturist and a RN with a doctorate in Chinese Medicine with a Sports Emphasis. She has her practice onsite at Performance Running Gym and has helped many in our community in reaching their sports performance goals. But in today’s episode, we focus on Kailee Carlson, the athlete.  This past March Kailee completed the grueling Canebrake 200 mile race outside of Atlanta, GA. For most of us, the idea of 200 miles in a single race is nearly unfathomable. Our episode today will focus on how Kailee trained for the demands of 200 miles both physically and mentally, what the race experience was like, and learn about the post-race experience after completing this huge goal. We’ll also take some time to talk with Kailee about how her practice is supporting other athletes like her, and what it can do for athletes looking to improve their performance, recovery, or looking to just live life to the fullest.

Clayton is a steeplechaser, 5k, and 10k track and cross country runner originally from Washington, Missouri. He is a recent addition to Minnesota’s elite running team, MDE. Clayton is a 4-time all-state athlete and set high school records in the 1600, 3200, and 2000m steeplechase. After high school Clayton attended Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO before moving up to division 1 at Wichita State University in KS. Clayton earned all-conference honors 4x as an athlete for Wichita State, twice in cross country and twice in the 300m steeplechase. He was conference champion in the steeplechase 1x, runner up once, and placed an amazing 4th in the indoor 5000m. He finished college with personal bets of 8:45 in the 3000m steeple, 8:09 in the 3000m, 14:08 in the 5000m, 23:34 in 8k cross country, and 29:58 in the 10k cross country.  On this episode we learn about the guy behind the speedy credentials. We talk training, life as a post collegiate elite athlete, and how Clayton balances the demands of life, work and training at such a high level. We also talk about the upcoming track and field olympic trials and his goals for the season.

In this episode Coach Bobbi interviews Dick Beardsley, a local legend originally from Minneapolis, MN. Beardsley is a multiple running hall of fame inductee, a 2x winner and former course record holder of the Grandma's Marathon (a record that stood for 33 years!), London Marathon Champion, American Record Holder in the Track 10 mile, former course record holder at the Napa Valley Marathon, and a 2x Olympic Trials Qualifier. In this episode, Dick and Bobbi chat about Dick's amazing accomplishments, his struggles and story of overcoming drug addiction following a serious farm injury, his foundation that helps others overcome the struggle of chemical addiction, and his current career as a successful motivational speaker based out of Bemidji, MN.

Emi has a master’s in Nutrition Dietetics and Sensory Sciences from Kansas State University. She has been running professionally with Minnesota Distance Elite for 6 years and has a goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials this summer. Her passion for nutrition grew out of her family garden, collegiate athletics, and her desire to help others live a more functional and healthy life. On today’s episode, we’re going to learn more from Emi about proper everyday nutrition and fueling strategies for endurance athletes to reach their peak potential, as well as give you some practical tips that you can start applying to your everyday nutrition and fueling today to help you feel more energized, perform better, and recover like a pro. 

Breanna Sieracki is a Pro Runner and Coach who lives in Bloomington, MN and trains with our local elite running team, Minnesota Distance Elite. At the time of this recording, Breanna is a few weeks off of competing in the Olympic Trails Marathon in Orlando, FL.  In early 2022, Breanna and her husband, Connor, welcomed their daughter, Addison. Breanna’s journey has set an example of what it is like to carry a baby and continue to train competitively, give birth and then come back postpartum with even better running results. In this episode we discuss what it’s like being a new parent and a professional runner, how Breanna stays fit both mentally and physically, and we discuss tips for the everyday athletes dealing with the demands of life and their sport.  Breanna competed at Wisconsin’s State Track and Field from 2009-2013  where she won state titles in the 1600m and the 3200m and podiumed in the 800. She led Spring Valley high school cross country to a state championship in 2012. She went on to compete for University of Minnesota - Duluth, where she became a 9x All American in Division II. Her main events in college were cross country, 3000, 5000 and the 3k Steeplechase on the track.  In 2019, she represented Team USA at the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Trinidad, where she led Team USA to a team title and took home the individual win as well. She’s competed in the cross country championships, in which, this year she took 7th and several other USATF championships where she’s received top 10 honors. Most recently she qualified for the Olympic Trials Marathon with a 2:33 at the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon, and competed in the Trials this past February.

Today we’re bringing on Dr. Michael Rodriguez, the Owner of Endurance Sports Physical Therapy and Performance, based out of PRG, to discuss how to go sub-3 in the marathon distance. While our focus will be on the 3hr time goal, this discussion applies beautifully to anyone who is chasing an aggressive marathon personal best, no matter your pace. We chose Dr. Michael because as an elite level runner D1 collegiate and post collegiate runner, he has a personal best of 2:34 in the marathon and 1:12 in the ½ marathon, and has coached 16 athletes to the goal of successfully breaking sub-3 for the first time in the last several years. Guest Co-Host - Coach Jacob Oak

Just over one month ago Dakotah became the first minnesotan to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after an incredible 3rd place finish with a time of 2:25:21. Although Dakotah came on the radar for many in the running community after the trials, she is no stranger to the podium. Dakotah has two Grandma’s Marathon wins to her name from 2021 and 2022, as well as placing 2nd in the 2019 Twin Cities Marathon. For those trail nerds like me, she also won the Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon an incredible three times in a row from 2014-2016  Dakotah has been focusing her efforts on her professional running career since graduating from Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota in 2017. She joined our local elite running team, Minnesota Distance Elite in 2017 and has been seeing consistent improvement and success ever since. She is currently the 12th fastest women’s marathoner in US history. She is also the first runner from MN to qualify for the Olympics since Kara Goucher in 2019.  On this podcast we learn more about the woman behind the headlines and dive into her experience training for and competing in the trials, how she has balanced professional running with a full time job as a paralegal, how the “underdog” mindset has served her in running, and we’ll get some pro tips for you, our listeners, about how you can improve your own running directly from MN’s current favorite runner.

Chris Lundstrom, or “Coach Lundo,” as he’s known by our local running community, is the Head Coach of MN’s premier elite running team, Minnesota Distance Elite. He is responsible for recruiting, retaining, and developing this team of 10-12 professional distance runners in events ranging from 1500 meters up to the marathon. Since this February’s Olympic Trials, Chris has been thrust into the spotlight as the leader of a team who produced 7 athletes who qualified for and ran the trials (a massive feat in and of itself), as well as two top 10 finishes in the female race with Dakotah Lindwurm, who is headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Annie Frisbie, who took 10th place in the trails.  Chris is a native of Northfield, MN who competed in NCAA Championship track and cross country teams at Stanford University in the late 90s. He went on to be one of the original members of MDE, previously known as Team USA Minnesota. Some of his career accomplishments include a 3rd and 4th place finish in the USA marathon championships, and qualifying three times for the US Olympic Trials in the Marathon distance. He also represented the US in the 2007 Pan-American Games marathon and in 2010 won the silver medal with the US Team in the World Mountain Running Championships. Since then Chris has been coaching runners and pursuing his studies. He holds a PHD in Kinesiology and is an active faculty member at the University of Minnesota (where I first met him as a student in 2012). Many UMN alumni know Chris from his teaching roles in sports and exercise sciences, as well as his marathon training class, which has produced over 800 first time marathoners.  On today’s episode, we’ll learn about the Coach behind this amazing team of athletes, his journey in running and competition, how the sport and training has changed in the last two decades, and of course we’ll chat a bit about the recent success at the Olympic Trials Marathon and hopes and aspirations for the upcoming track and field trials set for July 2024.

Francesca Wilson is a strength coach and personal trainer at Performance Running Gym with over a decade of experience. She specializes in working with women of all ages to help them perform their best and reach their fitness and performance goals. Francesca has a BA in Exercise Science, is a certified trainer and certified women’s conditioning specialist, a Precision Nutrition Certified Nutrition Coach, and is also a Stott Pilates Trained Instructor. On today’s podcast we will be focusing on Endurance Training and the Menstrual Cycle, addressing common concerns, and learning how you can take advantage of your hormonal profile as it relates to your cycle to perform your best and crush your endurance goals! Today’s episode is a great listen for all of the ladies out there, in addition to coaches who work with female clients and are hungry to learn more about this important but rarely discussed topic.

Andrew Warg is a 34 year old trail runner, tech industry account exec, and family man from Hastings, MN. Andrew first came on my radar after a podium finish at the 2022 Superior 100. This year, he did it again, besting his previous time by an hour and again coming away with a 3rd place podium finish among one of the most competitive fields in the history of the event. Andrew is known by many as a “smart,” yet laid back runner, having a knack for consistency, grit, and an infectiously positive attitude. In this episode we learn more about Andrew’s training approach, his mindset, how he balances family, work and running, and his rise to the front of the pack in Midwest ultra running in the past two years.

Matt Van Donsel is a trail and ultra runner from Hopkins, Minnesota and a member of Performance Running Gym’s sponsored athlete team, Team PRG. Matt has been racing ultras since 2009, where he got his start in trail running on the rugged trails of Appalachia country in his previous home state of Virginia. Since then, he’s completed over 20 races at or beyond the marathon distance, including five 100 milers on some of the toughest trails in the US. Matt is coming off a breakthrough season, setting personal bests and finishing in the front of the back in distances ranging from 1 mile to 100 miles. We learn more in this episode about Matt’s unique athletic background as a team sport athlete, how and why he’s incorporated strength training religiously in his program from day one, and how he believes his non-traditional approach to ultramarathon training this year helped him accomplish some of his best performances to date. Also on the episode is Matt's coach, Coach Bobbi from PRG, to speak about the logic and execution of Matt's running program this year. Enjoy!

On our first episode Bobbi interviews Aaron to give you an inside look at your host. We got into running ultra-marathons and his most recent 100 miler race and how walked away with a new personal record. New episodes release bi-weekly on Tuesdays.  Hosts Aaron Boike and Bobbi Patrick bring us voices of athletes and professionals from the local and national trail, ultra, and road running community to help you run #PRGstrong and crush your PRs! 

Every year runners spend countless hours training, recovering, and mentally and physically preparing for one event, the marathon. What many don’t know is just how much the event you select has an impact on the outcome and experience you can expect to have on race day. Every year, many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of marathons occur in the USA alone. Selecting the right one for you can mean the difference between a personal best, and an underwhelming capstone to your dedication and hard work. In this episode we bring back a former guest, Dr. Michael Rodriguez, the Owner of Endurance Sports Physical Therapy and Performance, to discuss how to choose your ideal marathon. Dr. Michael is a former D1 collegiate runner with a personal best of 2:34 in the marathon and 1:12 in the half. Dr. Michael also coaches runners and has gained a reputation for helping athletes knock down time barriers and achieve breakthroughs in the marathon.