Human Race

For Human Race's final episode, we share several of your stories. This episode of Human Race is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. Credits: Host: Rachel Swaby Producers: Rachel Swaby, Brian Dalek, Christine Fennessy Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race is a proud part of Panoply Special thanks to: David Willey, Christine Fennessy, Brian Dalek, Sylvia Ryerson, Audrey Quinn, Mervyn Deganos, David Weinberg, Danielle Thomsen, Kit Fox, Casey Martin, Willow Belden, Tennessee Watson, Scott Carrier, Karen Given, and Cindy Kuzma.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In his 20s, after running cross country in high school and college, Tim Manzer swore off running completely. Then, in his early 40s, his doctor told him that running would not be a part of his future. “I wasn’t running anyway!” Tim laughed. In 2010, Tim was trimming some apple trees in a little orchard right next to his front yard, when he backed up into a wasp’s nest. “They're after me. I'm zigzagging across my yard and over in the neighbor's yard.” After 10 or so stings, Tim finally loses them. As he recovers on his front porch, he thinks to himself, “You can run. You just need the right motivation, but you can run!” Tim’s is an unbelievable tale: it has a summer camp, a motorcycle club, poop, and wasps, of course. Oh, and love. This episode of Human Race is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. Episode Credits: Host & producer: Rachel Swaby Editing help: Brian Dalek Theme Music: Danny Cocke Human Race is a proud part of Panoply.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

​When Amy Downs thinks about her life, it splits into two distinct sections: before the bombing and after the bombing. Before the bombing, Amy’s life had fallen into a predictable pattern. She went to work, came home, ate dinner, watched TV and went to bed. After she moved away from her hometown and gotten married a few years earlier, she’d gained weight quickly—100 pounds in one year. “And I was too embarrassed to come home,” says Downs. “This was before cell phones and email and all of that.” Relationships with her friends and family suffered. But then, one spring day, when Amy was 28, a tragedy ripped Amy’s life in half. She vowed to change her life completely. This episode of Human Race is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. Credits: Host and Producer: Rachel Swaby Editing help: Christine Fennessy, Brian Dalek Theme Music: Danny Cocke Human Race is proud part of Panoply Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2011, at the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run, Noe Castanon Mendez was a pacer in need of a runner. Thomas Wong was a runner in need of a pacer. They were strangers when they met and decided to pair up with more than 30 miles still to go. But the meeting got off to a tense start. Thomas was in pain and exhausted, close to the cut off time, and uncertain he could finish on his own. Noe, on the other hand, still had fresh legs. He was cheering on runners with a cowbell and excited about the prospect of hopping onto the course. They weren't on the same page, and it wasn’t clear that they’d get there. This is the story of a self-professed odd couple. It’s the story of what happens in the dark of night, through pain and doubt, when a runner is at their worst. And the unique relationship formed in extremely challenging circumstances. Episode credits: Host & producer: Rachel Swaby Editing help: Christine Fennessy, Brian Dalek, Kit Fox Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race is a proud part of Panoply This episode of Human Race is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm taking this week off. But you'll get a new episode of Human Race next Tuesday (8/8). In the mean time, I want to hear from you. Email me stories about why you started running and you could be included in a future episode. You can email me at RWaudio@rodale.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earlier this year, Human Race asked listeners to send in stories about their run clubs. We got inspiring, motivating, and touching stories from all over the country—exactly what we were hoping for. But then we got a story so unexpected, so charming, so zany, that we couldn’t possibly pass it up. This week, Human Race goes to Colorado Springs to run with donkeys. That’s right. Donkeys.  And what we found there wasn’t just a novelty club. When “you teach someone else not only how to [run with donkeys] but why to do it,” says Shaw, “That forms a more unique bond between people.” Rosco’s Runners is a club that’s had a powerful effect on the local community—as well as the people who run it. Rosco’s Runners Videos: Rosco's Th@nksgiving Rosco likes Human Race Episode Credits: Host & producer: Rachel Swaby Editing help: Sylvia Ryerson and Brian Dalek Special thanks to Kevin Shaw, Suzanne Shaw, and Tony White. Thanks to Sam White for donkey running recording help. Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race is a proud part of Panoply This episode of Human Race is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On January 1st, 1997, Karen Queally decided that running every day was something she could do for herself. She had recently given birth to twin girls and she had another daughter, just a few years older. She’d run three miles or 45 minutes, whatever came first. And every January, she’d decide whether she’d like to renew the commitment. That was more than 20 years ago. Karen has kept her streak alive every day since. Now, she knew running every day would be difficult. She expected early flights and injury and illness. However, she didn’t expect just how much she would have to go through to keep going. And how maintaining control over her running would hold her together while her health and her home life deteriorated.  During this daily running practice, Queally saw her dreams expand. Karen is 163 marathons deep with 7490 days of running in a row. She has no plans to stop any time soon. This episode of Human Race is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. Episode Credits: Host & producer: Rachel Swaby Feedback from: Christine Fennessy and Brian Dalek Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race is a proud part of Panoply Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elite runner Brandon Hudgins had the storybook ending to a remarkable comeback at the 2016 Olympic Track Trials. Over eight years, he fought three relapses of a rare form of the autoimmune disease vasculitis to qualify in the 1,500 meters. When the disease strikes, it attacks the very organs needed to run fast—the blood vessels that transport oxygen to muscles. In a matter of weeks during a relapse, he can go from being able to run a mile in under four minutes, to barely being able to plod through one in 15. He’s suffered depression and anxiety because of his health, maxed out credit cards, and had to quit his job because he is too sick to work. But in spite of these biological, mental, and financial obstacles, in front of his parents, friends, coach, and 20,000 spectators on a sopping, rainy Hayward field in Eugene, Oregon, he placed ninth in a semi-final heat—the highlight of his professional career. This week, we explore what happened after that storybook comeback in 2016. Brandon wants to run faster, to chase his dream of being a top-level elite runner. But he has body that steals his talent just when things are going his way.    This episode of The Runner's World Show is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. Additional Reading: This Unsponsored Athlete has the Comeback Story of the Trials by Kit Fox Vasculitis Foundation   Credits: Host: Rachel Swaby Producers: Kit Fox, Rachel Swaby Feedback by: Christine Fennessy, Brian Dalek, Sylvia Ryerson Theme Music: Danny Cocke Human Race is a proud part of Panoply Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Judge Craig Mitchell visited the Midnight Mission homeless shelter on Skid Row in Los Angeles in 2012, the organization’s president asked him if he could think of any way to contribute. Judge Mitchell was an avid runner, and he worked nearby. So he offered to start a run club for guys in the shelter. He hoped to get to know the people staying at the Mission better, maybe foster a sense of community.  What he didn’t know was just how profoundly running would change their lives and his.  The run club he started is the subject of a new documentary premiering at the LA Film Festival on Saturday, June 16th. Mark and Gabi Hayes made the film, and they’ve given Human Race exclusive access to the interviews they conducted over the course of the four years they followed the group.  The group started on Skid Row, but its members did not finish there. Additional Reading: Skid Row Marathon at the LA Film Festival: Saturday, June 17th at 12pm. Skid Row Marathon Website And Skid Row Marathon on Facebook  Credits:Host: Rachel Swaby Producer: Rachel Swaby Reporting and documentary by Mark and Gabi Hayes. Feedback from: Christine Fennessy, Brian Dalek, and Sylvia Ryerson Founding editor in chief: David Willey This episode is brought to you by Brooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Run streakers people committed to running at least a mile every day. There are now Facebook groups filled with run streakers and a national organization. But before any of that, Brent Burmaster decided that he would run at least 5k, or 3.1 miles every day for the rest of his life. That was in 1993. More than 8,800 days later, Burmaster is still at it. But in the twenty-four years between then and now, his life took a dramatic turn. Burmaster had always been a heavy drinker, but his big nights out were mostly confined to the weekends. However, when his first marriage fell apart, he plunged into alcoholism, going to bars every night. Was running holding his life together or enabling his addiction? Keeping him healthy or keeping him trapped in another addiction? That’s our story this week. Additional Resources: 2017 Runner’s World Summer Running Streak Soul’s Harbor Alcoholics Anonymous Host: Rachel Swaby Producer: Rachel SwabyFeedback from: Brian Dalek, Sylvia Ryerson Special thanks to Hollis Karoly, a doctoral student at the University of Colorado Boulder, for help with the science of alcoholism and exercise. Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race editor in chief: David Willey Human Race is a proud part of Panoply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Rosie Swale Pope’s 70th birthday, she jumped out of an airplane. But on Rosie’s list of nutty accomplishments, skydiving doesn’t even place. Pope has sailed solo across the Atlantic, run 27 marathons in 27 days, and ridden 3000 miles on horseback in South America. Her story is one of love and loss, a trip around the world and across America. She did both of those things, too. Unsupported and on foot. Human Race caught up with her on the side of the road (appropriately) in Albany, Texas. She talked about the people she met on her journeys, running in sub-70 degree temperatures, and why “short, sharp adventures” are in her immediate future. Further reading: Just a Little Run Around the World by Rosie Swale Pope 40 Million Steps Around the World by Rachel Swaby (about Tom Denniss’s journey) Episode Credits: Host: Rachel SwabyProducer: Rachel SwabyFeedback from: Christine Fennessy, Brian Dalek, Sylvia RyersonTheme music: Danny CockeHuman Race editor in chief: David WilleyHuman Race is a proud part of Panoply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On May 6, 1967 in a suburb of Toronto, Canada, a 13-year-old girl named Maureen Wilton accomplished something extraordinary. In a marathon of 30 people, she set the women's world record, running 26.2 miles in 3:15:23. Nicknamed “Little Mo” by her track teammates, Wilton’s accomplishment should have gone down as a defining moment in running history. It was, after all, just two weeks after the famous Kathrine Switzer completed the Boston Marathon wearing bib 261—despite the race director attempting to tackle her off the course. Instead, Wilton’s achievement was treated with controversy and accusations of cheating. Whereas Switzer became a champion for women’s running—sparking an unprecedented growth in female participation in the sport—Wilton receded into the background. So what happened to Little Mo? Fifty years after her world changing run, we revisit the historic race. And share the story of a forgotten women’s running revolutionary. Episode Credits: Host: Rachel Swaby Producers: Rachel Swaby, Kit Fox Feedback from: Christine Fennessy, Brian Dalek, Sylvia Ryerson Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race editor in chief: David Willey Human Race is a proud part of Panoply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Runner’s World goes to Boston every year for the marathon. We always hear so many great stories while we're there. In this special Marathon Monday bonus episode, our hope is that we can share a few of those stories with you.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shortly after mile seven in the 2015 Chicago Marathon, Richard Sikorski had a sudden cardiac arrest. His heart stopped beating and he collapsed in the middle of the road. He wasn’t supposed to run the marathon. He was feeling under-trained and a little tired. But the energy at the race expo changed his mind. He called his wife. Told her, “It’s pasta for dinner.” He’d rather be around other runners and suffer through 26.2 than stay at home. The decision to run profoundly altered the trajectory of his life. Sikorski started the race, but he did not finish it. This is the story of the race to save his life—a race that requires a NASA-like command center, a year's worth of planning, hundreds of volunteers, and a little luck. Additional reading:* "Last time I saw him he was dead" by Cindy Kuzma * The Runner's Heart Episode Credits: Host: Rachel Swaby Producers: Cindy Kuzma, Rachel Swaby Editor: David Weinberg Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race Editor-in-Chief: David Willey Human Race is a proud part of Panoply. Follow us on Twitter (@rwaudio) and Facebook (Runner's World Audio). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachel is back from maternity leave, and Human Race will be back with season 3 on April 11th. In the meantime, we want to hear from you! Tell Human Race about your running club—and what makes it truly unique and special! Why? Because we—Human Race in collaboration with our sibling podcast The Runner’s World Show—want to do a story about you and the group of people you run with. Rachel wants to come to your favorite trail, local track, or Saturday morning meeting place to record your story. And, of course, she wants to run with you, too. So please reach out! Give us a sentence or two about your club and a member of your group that you admire. And you, your club, or someone in it might be featured on Human Race or The Runner’s World Show. You can email us at RWAudio@rodale.com. Or tweet Rachel at: @rachelswaby. We can't wait to hear your stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two years ago, at the 2015 Fifth Avenue Mile, Witold Bialokur ran a seven minute time. He did it at 80 years-old. The second place finisher in his group came in a minute and twenty seconds later. Witold is what most of us can only dream of becoming at his age. He’s fit, not frail, and he runs faster that most Americans can run at any age. But greatness like this comes at a price.  We’ll visit Witold Bialokur, a Polish immigrant born before the start of WWII. Witold’s run nearly his whole life. When he was young, it was a way to survive as a kid in exile during the war. Later it became a path to notoriety as a promising athlete and national running coach in Poland. And, when he got older, running was a part-time passion—and an obsession—as an amateur in Queens, New York. Take a journey through the life of one of the most remarkable runners around. You’ll get a glimpse into the methods of a master running coach, see what it takes to achieve greatness, but also the perils of being super competitive and obsessed with being your best. And there will be dancing. This episode of Human Race is sponsored by Aaptiv, an on-demand audio fitness app that you can do at home, at the gym, outdoors - anywhere. Get your first month free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at and use the promo code "HUMAN." To see pictures of Witold and Urzsula and of the master coach in action, head to www.runnersworld.com/audio and check out the show page for this episode. Visit Witold's Runner's at: https://www.facebook.com/witoldsrunners/ Episode Credits: Host: David Weinberg Producer: Mervyn Degaños Editing help: Christine Fennessy, Sylvia Ryerson Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race editor in chief: David Willey Human Race is a proud part of Panoply. Follow us on Twitter (@rwaudio) and Facebook (Runner's World Audio). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Keith Giroux decided to run the Boston Marathon he had a number of logistical hurdles to overcome. For starters, he hadn't run a qualifying race. In fact he'd never run any formal race ever. Then there was the issue of gear. He didn't own a pair of running shoes or running shorts. And he only had ten days to solve all these problems. Also he was in jail. This episode of Human Race is brought to you by Brooks. Sign up for the Brooks Big Endorsement and become a sponsored athlete at www.BrooksAthlete.com/rw. To support Keith's running goals visit: http://www.gofundme.com/a-run-for-meaning Episode Credits: Host: David Weinberg Producer: David Weinberg Editing help: Christine Fennessy, Sylvia Ryerson Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race editor in chief: David Willey Human Race is a proud part of Panoply. Follow us on Twitter (@rwaudio) and Facebook (Runner's World Audio). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've got two stories this week. The first is about why we run, not just as runners but as human beings. In the 1980s a biologist named Dave Carrier came up with a controversial theory about human evolution. He called it the "Running Hypothesis" and it was based on the idea that humans became elite long distance runners so that we could hunt large game by chasing it on foot until the animal collapsed from exhaustion. So Carrier and his brother, a radio producer named Scott went to Wyoming to prove this theory by trying to run down an antelope until it collapsed. The second story comes from producer Karen Given and is about a runner who set a surprising marathon goal after volunteering for a major surgery to save his mother-in-law’s life. We also learn how to hide an engagement ring in your running clothes. Additional Listening: Producer Scott Carrier has a podcast called Home of the Brave. You can listen to more of his work at homebrave.com. Producer Karen Given works on a show called Only A Game. You can listen to more of her work for that show at http://www.wbur.org/staff/karen-given. This episode of Human Race is sponsored by Aaptiv, an on-demand audio fitness app that you can do at home, at the gym, outdoors - anywhere. Get your first month free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at and use the promo code "HUMAN." Episode Credits: Host: David Weinberg Producers: Scott Carrier, Karen Given Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race editor in chief: David Willey Human Race is a proud part of Panoply. Follow us on Twitter (@rwaudio) and Facebook (Runner's World Audio). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sylvia Weiner is a prolific runner. She’s 85 years old, and she estimates that, during the course of her running career, she’s completed nearly 2,000 races—and she’s got an extensive collection of race medals and trophies to prove it. In 1975, Sylvia even claimed a very special spot in Boston Marathon history. But her most significant legacy has nothing to do with race accolades. When Sylvia runs, she shows others what’s possible. Her long-term dedication to the sport is impressive. “I have to stick to [running] for dear life,” she says. That’s because running is more than a passion; it’s a way of dealing with her traumatic past. In this week’s episode, Sylvia shares her incredible story. Let’s just say, there’s a reason Sylvia’s longtime running buddy greets her with an enthusiastic, “Sylvia! She’s our hero!” Episode Credits: Host: Rachel Swaby Producers: Rachel Swaby, Audrey Quinn, Christine Fennessy Editing help: Brian Dalek Special thanks: Gordon Asmundson from the University of Regina for sharing his research. Debbie Weiner for her help with this story. Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race editor-in-chief: David Willey Human Race is a member of Panoply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A story about a man who lost his heart. And what he gained in its place. On this episode, we meet Randy Shepherd, one very unlikely runner. Randy is 42 now, and never enjoyed running very much. He was more of a team sports guy. But beyond that, he had a rock-solid excuse for staying on the couch. Back when he was in his 30s, Shepherd’s already compromised heart rapidly began to fail. There was no time to match him with a transplant donor. Certain that Shepherd could die at any moment, surgeons removed his heart and replaced it with a machine called a total artificial heart. Right out of the surgery, he faced difficult questions. What happens when you lose such an essential part of yourself? What can you physically do (and not do) when a machine powers your body? His choice ultimately transformed his life. Visit the show page here for pictures of Randy in action. Episode Credits: Host: David Weinberg Producers: Rachel Swaby, Audrey Quinn, Christine Fennessy Editing help: Brian Dalek, Chris Kraft, Sylvia Ryerson Theme music: Danny Cocke Human Race editor in chief: David Willey Human Race is a proud part of Panoply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices