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Michigan Runner Girl

The Michigan Runner Girl podcast is where you'll find a passion for running, hiking, paddling, and cycling crosses paths with a love of nature and outdoor exploration in the beautiful state of Michigan — and beyond. A mother, writer, gigantic Great Lakes fan, and book lover Heather Durocher, creator of the running and travel site MichiganRunnerGirl.com, hosts the show. Expect to hear informative, engaging, and inspiring conversations with others also on their own health and wellness journey. The Michigan Runner Girl podcast is about finding our way, through movement. Season One of 2022 now underway, with a theme of Reconnection.
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Now displaying: October, 2017
Oct 30, 2017

It's getting to be about that time...one of Heather's fall race traditions—the Great Beerd Run at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa—is set for Saturday, Nov. 11. Joining Heather on the show to talk about this fun northern Michigan run: Kelly Yauk, a fellow Michigan Runner Girl and race director of this annual race that celebrates all things Michigan beer AND beards. Longtime listeners will be happy to hear from Kelly, who has been on the show in the past (and happens to be quite hilarious). Kelly shares what she's been up to lately (she's known for traveling far and wide for races, and she also talks about a Michigan run she recently enjoyed with her 2-year-old daughter). 

A few things to know about this year's Great Beerd Run:
- There's a race discount code just for Michigan Runner Girl readers and listeners: use MIRUNNERGIRL at checkout to save $5.
- Your registration fee includes race entrance, knitted beard beanie, bottle opener/race medal, 3 beer samples, one glass of beer during the post-race party and entrance into post-race party featuring live music.
- The craft beer is delicious. Thank you, Right Brain Brewery, Beards Brewery and Short's Brewing Company.
- NEW IN 2017: race organizers are offering a $30 registration fee with all of the great race perks, minus the beard beanie.
- The fastest male and female score epic Nordic inspired beard/hat sets.
- Don't care to go fast? You won't be alone. This is a fun, untimed race and plenty of runners enjoy the course, the beer samples, the scenery, the camaraderie. (Check out this blog post from Heather's Beerd Run a couple of years ago, when she came in, yep, dead last.
http://michiganrunnergirl.com/michigan-brew-beards-and-one…/ )

Get more details, including info on special room rates, here:
http://www.thegreatbeerdrun.com

Oct 11, 2017

You couldn't miss Team MRG at this fall's Reebok Ragnar Relay Michigan, a 195.5-mile trek from Muskegon to Traverse City. And it wasn't simply because our team of 12 women wore matching blue Michigan Runner Girl shirts. Fellow Ragnarians grew to learn, over the 2-day race, that Team Michigan Runner Girl traveled in the two purple-and-pink-and-blue Muscle Milk vans—handing out Muscle Milk goodies along the way. 

MRG's partnership with Muscle Milk was new this year, but logging the miles on country roads, through quaint coastal towns, and along the Lake Michigan shoreline was not. Team MRG was back again, after last fall's inaugural Ragnar Relay Michigan event, to tackle the distance (and lack of sleep) together. On this week's show: a rundown of race weekend with Heather Durocher and Ragnar teammates Pam Carrigan, Erin Henshaw and Ann Eshleman. While Pam, Heather and Erin were part of last year's Ragnar team, Ann was a Ragnar newbie and she shares how the experience exceeded her expectations in all of the right ways (she also talks about how she was apprehensive going into the experience and had plenty of questions for Pam in the days leading up to race day). The women break down how Ragnar relays work, how 12-person teams split into two "mini teams" with their own van, the challenges and rewards of running a total of three separate "legs," including through the night, and how each van found ways to fuel (at a few delicious restaurants) and rest (a little!) throughout the race. Heather and Ann were in van 1 while Erin and Pam were in van 2. 

Whether you also participated in this year's Ragnar Michigan, or you're thinking about giving one a try, you're sure to be entertained during this informative and, at times hilarious, episode. (While "what happens at Ragnar stays at Ragnar," this episode definitely sheds some light on the silly and fun things that can happen when a dozen women team up to cover "200-ish miles" together.)

Oct 2, 2017

When Heather began her running journey about 10 years ago, she admittedly knew little about the sport, from what to wear and fuel with during a race, to an understanding of how women had only in recent history made strides in running and been recognized for their achievements. All she knew was that the more she ran, the better she felt about herself. Over time, as she ran with other women, created new friendships within the awesome running community, and ultimately realized logging miles and living healthy had become a lifestyle, she found she couldn’t get enough of learning anything and everything about running—especially distance running. She would eventually discover that 26.2 miles held a special place in her heart. Incredibly challenging and uniquely rewarding, both in training and in finishing, the marathon is a distance she keeps coming back to. For this reason, she devoured the book Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon in 1967. This decision infuriated one of the race directors, who tried to physically remove Kathrine from the race because she was a female running in what was then considered an all-male event. The images of her struggle to continue running, helped by male runners, have become iconic in the history of sports and women. First published in 2007, Marathon Woman is Kathrine’s personal story of how she overcame the odds—as well as prejudice and ridicule (not only from the male quarter)—to become one of the leading marathon runners of her time. Inspired by the incident, she went on to run thirty-nine marathons—winning the New York City Marathon in 1974—and helped secure the women’s marathon as an event in the Olympic Games.

Kathrine has gone on to accomplish so much on behalf of our sport and women everywhere. Kathrine joins Heather on this episode of the Michigan Runner Girl show. Heather also has another strong and amazing woman joining the conversation, to share her connection with Kathrine and Kathrine’s new non-profit 261 Fearless. Marathoner and Michigan runner Leah Doriot talks about her upcoming NYC Marathon and why it was important for her to join team 261 Fearless. 

Kathrine is leading a group of 13 dedicated “261 Fearless” runners, including 11 from the USA (seven different States), and one each from Belgium and Switzerland at this fall's NYC Marathon. The women will all be raising $5,261 each to benefit the formation of 261 Fearless running clubs for women all over the world and their participation will be supported by adidas and Bose, global sponsors for 261 Fearless.

Learn more:

www.261fearless.org

www.marathonwoman.com

On April 17, 2017, 50 years after her historic run, Switzer pinned on her original bib number 261, and ran the Boston Marathon again, to pay tribute to the streets of the city where the place of women in the world of sports was redefined forever.

Kathrine Switzer will run the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon on November 5, posting another amazing milestone in her legendary long-distance running career by competing in both the upcoming TCS New York City Marathon and this past April’s 121st running of the Boston Marathon in her fifth decade of competitive running.

261 Fearless, Inc. is a global non-profit organization founded by pioneer runner, Kathrine Switzer. 261 Fearless uses running as a vehicle to empower and unite women globally through the creation of local clubs, education opportunities, communication platform, merchandising and events. Through these networking opportunities, 261 Fearless breaks down the barriers of geography and creates a global community for women runners of all abilities to support and talk to each other, encouraging healthy living and a positive sense of self and fearlessness. 

 

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