A captivating chat with Fiona O'Keefe, a former coach at Runners Connect, about her remarkable journey to winning the US Olympic Trials marathon and earning a spot on the Paris Olympic team.  Her insights and experiences shed light on the dedication and balance required for elite-level training and competition. 

US Olympic Marathon Trials Champion (and former RC Coach) Fiona O’Keeffe

Running podcast to motivate and help runners of every level, speed, and age run their best.

Sports

Fitness

Health & Fitness

Running

We have some bittersweet news to share. Our host Finn Melanson is leaving the RC team but you’ll still hear a familiar voice as our current Showrunner, Cory Nagler, transitions to full-time host. We’ll also be transitioning to only one episode per week on Wednesdays to help focus on providing you with high-quality and valuable content. In this transition episode of the Run to the Top Podcast, Finn takes on the other side of the interview as a special guest to say goodbye to the team and answer questions about his time with RunnersConnect. During the show, you’ll hear about what you can expect to come next for Finn and for the podcast. Topics we’ll cover include:  Why Finn is stepping down, and what he’s most excited about with his new focus on trail running How Finn first got started with the podcast and some of the most memorable moments from hosting the Run to the Top Podcast The guests Finn is most hoping to interview in the future What makes the running community such a welcoming space  We hope you enjoy this episode and look forward to bringing more great content going forward.    Interview with Jay Dicharry   Interview with Kara Goucher    Connect, Comment, Community   Follow RunnersConnect on Instagram  Join the Elite Treatment  where you get first dibs on everything RTTT each month!  Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community   RunnersConnect Facebook page  GET EXPERT COACHING AT RUNNERSCONNECT!  This week’s show brought to you by: Mushroom Breakthrough One of the most difficult things about training hard in the morning is the brain fog and mental fatigue that comes when you’re trying to get your work day going.   I am sure all you morning runners can relate to that feeling of not being able to focus and get motivated those first few hours at work.   That’s why I was excited when BIOptimizers released its one-of-a-kind product called Mushroom Breakthrough   It’s a powdered blend of 5 potent superfoods including 1.2 pounds of concentrated mushrooms, which have been shown in research to enhance memory, focus, processing speed, and more.    It’s the perfect way to not only boost recovery post-run, but improve mental clarity in the morning without taxing your adrenal system with caffeine. You’ll notice the difference in concentration, focus and mood, especially on those days when morning training really has you feeling tired and unmotivated.   For an exclusive offer go to bioptimizers.com/runtothetop and use code RUN10 during checkout.   And the great thing about BIOptimizers is that you can try it risk-free with their 365-day money-back guarantee. NuNee Struggling with Runners Knee? NuNee is an innovative new product designed specifically to treat Runner’s Knee. In fact, independent clinical research has shown that NuNee helped 9 of 10 runners start running again, immediately, without knee pain. Unlike other knee sleeves and supports that use compression, NuNee’s unique design relieves the pressure on your patella (knee cap), which provides immediate relief and aids your recovery. To learn more head to runnersconnect.net/NuNee. And to make it easy, the discount code RTTT50 will automatically be applied so you’ll save 50%. Even better, they offer a full money-back guarantee if you don’t experience immediate relief.

The Run to the Top Podcast Gets a New(ish) Host

Wade Lightheart from BiOptimizers joins the show to talk about his new book, “The Ultimate Nutrition Bible”.   We get into the 5 goals - your final weight loss journey, your lean muscle journey, achieving athletic dominance, maximizing your brain power, and maximizing your biospan before diving more deeply into the weight loss and dietary components.  Specifically in those spheres, we talk about key components like clearing emotional blocks, how to eliminate food toxins, how to choose the diet for your genetics, and how metabolic data shapes destinies.   Connect, Comment, Community   Follow RunnersConnect on Instagram  Join the Elite Treatment  where you get first dibs on everything RTTT each month!  Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community   RunnersConnect Facebook page  GET EXPERT COACHING AT RUNNERSCONNECT!   Ultimate Nutrition Bible  This week’s show brought to you by: AG 1 Ask yourself - do you get enough green veggies each day? I'll admit, I don't. It's tough to fit all of those greens in with an active and busy lifestyle. But getting in your fruits + veggies is SO crucial as a distance runner for recovery, digestion, and optimal performance. That's where Athletic Greens is a gamechanger. One scoop has 75 bioavailable vitamins, minerals, and whole food-sourced ingredients including a multivitamin, multimineral, probiotic, green superfood blend, and more. That means fewer stomach issues, more focus and energy throughout the day (because the workday matters just as much as the morning run), and overall ... just feeling healthier. Look, if you're struggling to get those fruits + veggies in - or if you keep buying them but they always go bad in the fridge - Athletic Greens will make getting those micronutrients simple and delicious. Get 5 BONUS travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D when you order at drinkag1.com/RTTT. Get yours now! TIMELINE Improving your mitochondria is one of the easiest ways to upgrade your performance and make your body work better.  Time-line Nutrition's Mitopure is backed by over a decade of research and is clinically proven to revitalize mitochondria.  Mitopure restores mitochondrial function, so every cell in your body has the energy to do its job and keep you healthy and functioning right. In fact, clinical studies have shown that 500mg of Urolithin, one of the main ingredients in Mitopure, can significantly increase muscle strength & endurance with no other change in lifestyle. Improving your mitochondria is one of the best things you can do for your health and with Mitopure from time-line nutrition, it has never been easier.  Go to timelinenutrition.com and use promo code RUNNERSCONNECT for 10% off the plan of your choice.

Insights From The Ultimate Nutrition Bible

Stephen is a masters runner just like you, but like a lot of runners, has really struggled with bonking during the marathon, despite putting in what seems to be great training. Sound familiar?  When it comes to marathon training and hitting the wall it’s difficult to piece together exactly what the issue is.  Am I under or over training? Is my nutrition, salt or electrolyte intake the cause? How do I start to figure out where I’m going wrong? Well, you’re not alone. In today’s podcast, we’re going to take you inside one of our coaching calls with Stephen Stone, a masters runner just like you, who struggled with the same issues.  We’re going to dissect everything so you can see exactly how we look for the cause of this common problem. By the end of this episode, you’ll have an exact plan for what you can look for in your training.    Connect, Comment, Community   Follow RunnersConnect on Instagram  Join the Elite Treatment  where you get first dibs on everything RTTT each month!  Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community   RunnersConnect Facebook page  GET EXPERT COACHING AT RUNNERSCONNECT!  This week’s show brought to you by: MAS Iron Outside of training deficiencies, low iron is one of the most common reasons for poor results during workouts and races.  Recent research indicates that almost 56% of male runners and 86% of female runners suffer from an iron deficiency that severely hampers performance. The problem with eating iron-rich foods or supplementing with traditional iron supplements is that iron is notoriously difficult for the body to absorb and utilize. In fact, only about 25% of dietary iron found in animal sources is absorbed while 17% or less of the iron from plant sources is absorbed. But MAS Iron has found a way to combat these absorption issues to ensure you can get the iron you need for health and performance. By combining the most efficiently absorbed form of elemental iron with clinically proven ingredients to aid in absorption, MAS Iron performs like no other iron product on the market. In fact, clinical research has shown the combination of ingredients in MAS Iron can quadruple absorption and increase bioavailability by 30%, all while reducing GI issues by 50%. Check out the research and the results for yourself at masedge.com/iron. Runnersconnect fans will automatically save 20% on any purchase. Flagstaff Retreat Spots are starting to fill up fast for our 2024 summer running retreat in Flagstaff, AZ. Our retreats are the perfect combination of spectacular running, hands-on coaching, informative and fun training lessons, and unforgettable memories with runners just like you!  Whether you’re looking for the chance to run along the grand canyon, experience some of the most picturesque trails in the US, or learn directly from our team of coaches and some of the foremost experts in strength, nutrition and biomechanics, our Flagstaff retreat is for you. Now, keep in mind these retreats ARE NOT for elite runners. They are for runners like you who love running and just want to improve. Most of our attendees are between 40 to 70 years young and range in ability from Boston Qualifiers to those who are just getting started. To see all the accommodations, prices, photos, schedule and all other details, head to runnersconnect.net/flagstaff.

Overcoming Marathon Bonking: A Peek Inside a Coaching Call

 Maggie Mertens joins the show to talk about her book “Better, Faster, Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women”.  In a wide-ranging discussion, we tie in some of the exciting news on the female-side of the sport including the Lululemon FURTHER event back in March, Jasmin Paris’ finish at the Barkley Marathons, and Claire Bannwarth's dominant multi-day performances across 2023 to discussions around the progress and the work to be done in academic, sporting, and other cultural institutions across society that play significant roles in making pastimes like running more accessible to and supportive of female athletes.    Connect, Comment, Community   Follow RunnersConnect on Instagram  Join the Elite Treatment  where you get first dibs on everything RTTT each month!  Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community   RunnersConnect Facebook page  GET EXPERT COACHING AT RUNNERSCONNECT!   Better Faster Farther (Pre-Order)  This week’s show brought to you by: Mushroom Breakthrough One of the most difficult things about training hard in the morning is the brain fog and mental fatigue that comes when you’re trying to get your work day going.   I am sure all you morning runners can relate to that feeling of not being able to focus and get motivated those first few hours at work.   That’s why I was excited when BIOptimizers released its one-of-a-kind product called Mushroom Breakthrough   It’s a powdered blend of 5 potent superfoods including 1.2 pounds of concentrated mushrooms, which have been shown in research to enhance memory, focus, processing speed, and more.    It’s the perfect way to not only boost recovery post-run, but improve mental clarity in the morning without taxing your adrenal system with caffeine. You’ll notice the difference in concentration, focus and mood, especially on those days when morning training really has you feeling tired and unmotivated.   For an exclusive offer go to bioptimizers.com/runtothetop and use code RUN10 during checkout.   And the great thing about BIOptimizers is that you can try it risk-free with their 365-day money-back guarantee. Exakt If you’re currently injured or tired of being constantly injured, then Exact Health has a revolutionary new way to approach your injuries.   Exakt Health is a running physical therapy app for all the most common running injuries.   The app simplifies access to professional and customized physical therapy without the high cost and that automatically adapts to our feedback.   The plans are designed by the sports physical therapists’ team and are based on the latest scientific research and guide you through your rehab process – from feeling the first pain to a complete return to running.   Besides their injury plans Exakt Health also offers a Prevention Plan for runners.   This plan is specifically designed to help runners to adopt good movement patterns, and improve overall strength and mobility to prevent running injuries.   Download & test the app at runnersconnect.net/injury and get with the 7-days free trial via the Apple or Google Play store.   Plus, use the code RUNTOTHETOP to get up to 40% off the 3-and 6-month subscriptions.  

How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women

Maryke Louw a Physical Therapist and Founder of Exakt Health joins the show to talk about the importance of injury prevention protocols for runners and the pros and cons of various therapeutic approaches in cases where you do find yourself injured.  Specifically, we talk about the pros and cons of stretching, massage, taping, invasive treatments, and orthotics for therapy and the overarching importance of injury prevention and what you can do on a daily basis via running form drills and strength training to minimize risks.    Connect, Comment, Community   Follow RunnersConnect on Instagram  Join the Elite Treatment  where you get first dibs on everything RTTT each month!  Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community   RunnersConnect Facebook page  GET EXPERT COACHING AT RUNNERSCONNECT!  Exakt Health  This week’s show brought to you by: MAS Iron Outside of training deficiencies, low iron is one of the most common reasons for poor results during workouts and races.  Recent research indicates that almost 56% of male runners and 86% of female runners suffer from an iron deficiency that severely hampers performance. The problem with eating iron-rich foods or supplementing with traditional iron supplements is that iron is notoriously difficult for the body to absorb and utilize. In fact, only about 25% of dietary iron found in animal sources is absorbed while 17% or less of the iron from plant sources is absorbed. But MAS Iron has found a way to combat these absorption issues to ensure you can get the iron you need for health and performance. By combining the most efficiently absorbed form of elemental iron with clinically proven ingredients to aid in absorption, MAS Iron performs like no other iron product on the market. In fact, clinical research has shown the combination of ingredients in MAS Iron can quadruple absorption and increase bioavailability by 30%, all while reducing GI issues by 50%. Check out the research and the results for yourself at masedge.com/iron. Runnersconnect fans will automatically save 20% on any purchase. Lumen Have you ever wondered exactly how many carbs you need to fuel your training or if it’s okay to train fasted? Well, now you can get that exact data with Lumen, the world’s first handheld metabolic coach. With Lumen, all you have to do is breathe into your Lumen first thing in the morning, and you’ll know what’s going on with your metabolism, including recommendations to improve your pre-and-post workout fueling for better performance and recovery. What I love most is that Lumen explains what every data point and value means with in-depth videos so you always know what’s going on in your body and what changes you need to make to hit your goals. Lumen is truly one of the most innovative devices on the market. If you want to take the next step in improving your health, go to lumen.me and use RTTT to get $100 off your Lumen. 

US Olympic Marathon Trials Champion (and former RC Coach) Fiona O’Keeffe

Download our free app to listen on your phone