If you’ve ever given up on running once, or twice, or maybe twenty times, then this is the episode for you. Pete Magill is my guest today and we’re talking about why it’s so easy to quit running, and how it’s just as easy to start back up again.

Pete is the author of the transformative book “The Born Again Runner”, and he breaks down key training techniques that will change the way you put together your runner’s body.

For Pete, running became his anchor, and he’s developed a strong and smart training regimen steeped in personal experience and growth. Here are some of the topics we’ll discuss today:

Why it’s okay to sometimes hate running and your routine

How giving variety to your workout is good for your mental AND physical well-being

A breakdown of stride mechanics and how to modify your running stride

What is Cafeteria Training and how to avoid it.

Pete’s favorite running book and a few more of his favorite things in our Final Kick round.

Questions Pete is asked:

3:30 Tell us your running backstory.

8:05 How did you use running to change your situation?

10:45 What do you mean when you say, “You cannot change your life or who you are by changing your location.”

12:35 Why were you running away from your problems?

19:00 What motivated you to embrace running again?

22:45 How do you deal with setbacks?

23:50 What do you love most about the running community?

28:05 Why is running so good for us?

31:05 How can we get our bodies to adapt to running?

32:40 What are the ways to reverse training mistakes and stride mechanics?

37:45 How do you convince people to change their stride?

41:02 Why should we start using Pete’s training techniques?

44:00 How can we train our muscles properly?

45:20 What are the two mistakes new runners always make?

50:45 What do mitochondria have to do with my musles?

52:21 Why should we change our workouts as we age?

54:23 What do you mean by Cafeteria Training?

1:00 Why is it so important to know what your workout is doing?

Quotes by Pete:

“I certainly didn’t get back into running to become a star masters runner…but when I started competing again…I not only found my health again, I re-discovered a community I want to be a part of.”

“If anything teaches you you can’t run away from your problems, it’s actually attempting to run away from your problems.”

“The real goal was to live a fit lifestyle.”

“If you don’t have a sense of humor, you will take the minor setbacks and defeats too seriously, and they shouldn’t be.”

“The stride you develop as you train, as you put in weeks and months of correct training, becomes the best stride for you.”

“When you strengthen all the muscle in your leg…you’ve put together a complete runner’s body, and that body will be resistant to the injuries.”

“When you just pluck workouts and put them together, you haven’t balanced them out, and you may not be training the parts of your body that you need to be training.”

“Every workout has a purpose, and if you don’t know the purpose, you shouldn’t be doing that workout.”