Info

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.
RSS Feed
Michigan Runner Girl
2023
February


2022
November
September
August
June
May
April
March
February


2021
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: May, 2017
May 30, 2017
The Holland Haven Marathon and Half Marathon—the race starts in Grand Haven and ends in Holland, Mich.—is in its fourth year and runners now have a third race distance to choose from when signing on for this event: an 8K. "The 8K is a great segue into longer distance races," says Eddie Kline, who along with his wife, Jen, joins Heather on this episode to talk about the races taking place Sunday, Sept. 10. "As a mid-distance road race, it is accessible enough for the novice runner yet incredibly challenging to experienced racers. Participants can do the Holland Haven 8K as a fun run with kids and as an 8K walk." Starting this year, runners can earn a trifecta medal—if you've already run both the half and full marathon and this year are planning to run the 8K. The idea is that once runners complete each distance (not in the same year, but rather come back each year and try a different distance), they'll receive this special trifecta medal. Jen and Eddie share event details, including: where on the marathon course runners can find both bacon and pickle juice; post-race party/expo info (pig roast!); lodging specials; charity partner stories and more. Eddie also opens up about his devastating fall last October that broke his back, how he recovered and healed, and what it's been like to return to running. This journey has given him a new perspective on our sport. The experience also revealed just how beloved Jen and Eddie are in their community, which includes the many people who are part of their gym, CrossFit Soaring Ledge in Holland. There's also a race discount code shared during the show. 
 
Link: hollandhavenmarathon.com 
May 23, 2017

Marathoner, ultra marathoner and Detroit native Dave Krupski likes "creating race courses that are my dream races." He's behind the Daytona 100 in Florida and this coming month he'll debut his Michigan ultra marathon courses: the Lighthouse 100-mile and 50-mile ultras on Saturday, June 10. Dave Krupski, along with northern Michigan runner Dan Oberski, are guests on this episode. They talk with Heather about this upcoming 100-miler that starts at the lighthouse in Petoskey and finishes at the lighthouse at the tip of Traverse City's Old Mission Peninsula. (There's also a 50-mile option; this course follows the second half of the 100-mile race course.) Dan Oberski, who was previously a guest on the podcast, talking about running extra long distances, has been training for next month's Lighthouse 100—his first 100-mile race. Dan and Dave talk about how they met earlier this spring (and ran about 30 miles together on the race course), the allure of ultra running, what runners can expect at this new road running event and more. The two race courses are on pavement, not trail where many ultras take place, but runners will be running almost exclusively on bicycle paths along Lake Michigan, on paved trails and little-used country roads, and through some of the most exclusive areas in Michigan. "All along the way you will enjoy countless unobstructed views of the water," Dave says. The terrain ranges from flat (miles 1-30) to rolling hills (miles 30-100). In addition, the race is near the summer equinox, ensuring runners will enjoy about 16 hours of daylight. "When the sun sets, a full moon will illuminate you throughout the night."

 
Link: 
www.lighthouse100ultra.com

 

May 16, 2017
You may know David Willey as the longtime editor-in-chief of Runner's World magazine—he's been at the helm of this publication for 14 years—and as the host of the popular Runner's World podcast. But did you also know he's a native of Michigan? David joins Heather on the show to talk about growing up in the Mitten (he lived in Ann Arbor as a child and later Grand Rapids, where he played high school football and other sports) and how he's returning to his home state for this month's Bayshore Marathon on Saturday, May 27 in Traverse City. David has been talking quite a bit about this upcoming goal race of his, in the print magazine and also on the podcast he hosts each week. This is because the Bayshore is the race he chose for his "moonshot marathon quest," otherwise known as his attempt to finally qualify for the Boston Marathon. Heather and David talk about his early years of sports-playing (and his initial dislike of running), how he eventually fell in love with our sport in his 20s, the first marathon he ran, and some of the highlights of his years as editor-in-chief of Runner's World. He also shares how he "feels like a new runner," having worked with a team of Nike experts throughout his training for the Bayshore. Heather and David delve into this and also talk through Bayshore course tips and, of course, where David should consider going in Traverse City post-race for a celebratory burger. David also talks about his upcoming plans post-marathon (hint: a career change is in the works...) You're sure to be inspired listening to David's story and ambitious plans for BQ'ing in another couple of weeks. Heather found herself feeling even more excited about Bayshore—her fourth Bayshore Marathon—after talking with David. 
 
This episode is supported by the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa (grandtraverseresort.com) and Traverse City Tourism (traversecity.com)
 
Links:
 
Runner's World: runnersworld.com
 
Bayshore Marathon: bayshoremarathon.com 
May 9, 2017

Way back in spring 2010, not too long before Heather started the Michigan Runner Girl blog, she wrote posts about running for a northern Michigan trails organization. She'd been running for a few years, had several races under her belt, and was really starting to ramp up her mileage and health and fitness writing. The sport definitely had become an essential part of her life. And when she wasn't out on the roads or trails, or writing about the mental and physical benefits of exercise, she was reading about running—magazines, web sites, books, whatever she could find. One of her absolute favorites to this day: Run Like a Mother by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea—two women she "knew" only through their bylines in Runner's World magazine. She made a request for a review copy—a perk of being a freelance journalist—and from the moment she received it in the mail, she couldn't put it down. Covering all aspects of running and how to find time for it amid family and work, it completely spoke to her and where she was at in her life. She's since shared it with friends, and has enjoyed watching Sarah and Dimity's success build as they've created an incredibly strong tribe through their web site AnotherMotherRunner.com, social media, weekly podcast, online training groups, as well as with a second and third book and by traveling across the country to connect with other mother runners at races and other special events. If you're a parent and a runner, you've likely heard of—and probably are a part of—the Another Mother Runner community.

Sarah and Dimity join Heather on this episode to talk about how the mother runner movement began, the three books they've published, how their thriving community has evolved over the past several years (this year they've been celebrating their 7th AMR-versary), what it's meant for each of them to connect with so many women across the country (and beyond), and the exciting plans they have for further connections with mother runners in the coming months.
 
Learn more about Another Mother Runner at anothermotherrunner.com
 
This episode is supported by the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa — grandtraverseresort.com — and Traverse City Tourism, found at traversecity.com 

 

May 1, 2017
The longstanding south Michigan road race known as DXA2—the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run—is set for Sunday, June 4, 2017. This event, now in its 44th year, includes a half marathon, 10K, 5K and kids run. Doug Goodhue, masters runner and DXA2 race director, returns to the show to talk about this race that attracts thousands of runners to the riverbanks of Michigan's Huron River Drive each summer. The race is a weekend experience, starting with the kids run on June 3 and the half, 10K and 5K run/walk taking place the next morning. Race organizers are building on the success of a team challenge that was implemented with the half marathon and have added this feature to the 10K and 5K. Doug also shares what he's been up to lately (he was heading to Boston for a very special race the weekend after this conversation was recorded) and why he's really looking forward to running the popular Flint, Mich. race The Crim Festival of Races this August (at age 75, Doug still is running strong and will be running his 30th Crim this year.) 
Doug also talks openly about a runner doping scandal that came to light not long after last year's DXA2. He shares how the problem was handled—and how race organizers are committed to making sure it doesn't happen again.
 
Links: 
Dexter-Ann Arbor Run: http://dxa2.com
The Crim: http://crim.org/races-events/crim/

 

1