On The Runs
Runners are the best storytellers. On The Runs podcast features running narratives from the
best of those storytellers. Whether hearing from a runner who started a year ago or 50 years ago, the
conversation is engaging, funny, and enlightening. Guest stories range from struggles to
outstanding achievements and everything in between … including “Code Brown” tales. “Code
Brown” situations are not what you might think. Guests share awkward & unique circumstances
they have found themselves in throughout their journey.
The crosstalk between hosts Eric and Erika is natural and entertaining.
Friends for over 20 years, they have the gifted skill set to keep the listener glued to the interviews
along with the bantering between themselves. Their conversations come across as fireside chats
amongst friends leaving you feeling like you were there.
On The Runs has been fortunate to have a wide range of guests over their nearly 200 episodes from the local 5k runner to epic ultra marathoners. Iconic leaders and history makers in the sport along with, nutritionist, coaches, race directors, peloton instructors and running legends.
On The Runs
211 | Rekha Gibbons | Marathon Mindset
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, the hosts welcome Rekha Gibbons, (08:00) a former Wall Street professional turned endurance athlete and author of 'Marathon Mindset.' They discuss her journey from the corporate world to embracing running, the mental challenges faced in endurance sports, and the importance of community and support in achieving personal goals. The conversation also touches on the spirituality of running, particularly in beautiful locations like Kauai, and the significance of celebrating achievements in the running community. In this engaging conversation, Rekha Gibbons shares her journey of self-discovery through running and the importance of mindset in endurance sports. She discusses the challenges of negativity and the need to take ownership of one's mental space. Rekha reflects on the lessons learned from the original pioneers of running and emphasizes the role of community in supporting runners. She also shares her experiences in writing her book, the challenges faced during the launch, and the significance of running for mental health.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:10 New Snowblower
07:41 Rekha's Journey from Wall Street to Endurance Athlete
14:27 The Impact of Social Media and Marketing
17:09 Rekha's Transition to Endurance Sports
25:29 The Spiritual Side of Running
28:24 The Journey to Writing Marathon Mindset
30:01 Leading Across Generations
34:04 The Default of Negativity
35:14 Taking Ownership of Your Mind
38:54 Breaking Mental Barriers
40:38 The OGs of Running
46:25 Personal Experiences in Running
51:51 The Journey of Writing a Book
57:11 The Book Cover and Its Significance
59:05 The Mind-Body Connection in Running
01:01:51 The Importance of Personal Storytelling
01:04:09 Hot Takes on Opinions and Media
01:06:54 Music and Motivation in Running
01:10:54 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Rekha Gibbons
01:13:55 Outro and Book Giveaway
01:15:45 Celebrating Achievements in Running
01:19:52 March Madness: Medals vs. Shoes
01:23:41 Tech Talk: Fruit Podcast Updates
01:25:32 Health and Recovery Updates
01:27:39 Tokyo Marathon Excitement
01:31:45 Reflections on Team Dynamics in Sports
01:33:36 Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement
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Email us at OnTheRunsPod@gmail.com
Don't Fear The Code Brown and Don't Forget To Stretch!
Eric (00:55)
What's up everybody? Welcome to episode two 11 of the On the Runs podcast. The winter continues to deliver as the Northeast just got slammed with more snow so much that even Erica's very important work closed their doors. I finally gave in and turned in my man card today. The country is also recovering from a gold medal hangover and we got a great guest on today's episode that will help you tone on your own mind when it comes to the marathon. But first.
Erika (00:54)
you
Eric (01:21)
before we get to any of that. I must say hello to my kick-ass rock star of co-hosts, six-star Erica. What's up?
Erika (01:29)
Hello! I am so sad about all this snow. I'm sorry all you skiers out there. I just cannot get on board. I want spring. I want it so bad. This is too much.
Eric (01:41)
See, this
storm though is bad because south of us got slammed. We got hit pretty good, but the mountains didn't really get hit. Not that hard.
Erika (01:44)
Mm.
my God. Yeah.
So that's why you're sad.
Eric (01:54)
So this stinks. It needs to be the opposite. Flip it. The snow needs to be more north and we just get a little bit. I mean, it's a lot of work. This snow is a lot of work. Your cars are slipping down your driveway. My back is yelling at me for all the shoveling. So I had to turn to my man card.
Erika (01:55)
Summer.
Sure. Yeah.
in its truck. my God. Yeah. I can't
hold on. I'm going to touch upon that, but let me just tell you the snow banks on either side of like our driveway. It's to the point where I can't get the snow over the snow bank. have to walk like around it and start on the other side. Like it's out of control. We shovel. ⁓ we don't have anywhere to store a snowblower and trust me, I want one. I really do.
Eric (02:26)
Yeah.
So do you shovel or do you have a snowblower?
Erika (02:39)
but no, it's straight up shoveling. I was out there for an hour and a half with Brandon and it took us both that long to get all the snow out. was just, it's too much. I can't.
Eric (02:46)
Mm-hmm.
Well,
I felt like a man for the last 10 years and shoveled my driveway and shoveled us out every time. But today, I turned in that man card and I accepted a very generous gift from my dad who delivered me a snow blower.
Erika (02:56)
Uh-huh.
What does that mean for you?
is that turning in your man card? I would give like any card. I would give 10 credit cards for one of those while I'd kind of need a new house and a garage. But you know what I mean. Like that's, that is a luxury that you should be proud of now. Way to go, Terry. It's ridiculous. Yeah.
Eric (03:21)
I'm so happy. So I had a blast today snow blowing. So the snow banks, like you said, are getting so high, it's hard to turn into my driveway because I live on a dead end. I,
it was so satisfying. Snow blowing our driveway and even the street around it. And then I have like a sidewalk for my front yard and like a walking path and everything. I, I snow blow the whole path. We can easily get to our mailbox now. It's a, it's a game changer.
Erika (03:40)
Mm-hmm.
Can you come to my house next time?
Eric (03:51)
Well, I've done that before.
I've gone to friends with this snowblower actually. So I'm just convinced it's like, my dad's like, Eric could really use one. And it's a reason for him to get a new one. And I get the one he had. Right? And so this snowblower is a beast though. It's no joke. And I'm so pumped. I'm really, my back is thinking me because I'm going to go skiing tomorrow and probably Wednesday before making my trip down to New Jersey, which is snowed in right now apparently for cheerleading.
Erika (03:55)
Mm-hmm.
⁓ that's not bad.
Mm-hmm. wow.
my God, you have a week ahead of you, my friend. I know it's school vacation week. You're making, well, you're making the most of it. least you don't have actual work to do. Well, I shouldn't say that either because I'm sure you've got podcast stuff and that's work. That is work. yeah. Where are you going skiing?
Eric (04:23)
I know you're like, yeah, yeah, there's no vacation. It's just every, yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Yes. It's fun work. Speaking,
I heard a really cool skiing story, by the way. ⁓ You know who Drew Bledsoe is, right? What do you think Drew Bledsoe's favorite activity to do is? Like his favorite sport?
Erika (04:45)
Yes, I do. He's football guy.
Not football.
Eric (04:52)
It's not football.
Erika (04:54)
like sledding or something fun like that? Did skiing. ⁓ would hope you'd... Really?
Eric (04:56)
It's skiing. He loves skiing more than football. And I heard this
story, he's on some other show and he's talking about how he had a contract with the Patriots, like his rookie contract. And he's telling Robert Kraft, the owner, about how, you know, he goes, how was your off season? He goes, ⁓ went on the ski vacation. It was awesome. So when the next contract came up, there was this writing that said, if he got injured skiing where he couldn't play,
Erika (05:09)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Eric (05:23)
He would
owe the Patriots money or he wouldn't get paid something along those lines. He's like, what is this? So he had planned. He's like, I'm never not going to go skiing. So they had some scheme with his friends. He's like, if I ever get hurt, we get ourselves down to the mountain. And then I just, everyone same storyline, I slipped on ice. And then eventually got to the point.
Erika (05:26)
Okay.
Run me over with a
car.
Eric (05:48)
Right, eventually he got to the point where he actually took out an extra insurance policy to cover him if he ever got hurt skiing and to pay like his contract expenses because yeah. So I heard that story about Drew Bledsoe. I knew he loved to ski but I didn't know it like was so extreme where he would ski every off season and it was like, I'm skiing, I don't care what you say.
Erika (05:56)
⁓ wow. that's too funny.
Yeah, I mean, I get it that in his contract that you have to put that because you don't want to do like have unnecessary risks. like, even for me, like I wouldn't want to go skiing if running is my main sport. But good for him. Yeah. How old is he now? He's getting up there.
Eric (06:17)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that was a fun story. ⁓
I don't know. You know what? However old he is, he looks good for his age. Let's Google this. There's this website I found called Google. It's great. Drew Bledsoe Age. 54 years old. ⁓ he was born on Valentine's Day, 1972. How about that?
Erika (06:37)
yeah, cool, nice. You could have asked Jeeves. Nice.
⁓ happy birthday, Drew.
Eric (06:50)
That's pretty cool. I was a Bledsoe guy. I liked him. I was really like, I loved that game when, I didn't love that Brady got hurt, but I loved when Brady got hurt against the Steelers in the AFC Championship game, Bledsoe came in and won the game. Then we went to the Super Bowl and Brady was back. But I was so pumped because he lost his job to Brady because of an injury. If Bledsoe never got hurt, would Tom Brady be the Tom Brady we all know he is today?
Erika (07:08)
Mmm.
That is the question that I am not going to answer. I don't think so.
Eric (07:16)
That's the question of the week We also just had a fun time recording with a really
cool guest that will drop in a couple of weeks But ladies we got down and dirty ⁓ and we got code red talk on that one Erica loved it
Erika (07:33)
so much down and dirty, but it's relatable if you're... Well, you were asking some good, legit questions.
Eric (07:35)
Yeah. Well, not for me.
I was asking
some questions that I was like, am I going to sound so stupid asking this? And then she goes, that's a great question. was like, score one for me. But outside of that, we actually have an incredible guest on this episode, Erica, one that you helped us get. And this is going to be great for everyone who's going to be running a marathon very soon. Tell them why.
Erika (07:47)
Mm-hmm.
Yes we do!
so on the podcast today, we have Rekha Gibbons and she just wrote this amazing book, which is on the way. I can't wait to read it, but it's called Marathon Mindset.
And it deals with all the mental blocks that you can have when you're running and just ways to get around that and just build a stronger mindset. So this is going to be a total beneficial book. And I really, really can't wait to get my hands on it.
Eric (08:26)
Yeah, she had some really cool stories too, because she meets this incredible guy one day who is like, listen, I like you, I want to hang out with you, but I do some really crazy races. So it was really cool. You guys should definitely check out the book. Enjoy this episode. Please don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We are putting all these guest segments on YouTube that just get right to it.
Follow on Instagram, do all those good things. Guys, enjoy Rekha Gibbons on the On the Runs Podcast, and we'll see you on the other side.
Eric (08:58)
Our next guest on the pod is originally from Wall Street, turned into an endurance athlete in her recent book, Marathon
you'll learn about breaking free from the mental limits you've unknowingly set to reclaim ownership of your mind and find your true potential. Needless to say, we are wicked excited to have Rekha Gibbons on the On The Runs podcast. Rekha, what's up?
Rekha Gibbons (09:17)
Hey
there, Eric. Thank you so much for having me on the podcast. Erika, I'm so psyched. I did some research on you guys and you know, this is this is an exciting podcast. It's snarky. It's a little down and dirty.
Eric (09:31)
Yeah.
Erika (09:32)
Love that
description, Rekha, that's fantastic. I mean, you are part of the pod fam now, so you gotta come to the, I guess the dark, dirty side with us. So welcome to the podcast.
Rekha Gibbons (09:44)
Awesome. Thank you so much. I'm super psyched and thank you for that intro, Eric. That kind of sums up where I'm at.
Eric (09:50)
That's awesome. Yeah, it's fun because, you know, we're going to get into it soon. You wrote a book recently. We've had some book writers on before, anyone who's published their own book to be professionally published in between. And it's going to be a lot of fun to learn about that whole process in your book marathon mindset. But first, I want to get to know you and I kind of want to know, this is new. Erika sent me you in an email and she goes, hey, this is Rekha and I think we should have her on. Connect the dots for me, the two of you.
Rekha Gibbons (10:19)
Though I was looking for sponsors for my book launch and I found a company that does no plastic water. And it was a perfect mix because you got marathoners, there was going to be a fun run included with my book launch. I thought perfect water, right? Path water in particular. So I checked it out and I found a fantastic person there, Lori Rucker, who ⁓
Worked with me, we're very excited to work on my launch party, but she also mentioned this podcast. She goes, you know, I think you should have a conversation with my friend Erika. And she connected us.
Erika (10:56)
I'm so excited too. And thank you so much, Lori, if you're listening. You are just a wonderful person also. And I just love that we were all able to get to know more about each other. So this is just going to be so much fun. And yes, thank you, Lori. Appreciate it.
Eric (11:10)
Thank you, Laurie. Let's get to know you a little bit, Rekha. Where are you from originally? Did you, you know, who'd you grow up cheering for watching the NFL? Are you a Patriots fan like us, which we just talking about how sad we are right now. But tell us a little bit about yourself.
Erika (11:19)
Yeah
Rekha Gibbons (11:23)
So answers to that, sadly, Eric is no, I was raised in Maryland. So that I went to University of Maryland, I'm a terrapin, and that means I was raised watching the Washington Redskins. So.
Eric (11:37)
Which Erika,
they are who now?
Erika (11:40)
They're the commanders now. learned that. He gave me a whole quiz and it went terribly, but I did remember that one thing.
Rekha Gibbons (11:49)
It's so funny, I bumped into a guy on the trail who had a red skin shirt on and I'm like, go redskins! And he goes...
you don't mind them called red. I said I was raised with them being called the Redskins. I'm sorry, it doesn't bother me. So that's who I was raised with. But being a kid of the 80s, I was MTV. I had to have my MTV. I was raised in that area that was St. Elmo's Fire and Georgetown. It was a great time. And Maryland, being close to Washington, DC, I had a lot of ⁓ cosmopolitan experiences.
Erika (11:59)
Mm.
yes.
I'm surprised you're not a Ravens fan being from Maryland. Are you anywhere near Baltimore?
Rekha Gibbons (12:30)
Yeah, this is how much of an OG I am. Ravens didn't exist when I lived in Maryland. So the Colts used to be there back in the 70s, right? ⁓ Definitely was a baseball fan, Iron Man. Now I'm having a senior moment Anyway.
Erika (12:35)
⁓ no shit.
Mm-hmm.
Eric (12:53)
big baseball
player. Cal Ripken.
Rekha Gibbons (12:54)
Yeah, the Iron
Man who played, know, thank you, thank you. legendary, legendary. And I know you guys are involved, you know, you're a New England fan, so obviously you have your take too. But that was the world, you know, it was that Washington, ⁓ Maryland, I have huge family, ⁓ very supportive, I've always been a writer.
Eric (12:58)
Cal Ripken Jr. Yes, yes, yeah.
Rekha Gibbons (13:20)
But I knew I was in college, I was ready to get my master's degree in psychology, industrial psych. And I thought, you know, if I don't go out and find myself in the world, I'll never leave. I'll stay here the rest of my life. So I moved to New York, wrote a couple of Harlequin romances. I worked a double day. I used to take the elevator up at Jackie O and...
This is late 80s. So this is what's really interesting that I've had a chance to see. Yes?
Eric (13:53)
Jackie is from
Grey's Anatomy. Right? UGH! Insert the... My bad.
Erika (13:57)
That's Sandra Nice try.
Anywho.
Rekha Gibbons (14:08)
So what was really exciting for me, not knowing it at the time, because I was in publishing, is I got a chance to see the evolution of marketing technology publishing real time. So at the time, the typewriter was tech of the day, right? And then...
Erika (14:24)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (14:27)
I got a chance to, then I moved from publishing to ⁓ Wall Street, ⁓ Lehman Brothers in the 90s. And at Lehman Brothers, the emergence of the internet and people were saying, well, what is this? My kid says I have to get on the interweb. What's it going to do for me? And at that time, yeah, no kidding. And at that time in the 90s, it was all about number one, education. This is my brand and two, lead generation.
Erika (14:44)
If only we could have predicted back then.
Rekha Gibbons (14:56)
How can I connect you to the person that you need to be connected to? And that's all lead gen. So fast forward to 2000s, the emergence of social media and I was at AIG during the financial crisis. And the questions I was asked pre.
pre-crisis was what is the social media thing? How is it gonna make us money is always the question. And the answer was word of mouth marketing because it's 400 times more powerful and cheaper than dirt. So I've been really lucky to see the transformation and the evolution of business, politics.
Erika (15:33)
Right.
Rekha Gibbons (15:43)
Technology, technology, big time. And now we're in the world of AI.
Erika (15:49)
Wow, that is quite the jump. Yeah. Go ahead, Eric.
Eric (15:49)
crazy the world right now. Real quick, I want to go back
to Maryland and then we can jump back to the Wolf on Wall Street life of Rekha. But did you ever go to a restaurant? This is the best barbecue restaurant I've ever been to. It's called Red Hot and Blue. It's in Annapolis and you can get great barbecue in Kansas City, Memphis, all over the country. I've never had better barbecue than that place in Annapolis, Maryland.
Rekha Gibbons (16:17)
Is it a dry rub or a wet rub?
Eric (16:19)
I don't know that I'm not that well educated. just know, I prefer a wet rub if that's what you're asking, but it is right off the highway as you're like heading through some, it's east of Baltimore. That's what I know. And it, you see it from the highway and it's this old looking like red shack and you walk in and there's sports memorabilia everywhere and it's, it's nothing, you know, it's independent and it's nothing fancy. It's just, you go in there.
Rekha Gibbons (16:21)
Okay.
Okay.
Okay?
Eric (16:47)
And you get barbecue and it was amazing. Red, hot and blue in Annapolis. And the cool thing is I'm going to Maryland soon and I'm going to go out of my way to go back there.
Rekha Gibbons (16:53)
All right.
look at you. I have not been there, but now that you mention it, I'm always looking for a good restaurant pick. So that's on my list now. Thank you.
Eric (17:09)
get back to the life of Rekha. Wolf on Wall Street lifestyle. Tell us more.
Rekha Gibbons (17:15)
Yeah, so the 90s was crazy. know, the 90s was was the unadulterated Wall Street, you know, Ivan Boesky, Wolf of Wall Street, literally Jordan Belfort was doing his thing, you know, in the 90s. And I was a female, a woman, I was more on the marketing tech side of things. So I sat on a trading desk for vanilla swaps, coffee swaps, equities, and what they were doing, because it was a tech team, they were creating
technology for the traders to use. So we're talking these incredible programmers, idea thinkers, visionaries. were the desk I was working on. They were creating a virtual reality goggle that ⁓ what they use on trading stations are the Reuters and the Bloomberg's. And these are the old school trading stations.
Everything was done by hand, by the way. It wasn't done, you know, digitally. But what they were innovating in the 90s was, I'm going to have virtual reality goggles that allow me to choose this and pick this because they were investing in their traders. They really wanted the traders to have the top highest amount of information flow possible. So I got a chance to see some of that stuff. You know, there's so much money going on. I got dragged into coach of one of the managing directors who makes
Erika (18:27)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (18:42)
half a million just on a bonus, you that kind of thing. And he said to me, you know, they said, Rekha, would you go teach this guy how to use a mouse? And I said, okay. He goes, so, I mean, literally when you're playing with a new piece of technology, it's not even technology, it's like, how do you learn to use a can opener or, you know, the soda bot.
Erika (18:45)
jeez.
Eric (18:46)
Must be nice.
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (19:08)
top, it's just learning a whole new set of behaviors. So teaching them how to click, he goes, when do I let go? When do I let go?
Erika (19:14)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (19:20)
Yeah.
Erika (19:20)
I mean, that's something we take for granted these days because it's just like second nature to somebody who's grown up with this kind of technology. But you're totally right to somebody who's never seen this before. They're like, what do I do with it? Like, how do I even move it? Like, what am I looking at? wow, that's kind of mind boggling.
Eric (19:23)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Do you remember the commercial? Super Bowl just happened, right? There's all these great Super Bowl commercials that we've seen. FedEx came out with this amazing one. How easy it is to use FedEx.com. This is like in the, when internet was like really becoming a thing and you could use FedEx.com. And this lady at the office asked the new guy, hey, we really need your help. Can you come help us with shipping? And he looks at her and he goes, here's FedEx.com. It's real easy. He looks at her and goes,
I have an MBA. And she goes, you have an MBA. Yeah, we're gonna have to show you how to do this then.
Erika (20:15)
Nice.
Rekha Gibbons (20:20)
that. You know, here's the thing and as I throughout my career as I do speaking engagements, I've talked at universities, ⁓ Roger Williams University, I did workshops there. So I know and I love that school. I really do. One of the things that's really fascinating to me is, you know, with the younger generations, the old old geezer, the baby boomers, they can't find a PDF. Here's the deal.
Eric (20:31)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (20:33)
That's awesome.
Rekha Gibbons (20:47)
every generation was an early adopter to the technology of their day. Right? So you think about where you are and how younger kids are like making fun of it. It's like, sorry, sorry. We are all the early adopter of the technology of our day. So it should give us a little bit of hope and some props.
Erika (20:52)
Mm.
That's true.
man, technology has come such a long way from like its beginning and then to where it is now, there's been so many changes and it really is hard to keep up with all these changes. That's probably why I don't do a lot on social media because half the time I'm like, I can't figure out how to do this. it's like a willingness to learn. Like, do I want to put in the time to learn this new thing? yeah, eventually I'll get it. One day.
Eric (21:34)
One day, but you've seen
it all. And you said, you said something earlier, like I'm aging myself. Erika and I right there with you. We're eighties kids, mid eighties, and then grew up in the nineties. We're right there with you. We've seen it all in man life. Like it's the joke, man. We got away with so much stuff because there was no internet back then. And that's, know, the life's everything's so different today, but right. But that that's a cool journey you've had. And at some point you became not just an athlete, but an endurance athlete.
Erika (21:52)
There's no proof.
Rekha Gibbons (21:57)
Yeah.
Eric (22:03)
When did this happen?
Rekha Gibbons (22:05)
Okay, so about 15 years ago, I met my husband on match.com. I think so.
Eric (22:12)
Is that still around?
Erika (22:16)
Tried and true, come on.
Rekha Gibbons (22:17)
I think so, yes. Look, I'm a proponent of online dating, you know, because hitting the clubs and bars does not find it your mate.
Eric (22:18)
There's so many now I don't know about.
Rekha Gibbons (22:31)
Okay, maybe people are lucky with that and power to them, but you know that was not working for me. So I met him and he was very unassuming. I had no idea he was an endurance athlete. I had no idea he had ran 350 marathons and over 100 ultras.
Erika (22:32)
You said it.
My mind just exploded. Wow.
Eric (22:50)
before you met him.
Rekha Gibbons (22:54)
Before, before, I mean, in
the time we've known each other, we both slowed down considerably, but I didn't know that. So I meet him and he's all like chill and cool and you know, and he obviously was interested in seeing me more. And he goes, you know, we can go really cool places. We can go to places together all over the world, but you're gonna have to run with me.
Erika (23:06)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm, what were your thoughts when he said this? you like, okay, I'll try? Or were you just kind of, yeah, what were your thoughts?
Rekha Gibbons (23:21)
and.
Erika, I'm a jock. I've been a jock my whole life. Tennis player, you! I ran track, but I was a sprinter. I'm short twitch fast muscles. I am not endurance. That has never been my MO. So he says this and I'm thinking to myself, because he said, ⁓ there's a half marathon in Kauai. Wanna go? And I'm like, why, yes, I do.
Erika (23:33)
There we go.
say less. So at this point, had you ever done a half marathon and you were just kind of like, you can get there.
Rekha Gibbons (24:01)
Good.
No,
I think I was was in decent enough shape and because he's not only is he an ultra athlete, he's a chiropractor and an acupuncturist. So he treats he treats world class, he treats Olympic athletes. So he says to me, come on, let's go. Let's go check you out. So I'm trotting, you I'm such a dork. I had no idea who he was.
Erika (24:16)
very nice.
Very cool.
you
Rekha Gibbons (24:31)
I'm running and he goes you're great. You're fine. There's no reason you can't run a half marathon So he trained me and we would do a couple, you know, two hour increments a couple times a week You know, he says to run a marathon you have to do 70 miles a week. That's his protocol So we're running and he goes you shouldn't be really He goes you're doing okay. You're not tired. You're not hot. I'm like, well, we're just running what's big deal, you know, I
knock on wood, I must have been in decent enough shape and health where I could keep up. So we did Kauai and that was my, Eric was my favorite marathon of all time because it starts at like five o'clock in the morning. You're surrounded, I mean, it's Kauai so it's spectacularly beautiful. But there's also a sacredness and a sanctity about Kauai and Hawaii overall.
where the race director gets up and he blows a shell horn and he says, let's say a blessing for the runners and they do a prayer to protect the runners and nature. And I'm thinking, my God, I love this sport.
Eric (25:36)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (25:49)
That is such a good intro into it. A lot of them, a lot of races don't do that. And it's just kind of like, all right, you're on your own. See ya. But you got more of a spiritual experience out of it. That's very nice. So note to self, go to Kauai.
Rekha Gibbons (25:59)
Yeah.
Yeah, ⁓ definitely do, you know, do the half and the full. He ran the full, I ran the half. Yeah, we've done it a couple times, actually. I've run the Honolulu marathon maybe three times, we've run the Hibiscus half marathon, we're actually for our anniversary this year, we're going back and doing the Hibiscus half. So it's ⁓
Eric (26:11)
Have you gone back?
Rekha Gibbons (26:26)
It's, you know what, it's a great place and time for the second half of my life. And that'll kind of get into the story of why I wrote this book and how it came about. But to be, to use all this life history, this life experience and share it.
Eric (26:34)
Mm-hmm.
Now with your husband doing all these ultra marathons, do you ever follow him to races that he's running in and you crew for him? Do you ever Sherpa as I like to call it? Tell me a Sherpa story. Like, is there any awesome epic story from one of his races from your experience as the Sherpa?
Rekha Gibbons (26:46)
Yes.
Yeah.
So there's one in particular that he used to love doing the ⁓ Leadfill 100.
Erika (27:09)
Mm, that is no joke. Leadville is... That one has...
Rekha Gibbons (27:13)
We do lead
will, but the marathon and a half, you know, not the hundred. He's done the, he's, he's done the hundred several times. He's run again, you know, over a hundred ultras. So he's doing this and you know, crewing for him means, know, just, Hey, come on, let's go. Let's just do this. Let's go. So he sends me a picture of him. It must've been higher up and on the sent back. And it's a picture of him with Lance Armstrong.
Erika (27:18)
good, good.
Eric (27:42)
Not a big deal.
Rekha Gibbons (27:44)
And so he says, I knew that Armstrong was going to pass me and then have to come back. So he said, hey, Armstrong, take a photo with me, will you? So Lance goes, yeah, I needed a break anyway. So he has a selfie with Lance Armstrong. Now this is after the cycling stuff because Lance is a spectacular athlete. His VO max is like 85, you know, insane. He is a
Eric (28:02)
Right.
Erika (28:09)
my god, I didn't know
it could go that high.
Rekha Gibbons (28:12)
he's in it he's a spectacular athlete so whatever has happened before the point is he still works his ass off so so wayne was just you know he's like look what i got
Erika (28:24)
That's amazing.
Eric (28:24)
That's pretty cool. You
know what's cool about Lance, and this goes for lot of athletes we follow sometimes is once they're done in their prime of their main sport, you still see them doing epic shit. And he's still out there doing epic shit all the time.
Erika (28:36)
Mm.
Rekha Gibbons (28:39)
I think when you're hungry like that and you've got the nuts, you know, the stuff, it's hard to become mediocre.
Eric (28:46)
Mm-hmm.
Some, some don't have the nuts though, but they're still extreme. If you get that Lance Armstrong people.
Erika (29:03)
⁓ Eric
Eric (29:04)
Anyways!
What did you, how did you describe us earlier? The dirt and dirty or something like, yes, you're spot on. You're spot on. But so you meet this amazing guy. He sounds incredible. Like we'll have to have him on, maybe do the two of you and hear some stories, but you meet this incredible guy at some point. Bring us to the book here. Bring us to like what brought you to the book. What brought you to how you use your mind and you can change and train your mind to get in the right mindset for these races.
Erika (29:12)
Snarky.
We did it.
Rekha Gibbons (29:37)
Yeah, love, actually, this was a heartbreaking story, but it changed my life in the best way possible. So as I was mentioning, I speak at universities, I do workshops. And three years ago, I created a brand to leverage all of that, my own business called the Generational Guru, where I create harmony with five generations in the workforce.
learning how to lead, learning how to lead for each generation because again, each generation is so different. And I had this stuff on it. I'm like, baby, I know this. I love talking about this. And I would do workshops, not only at our Roger Williams, but also at Montclair State, you two, three day workshops. And the kids would come up to me and they'd be like, nobody has ever told me this. And I was like, that's what I'm shooting for.
Erika (30:07)
Mm.
Rekha Gibbons (30:25)
I don't wanna regurgitate the same HR stuff that, you have to do this framework for Shrimp and, know, CHR Rose are gonna, I'm like, no, I wanna teach especially younger generations what it really takes to succeed. And not only in your career, but in your personal life as well. And that was my quest with this. And then I got hit really bad in 2024. There was a big backlash against DEI and being a woman of color, I got
I was working with two huge clients. One was the government and the other one was a global management consultancy. And they said, we really love what you do. Six figures, by the way, we're talking big, clients. And they said, we can't, we can't work with you. So I'm like, are you kidding me? I plugged in all this time and energy and money and, you know, effort into doing this. And now
Erika (30:57)
Hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (31:24)
I have to rethink not only my livelihood, but my purpose itself. So it shook me. And my husband said, I thought of something he had said to me years ago, and that was, you know, if you're going to run a marathon, you better be really good friends with your mind because for miles and miles, that's all you've got. And I thought,
There's something here. There is something that runners get and understand and are able to leverage because they can do these long endurance runs that if I can figure out how to put it together, then I can share it with anybody because the voice of negativity in my head was so loud, it was tearing me apart. And I thought,
Erika (31:49)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (32:12)
Okay, if I can learn how to figure this out and decode it, I will share it with the rest of the world. And that became the premise for this baby.
Erika (32:23)
man, that's, That is something that runners, mean, anybody really struggles with this. just, you can't get out of your mind and sometimes it is a trap and it's just, it cloys you. It doesn't let you really breathe and, and be your true self. So I am very interested to hear more about your book and how, like you said, Eric kind of mentioned it in the beginning, like how to unlock that. Cause that is something that we struggle with.
Eric (32:23)
Marathon
Rekha Gibbons (32:52)
And it's something, there's a couple of really code breakers that I came to. And one of them is we're wired this way. Humanity is wired from, you believe in evolution or however we tell that story, the point is we were running from the tigers or the...
Erika (32:58)
Mm.
Rekha Gibbons (33:17)
We were trying to chase or not be lunch ourselves, right? So that trigger in our head is ancient to be afraid and to jump and to want to run away. So we're actually coded for the default is negativity because the person who thinks, ⁓ that rustle of the trees could be a snake is a person who lives for the next day.
Erika (33:22)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (33:43)
That's how old that is, and that's the default of negativity. There's another piece of this, which is even more interesting to me, that everybody has a piece of, and it's this little baby here. And that is, it's not just the phone, it's technology, it's news, it's certainly social media.
Erika (33:53)
Mm-hmm, the phone, yes.
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (34:04)
that is wired for one thing that social media companies know, and that is the algorithm of outrage. They know that the best way to keep a person engaged, this is marketing 101, right? The best way to keep a person engaged is to make them so furious that they can't put their phone down.
Erika (34:22)
is this a doom scrolling? that's so hard to get out of. ⁓ I hate it. It's unavoidable.
Rekha Gibbons (34:26)
It's intentional. It's intentional though.
Eric (34:27)
Yeah, I think she's going deeper than just doom scrolling. Erika, we're talking like when you dig into the comments and
like people say things to get everyone riled up and to get them angry, like just bad bunny Superbowl halftime show.
Erika (34:37)
Mm-hmm.
I loved that.
Eric (34:44)
Exactly, but you get what I mean?
Erika (34:46)
Yes, I know.
Rekha Gibbons (34:46)
Yeah,
yeah. And you know what, Eric is 1000 % right. And this is where the there's a section of my book called be an owner, not a consumer. And that is the overall message of this. That is, in order to take control of your own sanity of your own peace, you need to take ownership of what you allow into your house, into your home, and into your head.
That's called sovereignty and that's called ownership. And we, by taking control of it and saying, I get a chance to choose what comes in here.
Erika (35:24)
That is so smart, but it sounds so hard to do. Like, how can you really block out all of the stuff that you don't want to see?
Rekha Gibbons (35:31)
Well, you know one
of them already and that is put your fucking phone down Go outside and run around the block a couple times
Erika (35:39)
you
Yes. Clip it, Eric. This is the one. This is great.
Eric (35:46)
That's a good one. That's a good one.
Now, now this isn't all what you think and what you came up with. Like you, you talk to others, you interviewed others, talk about some of the people you've had conversations with and you put in the book.
Rekha Gibbons (36:00)
Yeah, I was really, really lucky because because my husband's such a badass with, you know, with the ultra world, I got a chance to interview Billy Mills, who was the only American who ever won a gold medal in long distance running. This was in the 60s. Right. So I got some incredible stories from him. I had a and these are coming up. I'll do some short little YouTube's on these. I was so busy writing the book. Bart Yasso, who is the mayor of
Erika (36:18)
wow.
Rekha Gibbons (36:30)
running yeah abby burfoot ⁓ and then ⁓ john kelly mr barkley marathons himself i got a chance to interview him i was i was really i was thrilled and he's a very unassuming person he's just really low-key super dry
Erika (36:31)
Yup.
Eric (36:39)
Mm hmm.
Erika (36:40)
man.
Rekha Gibbons (36:50)
And my whole intent in talking to him is I'm not just interested in being an ultra endurance or just being successful at work. I'm talking about the whole package of having meaningful relationships, beautiful, committed meaningful relationships while being optimal health the health perspective. then
succeeding and thriving in your own personal goals and financial goals. So my question to him was how does you know, Barclay's marathons, he's finished it three times. He did the AT Appalachia Trail this year trying to get his personal best time. Unfortunately, his foot was injured so he wasn't able to complete it. Making money for you know the people who were harmed during the Asheville and you know the flooding that happened. I mean all of that money went back.
and he's also a tech co-founder. And I'm like, how do you do this? I mean, how do you find a way to succeed in all three of the pillars to me that are the power hitters? And he said, honestly, my life is a lesson in constrained optimism. He said,
All three parts, my wife, my family, my job, and my running know where I'm at at all times. So we manage to make things happen using those limitations. that's a chapter that he's in. It's called constrained optimization. How do you make it happen? And think he's
Erika (38:21)
seriously. Balance is so difficult.
⁓
Rekha Gibbons (38:25)
He's extraordinary, know, extraordinary. And there's so many extraordinary athletes. What I see happening is there is a resurgence of you get to a point where everybody hits a plateau and nobody can break it. It's called the Bannister effect where, you know, Roger Bannister was a first person who to break the four minute mile. They're like, it can't happen. It can't happen. Roger did it. And a month later, another person broke the four minute mile. So it just shows you that humanity, all you need to do is think, wait,
If somebody did, I can do it too.
Eric (38:57)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (38:57)
That's all it takes. The limitation is a self-perception or it's a perception that has to be overcome internally.
Erika (39:08)
Man, the mind is such an interesting organ. I don't know how else to describe it. It's just, like you said, you can unlock things as long as, like, what's stopping you? If somebody else can do it, why can't I? So that is definitely a mindset that it helps motivate. But just trying to think about how it actually works that way. Like, why does your mind, if somebody else can do it, why can't I? Yeah.
Eric (39:35)
But also how it's working like when you're in the middle
of that ultra or in the middle of that race is the way I kind of view this book. the games your mind is going to play with you in the middle of your marathon or your race or even your training run. It's like for me, I just got to say to myself next step. And then once I hit that step, I'm like, I can do one more.
Erika (39:40)
man, especially.
especially during like...
Mm-hmm.
Mental fatigue, like when your body is physically fatigued too, your mind does not operate at its full potential. ⁓
Eric (40:00)
It's like when you're
trying to think of the lyrics of that song, Erika, in the middle of your, your ultra and it's Layla and you're singing it. You just can't figure out that's Eric Clapton Layla. You can sit, you keep going, I'm a Mer-Muh. Right. And you're like, what is this song? Layla. You, you, you mentioned chapters. So.
Erika (40:04)
you
you
The mind works in mysterious ways.
See if she gets it.
Rekha Gibbons (40:16)
Dun dun
Erika (40:21)
Ugh.
Eric (40:25)
I want to talk about a few, I want to highlight a few chapters in your book here. Give everyone a little bit of a taste here without giving it all the way, but one of them, an early chapter in the book, I think is the OGs of running. Talk a little bit about the OGs.
Rekha Gibbons (40:38)
So I love this whole concept because the OG piece of it is, know, original gangster, know, ⁓ old go, whatever you want to call it. I love that because there's so much precious and preciousism. I don't know if that's a word. I think we were becoming so.
curated and so ⁓ I'll take care of I you know I have to hydrate it at mile five you know I think there's such a such a you know a little yeah and what I was lucky is because I got a chance to hear from
Eric (41:11)
Take a goo every 45 minutes and 15 before and yeah.
Rekha Gibbons (41:21)
my husband Wayne and his cohorts who were like New York Runners Club back in the 70s, that kind of thing, right? And they would tell me stories about back in the day, you know, because running at that time was slap on your shoes and they're basically slippers with a little bit of rubber at the bottom and you get out the door. That's it. That's it. You know? And I loved that whole concept of
you do it because it's there to do, right? It's not like you're trying to, ⁓ I'm doing this for this nonprofit or nothing wrong, nothing wrong at all with that. And I applaud everybody who does that. But this is for a person going out just to show themselves, I can do this. And I love that concept. So we got into, we got into, you the origins of running, for example, city field.
Erika (41:54)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (42:17)
you know, former Met Stadium, they used to have hundred milers and they would, yeah, they would run through, through like the back, the back of the parking lot, come back through third base, cross finish line, go, I mean, so Wayne has done these and he says he's crossed finish line more than most professional baseball players.
Erika (42:42)
That's so
⁓ fun.
Eric (42:42)
The home plate, yeah.
Rekha Gibbons (42:44)
Yeah,
so I mean, literally use these outlets and they also use Madison Square Garden for something called pedestrianism, which was the reality television running event, not even television reality event of like the late 1800s and early 1900s. And it would be five days events where these guys would just run and they would be smoking, bedding, food, oysters, bands playing, booze.
It was a circus and pedestrianism was because you know what? the thing. People want to be entertained. that was how they were entertained at that time. And then let's get to some fun stuff here. We're talking about race day swag, know, the stuff that you give away.
Erika (43:16)
You
Rekha Gibbons (43:35)
The reason why I liked writing about this chapter was to show that we've gotten pretty soft. I think there is a huge dichotomy between the origins of running and where we are now. Obviously, we've got John Kelly. And there was a kid in New Zealand, a 16-year-old who just broke, did a 348 mile. we're like,
Erika (44:03)
Wow.
Rekha Gibbons (44:03)
Yeah, so again, I think overall, there's so much comfort that gets associated with our daily lives. Things are pretty comfy, right? So talking about the OGs and you know, there's nipple rot because when a race, when you you run a race, and this is before sports bras, the sports bra came about by two women who took jock straps, or husbands jock straps, sewed them together.
Erika (44:31)
you
Eric (44:31)
Wait, is that
for real? ⁓ I need to find these ladies.
Rekha Gibbons (44:33)
Real.
This is in my book check out chapter six the ogs are writing because it lists these two ladies and it's you know, so Sports bra has jockstrap DNA
Eric (44:48)
Wow!
Erika (44:48)
The
technology of running gear from the OG times to now is insane. You've got your smartwatches, your headphones, like you said, the wicking fabrics. ⁓
Eric (44:59)
We got our compression boots for recovery. You
know, you got all the fancy stuff. One of my favorite lines I read and I was going to say this 16 year old from New Zealand will never know what it's like to run in a heavy cotton t-shirt and basically experience a sandpaper workout.
Rekha Gibbons (45:16)
That's it. That is awesome. And you know what? They're breaking their own limits. And it gives us a chance who are involved with the sport to sit back and make a little fun of it. I'm not being too precious about it. I'm not breaking any records myself. I'm...
Erika (45:33)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (45:40)
so grateful for the sports bra ladies. I've never done Boston, but you one of the fun things is at the race giveaways at Boston Marathon, which I know it's coming up for you guys very soon, there's beef stew. That's what they have at the, at the, know, so you'll get your water, you'll get your little goose and you'll get some beef stew at the finish line. It's like fantastic. It's cold. You want something hearty and salty.
Erika (45:58)
Be stupid.
Eric (46:09)
I hear that. One of my favorite Ironmans is we had lobster after it was in Maine and I was like, I want that lobster. Yeah. can you give me an experience that you have yourself personally, like training your mind? Is there a moment in a race where you like something clicked?
Erika (46:09)
That is awesome.
Rekha Gibbons (46:25)
Yeah, I think my favorite time probably ⁓ was the Honolulu Marathon because you do a long, you know, 12 miles and then you're going down this highway and it's hot and highways are not fun, you know, they're And so you have to turn around and come back up it.
And I'm like, God. And speaking of Iron Man, we did the Kona. And Kona is on a volcanic island and you're running on the highway. It's 113 degrees and it's middle of July, I think, right? It's like, who does that?
Erika (46:53)
Mmm.
Eric (47:07)
The half is in the summer, yeah, October is the big world championship. Yeah.
Rekha Gibbons (47:10)
Okay, okay.
I think it gets...
Eric (47:12)
That's never not hot
in Hawaii. Look in Kona, you're on the queen, the queen K and it's forever and ever and ever on that bike. And then you're right. You turn around and you do it again. And it always feels uphill. I've not done Kona yet, just like you have not done Boston yet, but it just like, that is such a tough game on your mind when you just, you're looking down.
Rekha Gibbons (47:25)
Yep.
Eric (47:39)
like a tunnel or a highway, and you never feel like you're actually making any progress.
Rekha Gibbons (47:44)
And I think the click moment is when you stop and say, ask yourself the question, why am I doing this? know, is it to get the finisher medal? Is it to prove that I can run this race? Is it to be out here, get a really bad ass workout?
and feel good about myself. And that's what it ends up being for me, Eric. It's like, I'm here to get a really, I'm not breaking records. Nobody's gonna be deluded by that. But I am here for an amazing workout to experience this landscape, to experience the people around, because energy is such a big deal. You when you have, you know this, right? When the people around you are part of that, if you find...
Erika (48:06)
Mm-hmm.
Absolutely.
Rekha Gibbons (48:27)
your Peloton, then you run with them because it really gives you that added edge.
Erika (48:33)
Honestly, that's one of the reasons why I like ultra running so much is because you just form such a community and everybody's basically miserable. So you can commiserate with everyone and you can kind of feed off of their energy. Like somebody will see that you're in a real low place and they'll be like, all right, we need to make some jokes. We need to tell some stories. We need to uplift you and get you through this hard patch. like many of my friends have come from these ultras and they are just so amazing. And I keep coming back to these races.
because I know they'll be there. And every time you just meet new people, you make new friends, and it's just a wonderful circle that I like to keep coming back to.
Rekha Gibbons (49:13)
think that's the best thing about running also as a community because runners will take care of their own.
Erika (49:16)
Mm-hmm.
Yes, absolutely.
Eric (49:21)
Tell me some
things you do while you run. Like, do you listen to music? Do you listen to the On the Runs podcast? Are you like me and you listen to nothing at all? Erika is one who has to have music on all the time, even if she's running and having a conversation with somebody. What are some of your running like quirks here?
Erika (49:26)
you
Rekha Gibbons (49:38)
Though I'm a non-carry-something-with-me person, except a little lip balm, that's it. So for me, luckily, I usually have people running with me, so I will have a chance to have conversation. But to me, the big bonus is running outdoors, you're exposed to nature, and there's always something so...
Erika (49:44)
Mm.
Rekha Gibbons (50:07)
⁓ redemptive about nature. I really feel that nature is the restorer and that's actually a chapter in the book where go outside to be in nature because it will restore you. You know we're so tech heavy so I don't like to have tech with me when I'm you know doing I have my little fitty bitty and that's it you know that that's just to count my my steps but I that me I prefer to be immersed in whatever location I'm in and
and absorb as much as I can of that element.
Erika (50:41)
a great reason to get out there. And I know for a lot of people, the reasons that get you out the door may differ, I mean, whatever it is that does it, just praise it.
Rekha Gibbons (50:53)
And that's the key, get out. then there's a couple of other things, we were talking about this earlier, that runners understand, and that is the ability to visualize. I see myself running past mile 12. I see myself getting on the 18th mile. 20 comes and I'm flowing. feel, because visualization is one technique that's used. And then the other is to...
Erika (50:55)
you
Mmm.
Rekha Gibbons (51:22)
Play it out in your mind, right? Just act like it's happening because your mind doesn't know the difference between you playing the piano and your mind playing the piano itself. These are the techniques that are shared in the book where we go into a really deep dive into the science, the neurobiology of what runners do and others who are experts at reprogramming the mind and leveraging for high performance.
Erika (51:32)
Mmm.
So you said that you started this book, was it 2024? How long did it take you to actually compile the whole thing and collect your interviews and collect every piece of the puzzle?
Rekha Gibbons (52:03)
So the idea started coming to me and it didn't quite hit me in 24. It hit me in 25 early in January of 25. But when it hit me, because I've had this idea at the back of my mind for years and that is what running marathons teaches me about leadership. And it's just kind of an idea, you know? But when all of this stuff happened, I thought, wait a minute, is this personal now? This is really personal because that voice of negativity was like,
Erika (52:09)
Okay.
Eric (52:28)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (52:29)
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. ⁓
Rekha Gibbons (52:33)
So I said,
spent the first, yeah, all of last year ⁓ doing research for the first three months, heavy writing. I had a editor who I was working with. I am self-published.
Eric (52:48)
It wasn't me because I
would have missed your misspellings.
Rekha Gibbons (52:52)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Erika (52:53)
Eric.
Rekha Gibbons (52:55)
There are, there are actually some in there. like, what? my God. But tell me if you catch any, I'll fix them in the second edition. But I had a fantastic editor who changed things for me because I was writing it like I would write one of my workshops, you know, here we have some, some flows and here's some diagrams and here are some exercises we can do. And she goes, uh-uh, tell me stories.
and because of that Erika, this book is something completely different than what I really thought I would write. came out of me in a way that I never anticipated, and because of that, it's more personal and more intimate.
Erika (53:38)
That's what I think readers are going to enjoy most is it's a way to connect to you, but also learn a little bit more about themselves.
Rekha Gibbons (53:44)
Beautifully said.
Eric (53:45)
Now tell me this, the book is coming soon, but it was supposed to be here already. You and I were chatting and I told you about what a code brown is, an crap moment. And I think you had a code brown around the time this book was supposed to come out. Tell us this story and then tell us when we should expect this book.
Rekha Gibbons (54:04)
All right, so when you asked me the question about Code Brown and I was doing research, I'm like, shit, I have a real Code Brown. So the book launch was scheduled for January 24th, just past January. I had the Rockefeller State Preserve that was at a gallery opening. I had Pathwater as a sponsor. I had all this stuff planned and...
Then the publishing team said, well, you know, we haven't launched yet formally. And I'm like, okay, but you know, as long as I have books, because I have to have books to do a book site. Exactly. And they were like, well, if you rush, you can get some copies before for the actual launch. So number one, the book hadn't launched. And two, I didn't have books. And I'm like,
Erika (54:45)
Mm-hmm. Important. Yes.
no.
What am I supposed to do?
Rekha Gibbons (55:00)
Are you kidding me?
Eric (55:00)
Like I have this place,
I have this
Rekha Gibbons (55:02)
yeah, so I spent an outrageous amount of money to have it shipped to me right away. And then we get hit with snowstorms.
Erika (55:12)
my god, that was that weekend. That was like two feet of snow. ⁓ no.
Rekha Gibbons (55:15)
It was that.
And we had to move it because they couldn't hold the event. So the bottom line of this, Eric, is the book event at Rockefeller and anybody who's around, we have the New York Runners Club and the Westchester Running Club who are going to be there. It's going to be March 21st from one to three. It's a Saturday. So excited.
Eric (55:41)
coming up
Rekha Gibbons (55:45)
the book is now live on Amazon. Matter of fact, it's hit bestseller in three categories.
Eric (55:52)
Wow.
Erika (55:52)
I'm so excited for you, Rekha. Congratulations.
Rekha Gibbons (55:55)
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Eric (55:56)
Now, will this be like available
for Erika to read on like her Kindle or something? Or do you want Erika to do your audio book too? She'll do it.
Rekha Gibbons (56:00)
It is. It is.
Erika (56:01)
Well, not only that, check it out. So
behind me, this book collection I have is all of my running books. And I do feature a bunch from our author friends that we've had on the podcast. So I am going to be adding your book to my collection. Absolutely.
Rekha Gibbons (56:17)
You know what I'm going to do? mean, if you want to get in Kindle, you'll get it right away. But both of you will take this offline. Send me your addresses and I'm going to send you signed copies.
Erika (56:25)
you're wonderful. I'm going to take you up on that because I need to display it proudly right behind me on the podcast. So thank you so much.
Rekha Gibbons (56:33)
I love
that. And you know, I'm so excited because one of the things that I got a chance to do was, you know, being a business person and being a marketing executive, I prepped for this. So I was able to get, quote from Brian Tracy.
Erika (56:49)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (56:50)
who says this, if you're serious about limitless achievement, this is an indispensable guide that will transform your mindset and unleash your unstoppable self.
Erika (57:00)
I love that. I got some big things coming up this year that I'm going to need some help kind of unpacking. So we'll be remitting. Thank you. Thank you.
Rekha Gibbons (57:08)
I'm there for you.
Eric (57:11)
All right, so I'm pulling up an image right now. This is the book cover. I love to ask everyone, how do you come up with this book cover? Erika reminds me a lot about Patrick's book because it's somebody running. It's the foot, the heel in the air. But this one's really cool. I got to know, this have a little Hawaii theme because could that be like lava in the shoe or something? How do you come up with this, the cover of your book?
Rekha Gibbons (57:32)
I that. I like the lava idea. So I wanted to have the impression of somebody taking a journey, right? And obviously it's a race, it's a marathon, but the thing that drives is the power of the mind. So having the neurons in the shoe.
shows that the real master is not pain wall at 22. It's not the elements of the weather. It's really your mind. So the more you become friends with your mind, the more you nurture the power inside of you, the rest of you get fueled. So I'm trying to portray that the real game is in your head, guys. Let it run the show for you. And those are my legs, by the way.
Erika (58:02)
Mm.
Eric (58:20)
Those are your, they look amazing. ⁓ so, so for those of you who are on, YouTube and who haven't seen on Instagram yet, it's the bottom of the shoe. It's, it's kind of like the roots of a tree or the veins in your, your blood vessels going up to, to a brain is when I see it on the bigger image here. And I really like that. I like what you're doing with Marathon Mindset and you're running and it's a trail race. It's an ultra. It's Erika's favorite thing in the world to run on a trail in mud. So.
Rekha Gibbons (58:22)
Marathon tested, ⁓
Erika (58:46)
you
Eric (58:50)
I think it's awesome. Great book, nice color. And yeah, the lava. I don't know what made me think of that, but the lava.
Erika (58:55)
catches you.
It's neon, that's I think the word I was going for, but it is very eye catching and that is something I would absolutely pick up.
Rekha Gibbons (59:05)
That's so exciting. Thank you guys. I really appreciate it
Eric (59:09)
One last thing on the book, like for anyone who wants to pick up this book, like what do you hope they get out of it?
Rekha Gibbons (59:17)
I hope that they get that running is one of the best ways to keep your mind healthy and calm. Not only your body, but your mind. And also, it's a great way for kids to...
drop the distraction and rewire because what you're doing is rewiring. The running itself forces your mind to rewire out of a state of ⁓ distraction and into a flow rhythm. Both of you know this because you're both runners. It forces. So when you're running, when you're moving, you can't think about, my God, what did that tech say? what did that, your mind actually smooths itself out into an easier course. So.
Applying that day to day, applying for everyone makes you a calmer person. And also the thing I wanted to share is that if the voice in your head is being mean to you and if you've ever wished that your mind was your friend and not your enemy, there are ways to do this.
Erika (1:00:26)
That is a great tool, and I can't wait to learn how to do that, for sure.
Eric (1:00:32)
Erika is our big reader in the group. Erika, how many books did you read last year in 2025 alone? You track pages, right? You even track the pages and the words.
Erika (1:00:38)
Well, it all-
Well, I have a Google doc of how many books I do read, but I do listen. So as long as you count that as reading, because I am technically comprehending the words, I have read, I think it was 75 books last year, and that is one of my high years. So I'm most certainly going to add this one to the list.
Rekha Gibbons (1:01:02)
I think also using the audio when you're running is a brilliant way because it's doubling the impact. You've got this incredible, beautiful sound or ⁓ thoughts running through your head and then you're treating your body to an outdoor workout at the same time.
Erika (1:01:10)
Mm.
Best of both worlds.
Eric (1:01:23)
And you know, this just came to mind because we talked about audio versions of the book. Will there be an audio version? Okay, now here's my next question. Cause I had this conversation yesterday with ⁓ Ryan from Recycled Percussion, Erika, and he, he went out, he had for Justin's book, he went out and he like tested a lot of audio readers. Like there's people who do this professionally and they vetted over hundreds of them trying to find it. Who's talking in your audio version?
Erika (1:01:36)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:01:51)
And if it's not you, how do you pick that person?
Rekha Gibbons (1:01:54)
I'm gonna do it because there's so much personal storytelling, but I would love to take you up on getting connected to your friends who do this because I...
there's a lot of content. I have exercises in it, I have downloads, interactive quizzes, and I also have those interviews. So for me, the ultimate is this audible that you can click on or go to resources that aren't in the book or that are more interactive. So anybody who's doing that kind of work, I'm so interested in learning more about it.
Erika (1:02:15)
Mm.
Eric (1:02:32)
I'll make that connection for you. I'll help you there. Yeah, I'm excited. I
Rekha Gibbons (1:02:34)
Love it.
Erika (1:02:35)
This is so cool. It's going to be an experience. It's not
just a book. It's a whole experience.
Eric (1:02:40)
Now
I'm excited. I don't read books, but I will. I told Erika I'll start to not that I can't read by the way. know how to read. You know, I can't spell though, but my point is all these people offer me the book too. And Erika will actually read your book. I just, I want to change it. If you still want to send me a book, you send me a book and I'll put it on my wall. But if you do send me only one, I would love to give it away to a listener and do a little giveaway contest or something that.
Erika (1:02:48)
You have a lot going on at home,
Rekha Gibbons (1:02:51)
Huh.
Erika (1:03:08)
that's awesome.
Eric (1:03:10)
That's what gets me excited about it. So you can still send me one and I'll put it on the book shelf and I'll listen to the audio tape and Erika's going to give me her credentials. She still hasn't, but she will.
Rekha Gibbons (1:03:15)
That's it.
Erika (1:03:24)
He has a lot of audios he's got to read.
Rekha Gibbons (1:03:25)
I'll definitely
send you, I'll send both of you your own copy signed, but I'll also give you one for the reader because this is a limited first edition. So this guy right here that you're looking at is gonna be obsolete within the next couple of copies. it's a limited edition.
Erika (1:03:31)
Thank you.
Eric (1:03:37)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (1:03:44)
⁓ I feel extra special now.
Eric (1:03:47)
Yeah.
You're not off the hook yet though. I would still love to, we have to have you and Wayne on to hear some of these amazing stories. So we need Wayne back, but we have a couple final big questions. Erika's is really tough. It's a hard one and mine's pretty fun. I think. So I'm going to go first. My question is, I want to hear a hot take. Do you have a hot take? It can be.
running. It doesn't have to be running. It could be like pineapple doesn't belong on pizza or it could be running based like why are you putting carbon plated carbon plates in your trail running shoes? Give me a hot take.
Rekha Gibbons (1:04:21)
I the hot take with, and this could be, I think that people are so obsessed with other people's opinions, with other people's what they think. It's like, but so-and-so said this, and news is just rife with.
Erika (1:04:35)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:04:35)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (1:04:41)
It's not even news, it's infotainment. And I think we need to grow up and understand people. You're being entertained, okay? An opinion is an opinion and do the research to figure out is this fact, is this reality? So to me, my hot take is everyone can have an opinion, everybody should have an opinion, but understand that we're being entertained. This is what the end goal is, to entertain you, to keep you engaged for as long as possible.
And the people who do the in-depth, willing to take the time to research it are the ones who probably get the biggest payoff.
Eric (1:05:18)
I like that. That kind of goes into the whole thing we talked about earlier where someone's going to say something to really get you going, right? To really get you all riled up and to dive into the comments or to fight back or something like we talked about. And you see it every day. It's like, you just can't get away from it, but you're right. It's like, you got to figure out. For instance, I sent Erika a picture today, a screenshot, Patriots lose the Superbowl. Apparently Cardi B and Stefan Diggs break up in the middle of the game like
Erika (1:05:25)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:05:48)
Did they really break up in the middle of game or did it happen before? Are they even broken up? Is this a rumor? And it's like, it triggers. It absolutely triggers. Then you dive deep and you're like, is this true? You don't know what to believe. Do your research, do your homework.
Erika (1:05:51)
you
you
You can put
anything on the internet, it just isn't always true.
Rekha Gibbons (1:06:07)
Yeah, you're right. You're totally right. It's like, does it matter?
Eric (1:06:14)
Right, how is it
Erika (1:06:14)
I
Eric (1:06:14)
gonna? I can't live anymore with Cardi B and Stefan not together!
Erika (1:06:16)
Like that literally has no impact on my life.
That does not impact me in any way whatsoever besides being like, drama. I'm addicted to the drama. Entertainment, exactly.
Eric (1:06:27)
It's entertainment. We're being entertained.
I
Erika (1:06:31)
So now that you've heard his question, here comes my incredibly difficult question, apparently. But Rekha, we have ourselves a Spotify playlist and we like to invite our guests to add a song to it. So it could be anything that gets you motivated. I mean, you may not listen while you actually run, but is there something just that you groove to or something that centers you, something that you would like to add to our list?
Rekha Gibbons (1:06:55)
I do
it's Blue Monday by New Order.
Erika (1:06:56)
⁓
excellent.
Rekha Gibbons (1:07:00)
Do
Erika (1:07:03)
That
is a fantastic song.
Rekha Gibbons (1:07:06)
I was thinking of this Erika, because I know you, you know, I was like, okay, I got to do something really good. And the thing that spoke to me. thank you.
Erika (1:07:11)
Nailed it.
Eric (1:07:13)
And that's why hard because you're
like, need to get the right song. It's only one. That's why I say it's hard.
Rekha Gibbons (1:07:19)
You're right. And I did research. I was like, oh no. And I did research, another playlist, another, you know, like what, what, what, what. But to me, this one spoke to me because I'm an eighties chick and it felt that was my time, you know? And it has that rhythm that makes me feel happy and good.
Eric (1:07:33)
You were around when MTV was really MTV.
Rekha Gibbons (1:07:37)
Yeah, when it was music.
Eric (1:07:39)
Yeah.
Erika (1:07:39)
Mm-mm. It's not
even around anymore. Like, wasn't it New Year's Eve or something? Really? ⁓
Eric (1:07:42)
I don't know. My sister told me I'm not entirely correct by the way. Yeah. It's like, it's around, but they, they got rid of, like, apparently they had 12 channels before and they got rid of like 11 of them.
Erika (1:07:52)
So there's still an MTV just we don't know which one of the 12 Yeah, oh No, well those were the good old days
Rekha Gibbons (1:07:53)
Yeah.
Eric (1:07:56)
Yeah. I think it's the one that doesn't play music. Yeah.
Rekha Gibbons (1:07:59)
Yeah, yeah. I think it's reality television
because that's the evolution.
Eric (1:08:02)
Right. They should be called RTV.
It's insane. man just like going back to, you know, thinking about what it used to be like, it was so different then. And the kids today can't comprehend. It's, it's no longer like, I used to walk both ways uphill in the snow. It's not that anymore. It's just like, they're like, how did you survive without a phone? How did you survive? Like what do do? Like I saw the coolest thing, these,
Erika (1:08:05)
Mm-hmm. Well, those were the good old days.
you
Eric (1:08:32)
AI generated things about what life was like in the 80s and the 90s. And do you remember Saturday morning cartoons? They're not around anymore. It's like, yeah, I used to wake up every Saturday morning and you had four hours of cartoons, Bobby's World and other things. It was so cool. You just go onto YouTube or Netflix and you watch it whenever you want.
Erika (1:08:39)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (1:08:41)
Yeah.
Erika (1:08:49)
Now you just have a channel with all the time cartoons and that too.
Rekha Gibbons (1:08:56)
That's
another reason why, you when you have a constant source of something to entertain you, why you have to own what you allow yourself to be entertained with. know, Bugs Bunny in the mornings, ⁓ you know, watching Penguins of Madagascar on Saturday mornings. I mean, that was classic. And maybe I was goofy at the time, you know, doing it. ⁓ X-Men, the cartoon version, you know. But...
Erika (1:09:14)
Mm-hmm.
Rekha Gibbons (1:09:24)
We did it because that's something that resonated with us. Right now though, what I see is obsession as opposed to selection.
Eric (1:09:31)
Right.
Yeah. It's true. It's so true. And it, it, it, it, it's gotten all of us. We've all fallen into it and you need to find your way out of it sometimes. And I really think people are going to like your book here because you fall into that obsession too, sometimes with running and you forget like how it used to be before all the tech and all the gear, everyone had analog watches and stuff, or just throwing on a pair of shoes.
Erika (1:09:34)
nailed it.
Eric (1:09:59)
and going out there for gym class and running the mile in a cotton t-shirt and experiencing nipple chafe, which I've never heard of the term nipple rot until you brought it up. And I'm like, that is amazing. So yeah, sometimes you just got to go back, go back a day. That's right. That's kind of like why, one, I don't run without music because my kids keep ruining my little headphones. But two, I've eventually at some point embraced like where I am.
Erika (1:09:59)
Yeah.
That sounds so horrible. ⁓
to basics, right?
Eric (1:10:28)
and just the silence of the rail trail or something or the outdoors and it works for me. I maybe listen to music once a year now. Not even music. I'll listen to a podcast because I want to finish it and I find headphones that are missing the little rubber piece and I plug it in. know. Somebody don't buy me headphones because my kids will ruin them.
Erika (1:10:43)
Eric.
Keep them in the house. Keep them in your car. How? boy.
Eric (1:10:54)
They find them. I don't know. They're
monsters. But Rekha, this was amazing. This was so much fun. I really want to thank Lori for setting this up. Erika has something to say. She's like, so I'll let Erika go.
Erika (1:11:09)
Yeah, before we
close off, we got to let her tell everyone where they can find her either on social media or her website or just where we can get the book. So go ahead and let us know where to find you.
Rekha Gibbons (1:11:21)
So you can find Marathon Mindset Outrun the Voice of Negativity on Amazon. You can find me on ⁓ Instagram, Rekha Gibbons. Connect with me, send me, DM me your favorite stories about running. I'd love to hear your thoughts. ⁓ And on LinkedIn, I'm Rekha Gibbons as well. ⁓ If you're a leader or a...
educator and want to learn how you can help your team or your class learn some of these techniques to increase performance and and decrease the voice of negativity.
Eric (1:11:56)
And I'll try really hard to get those in the show notes. know Erika is supposed to check them, but she doesn't and add the links.
Erika (1:12:02)
Well, you've been using AI
lately and I'm like, it's fine.
Eric (1:12:05)
No, no, no. See, Erika and I fight sometimes here and you are supposed to. ⁓ But listen, I'm going to put the links in there and for the Amazon, for your website, for Instagram, I'm going to get them all in there and that will be beneficial. So if you guys are listening and you're like, how does she spell her name again? It's R-E-K-A-H by the way, guys. So no, no, my God, I wrote her down wrong. It's R-E-K-H-A.
Erika (1:12:09)
It's been a while.
No it's not!
Rekha Gibbons (1:12:28)
Okay.
Erika (1:12:31)
See? Spell check.
Rekha Gibbons (1:12:35)
Yep.
Eric (1:12:36)
Gibbons, but go to the show notes. It will be there. I promise I'll do it because Erika won't fall, but this is a lot of fun. This is a lot of fun. Listen, will you bring the second most famous Wayne in the world on the podcast one day with you? And he's only one behind the great one, Wayne Gresky. So I would love like to have the tool you want because I want to hear the story. love love stories.
Erika (1:12:41)
And I will check it. I will check it. I will.
Rekha Gibbons (1:12:47)
This is awesome.
Bigretzky, awesome.
Erika (1:12:59)
you
Eric (1:13:04)
And I want to hear his story about how he would be like, get you to go for a run and not just the Hawaii one, but like, Hey, will you come to this 200 miler and, and, know, change my socks or something.
Erika (1:13:19)
That's love. That's true love.
Eric (1:13:20)
That's
love.
Rekha Gibbons (1:13:22)
He is a crazy man. He is a crazy man. So I think you guys would have a hoot with him.
Eric (1:13:27)
That'd be awesome. but guys, this was a lot of fun. I really hope to meet you one day and we'll do that with Wayne. Erika, thank you to your friend, Laurie, for this amazing gig. Guys, check out the book Marathon Mindset. I know if you're a book reader, you're going to love this and Erika is going to give us a full review when she's done in a couple of weeks. Rekha Gibbons.
Erika (1:13:48)
You got it. I'm excited.
Eric (1:13:50)
Rekha Gibbons on the on the runs podcast. That was wicked. Awesome.
Erika (1:13:58)
Rekha, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. You are so fun to talk to. I mean, I can't wait to have you back on the pod again. Hopefully you can get Wayne to come join you too, because I'm sure you guys have some awesome running stories between the two of you. And next time you're in the area, just definitely let us know, because we'd love to meet you in person too.
Eric (1:14:17)
Yeah, and that book is on the way, and if you guys heard, I said, listen, I wanna give mine away. That is going to happen. We're gonna do another book giveaway. This is our, I think our second book giveaway. The first one was the ⁓ Why Run When You Can Smoke and Drive at the Same Time from Patrick Lieber. We all know that one. I think we've done a couple book giveaways for him. We did one official Instagram book giveaway, and then he's donated for other fundraising events.
Erika (1:14:18)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:14:42)
We're going
to do this when the books come in. Erica is probably going to read the book before we even get to that. Like she's going to get it in the mail and start reading it because she reads what? A book like every other day.
Erika (1:14:52)
I don't read as many as Celeste, but I read a lot of books.
Eric (1:14:56)
Yeah. So that was a lot
of fun. We'll talk about the book when it comes out. It's super cool. Marathon mindset guys. Check it out. You can get it on Amazon and then the second edition. It's really the first edition, but the second generation of that. Is that how I'm calling it? I don't know, but that's coming out soon. We're getting the limited edition one that like first, the OG with the OG cover and everything, but I'm excited. Yeah.
Erika (1:15:10)
Mm-hmm. It's a second edition.
yeah. Can't wait to add it to my collection back here.
Eric (1:15:21)
That's really cool. So guys, I hope you liked that. Please, if you liked it, you know, share that episode with people, ⁓ share our Instagram with people, subscribe to the YouTube channel, just help us do the good thing, the growth and grow this podcast and we'll get more amazing guests like her and like the one we have next week. And that also is what helped us got people like Ashley Paulson, who just set a world record. Not a big deal.
Erika (1:15:42)
⁓
I am so
proud of her. Can I even just, I can't wipe the smile off my face and I did not even do that, but Ashley, you are a freaking animal out there. So she just ran the jackpot 100 miler this weekend and she broke the world record for women's time. I think she had like 12 hours, 19 minutes and 30, four, five seconds.
Eric (1:16:12)
34, nice job.
Erika (1:16:14)
She broke the record by a solid, like, 12 and 1 was her average. 712. Can you, well, I wrote the show notes, you guys. like, just, I can't wrap my head around how fast that is for an entire 100 mile race. Like, did she stop? Did she poop? Like, what, like, can we get Ashley back? Can we? I have to talk to Ashley. Like,
Eric (1:16:17)
What was that average pace per mile though? 712, you are good. You are good. I know you did. Good job.
We need to know. Ashley, come back. We're gonna work on it. We're gonna work
on it. It'd be her fourth time on the pod, actually.
Erika (1:16:45)
Not enough. need her more. She just brings so much energy and I love her. I just, I'm blown away. The amount of training that she did, she put in so much work. Like I follow her Instagram and I see what she's out there doing. She's got such an amazing crew behind her and like she even, she even has me wanting to try those little like buzz bomb sticks that she uses. Like, have you heard of those things? Like, I gotta, it's gotta be a secret. yeah, probably will. But even like,
Eric (1:16:46)
Ha ha!
Yeah. No, but you'll tell me. Yeah. that'd be super cool. That'd be super cool.
Erika (1:17:14)
Andy Glaze was there because he was running it too and he was, yeah.
Eric (1:17:15)
I know he posted God
you know what great job Ash like when you will talk more about it when you come back but I was DMing her just saying how proud I am and how honored we are to know you and call you a friend so that was that was awesome yeah next month is March and we'll talk about March madness but before that happens it's somebody's birthday happy birthday to one of our very own patrons Erica
Erika (1:17:25)
Mm.
Honestly, that's, yep, that's the sentiment. She's just incredible. So way to go.
Uh-huh.
Leslie. Oh, Leslie, I love you. I'm very sorry I saw it so late and I didn't get to wish you a happy birthday on your actual birthday. So here we go. We're wishing you a happy birthday now. We think you're amazing and I miss you. I need to go out on a, well, I need to go out for a run. That's kind of key, but I need to run with you and Emily and just see you guys again. So I hope you had a great day.
Eric (1:18:08)
Yeah, and
I got your email. I'm gonna email you soon. I know I said I would, but ⁓ we'll talk. You know what I'm talking about. If you want to know what we're talking about, you can join our Patreon. Because Leslie's one of our Patreons, and she's amazing. Thank you so much. ⁓ Next week is March, and we have decided on the March madness. Is going to be medals? Is that correct, Erica? Or do you decide you don't want to do the work and we're gonna go shoes?
Erika (1:18:15)
you
There we go. She's a great friend too.
I mean,
I'm running with it. I like the metal idea, but I kind of want to take this in a fun direction where we get input from our listeners. So you guys can send either me or Stooley in the Wild or Eric. Like we're going to compile a whole bunch of pictures, but I want to see your most unique metals. It doesn't even have to be a metal. Did you get like a cool something from a race? I think that would be so fun.
Eric (1:18:59)
Right.
Erika (1:19:03)
Original, right? Just something different.
Eric (1:19:04)
We're gonna include, like obviously
New York, my New York is going on there, my Iron Man's going on there, but no, we do want like a buckle. If you got a cool buckle, we want a ribbon if you got a cool ribbon. ⁓ Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun. Couple requirements, please send pictures, but don't send the picture with you in it. If you can just put it on a table.
Erika (1:19:08)
Sure.
Yeah, I want to see something different, something fun, unique.
Eric (1:19:26)
Maybe even put a white piece of paper or just one color underneath it where it's not like crazy loud. I'll make a post about this maybe with an example too. We just like don't put it on your granite counter that has all those colors. Put some paper underneath it. I'm just should we go with white? Just do you have white paper? Put it, you know, or give it just one color that helps it pop. Like choose wisely the best color for your metal that helps it pop.
Erika (1:19:32)
Mm.
We want it to pop on the...
Yeah.
Eric (1:19:55)
but don't have it be loud. I'll make a post. We'll take about two weeks to collect these, another week to, you know, build the March Madness. And we'll do March Madness right around the time March Madness is actually happening, which actually always ends in April. We'll try to end it before, but it'll be like a couple weeks to build it, and then a week and a half to two weeks of doing March Madness. It'll be a lot of fun.
Erika (1:20:04)
Mm-hmm.
just going to need some of your input, Eric, about how to break it down. Are we going to do it by regions? Because I don't think it's fair to have a Chicago medal going against your NYC, because that's just like, yeah. you know what? That's probably a good idea. Yeah, that way it's less of a popularity contest.
Eric (1:20:32)
We could just like do some random generator.
Or the other thing
is I would trust you to take them all and tell me, know, build it yourself the way you think is the best.
Erika (1:20:49)
Mm-hmm.
All right, all right. We can get some input here. I will try my best, but just make sure you guys send me some pictures of only those medals.
Eric (1:20:52)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, and send her like thousands.
Send her just some of your favorites and then if we come to the point where we need a few others, we'll go to Rachel Runs for Metals. You do too.
Erika (1:21:04)
One or two max. One or two max. Hey, I have a huge collection too, but I
do want some engagement here, you guys. Let's get into this.
Eric (1:21:12)
The
gooder would be cool. Like if we could do a best of, I still wanna do that. Like maybe find your favorite eight or 16 and send them to me and like those, I kinda do. I kinda do.
Erika (1:21:21)
Do you want me to do that? I'll do that. I'll do, I
have way more gooders than I know what to do.
Eric (1:21:27)
But you just do your
favorite like 8 or 16 and we'll do a little mini gooder one. ⁓ Or do we say that for next year? We'll decide.
Erika (1:21:37)
I'm sure by next year, we'll have an even more ridiculous amount of So we would have a lot to choose from.
Eric (1:21:42)
I mean, we'll do the big like
64 Gooder region when Gooder wants to sponsor it, but... Yeah. Hey, couple other notes from your notes. Actually, one from me. Okay, I got a couple before we finish with yours. Thank you so much for doing your show notes.
Erika (1:21:47)
There we go. I like that idea.
⁓ Sure, sure, What you got? What you got?
trying. Honestly, I'm not great at it, but when I think of something, I'm trying to just go right into the notes. Yep. Perfect. Yep.
Eric (1:22:03)
You just need to go in there and add a note. Yeah, it doesn't need to be pretty. It's awesome though. ⁓
Couple things. Apple. We still need to talk. Let's not call it that actually, because we don't want the algorithm. We're just going to call it Fruit Podcast and Fruit Phone. So I'll have to give an update on my Fruit Phone again after it's been a little over a month. Yeah, the whole back button thing. Like where the back button? It's insane. ⁓
Erika (1:22:15)
Fruit phone. Yes, yes.
Because it's been what, like a month? OK.
Eric (1:22:29)
Alex Baker, thank you for telling me about on Facebook or how I swipe from the left to the right, but it only works on Facebook and Instagram, not all the apps. I don't understand how these people don't live with the back button being on the bottom corner. And my sister's like, I just usually do it with one hand. I go, do you have a five inch long thumb? Anyways, we'll talk more about Fruitphones later, but Fruit Podcast, the number one podcast platform in the world. I don't know why when the other ones just do so much more for your podcast, if you're a creator, they're finally
turning a stone here and they're going to add video to Fruit Podcast. No, they were so far behind. Like everyone was doing video, but we couldn't do like on our Buzzfeed or Buzzsprout, we couldn't do that because just the way it all distributed and you want to be on the Fruit Podcast platform and most of our listeners are Fruit Podcast listeners, but we can soon add full episode videos to Fruit Podcast. So I'm going to work on that soon. That's going to be fun. And then
Erika (1:23:03)
They didn't do that before? wow. I don't think I knew that.
⁓
Mm-hmm.
All right.
Eric (1:23:28)
Video is just such a cool element and you get to see my beautiful face in Erica's gray streak. And did you see I sent a picture of how you and Sydney Crosby, the captain for Team Canada, kind of have the same gray streak?
Erika (1:23:33)
Yep.
It's meant to be.
I'm going to start wearing my hair down and have the part where the gray is just in the front. I'm going to call that the you know, Hollander. So there we go. And rogue, which whichever.
Eric (1:23:50)
The other note I have back to Rekha's episode Remember
when she was talking about being in the elevator with Jackie Oh, and I was like, oh the girl from Grey's Anatomy You're like no, that's Sandra. Oh, I I'm embarrassed to say this But I googled who Jackie Oh was and when it popped up I was like, oh Yeah, Kennedy Yep, then I did like a deep dive
Erika (1:24:01)
Sandra, Sandra. What? ⁓
you
Eric (1:24:18)
into John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, all the Kennedys and like all his, he has, he had a kid who was a stillborn. He had another kid who lived 18 hours. like deep dived into all his brothers and sisters, his mom and dad and all that. And then like the most recent, so the longest Kennedy to live just died a couple of years ago from like of his siblings. And Jackie died in 94 or around then. Yeah.
Erika (1:24:22)
man, you fall down those rabbit holes, man.
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:24:47)
One night I just deep dived into them when I Googled, who's Jackie O? And I was like, ⁓ that's who Jackie O is.
Erika (1:24:53)
That's a depressing rabbit hole, man. I don't know, that's really sad.
Eric (1:24:56)
I know, lots of sad things, lots of sad things. His daughter is
still around? Yeah. No, my god, the other thing, one of them just died like two years ago stranded in a canoe with their eight-year-old son in Chesapeake Bay. So many Kennedy tragedies, like you could do a whole episode on that. I know. I know. That was maybe would have been his niece. But, alright.
Erika (1:25:13)
Dude, stop it. my god, don't, please don't.
Ugh, stop
Eric (1:25:26)
Enough of this sad stuff. No, we
Erika (1:25:26)
it. Please.
Eric (1:25:28)
need one more sad thing actually, but pod fam, Kera D'Amato, we're pulling for a speedy recovery.
Erika (1:25:32)
Hmm. ⁓
send her all of your healing vibe. She just had hip surgery. I mean, she talks about it in her book if you read it, but she's been dealing with some hip issues and I'm glad she finally is getting it fixed. mean, I have friends, KJ, who know what it's like to finally just get it done and how it can be game changing and just feeling relief. I know it's going to be a tough road, but if anybody can do it, it's Kira. So.
speedy recovery to you.
Eric (1:26:04)
speedy recovery and to end this on a happy note, an excited note, we have some pod fam that this Saturday night, and I say Saturday night because it will be Sunday morning where they are, they're running the Tokyo Marathon. Erica, let's shout some out.
Erika (1:26:22)
First and foremost, your freaking sister Hannah is going to Tokyo and I'm so excited for her. This is her second major, her second marathon and she's going big. So I'm so proud of her and I think we get to talk to her later, huh? Yeah, we got her on the hook. Let's do it.
Eric (1:26:32)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
We should, we should have her back on the pod. This is cool, we'll
talk about it because I was sworn to some secrecy when she got in the lottery because she didn't think she could run. And we'll talk about it later, but there are some things like, you know, it's her wedding anniversary for one. Is she gonna make her husband go out to Tokyo to watch her run a marathon? Yes, you are. But the real problem was she, I can say this actually, she had a vacation already planned.
Erika (1:26:44)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. ⁓ bummer. He's got to go to Tokyo, bummer.
Eric (1:27:05)
for the very beginning or the middle of February. So she just got home from that vacation and now she's flying out to Tokyo tonight, Tuesday night if you're listening. And she leaves at midnight, a direct flight, Tuesday night at midnight, Wednesday morning, straight to Tokyo. She lands there Thursday morning. Expo is on Friday. I think she's gonna do a little Instagram takeover on Expo Day. And then she's got the marathon on Sunday, Saturday for us. And we'll see if we can talk to her after. She will be over there.
Erika (1:27:13)
my gosh.
Yup.
Yay!
Eric (1:27:35)
It's not hard though, the internet is an amazing thing. So maybe we can get her on after the marathon for a quickie.
Erika (1:27:39)
I proved that one. I
really hope so. It's going to be awesome to find out about her experience. But I hope she goes out and finds all the cool stuff to do, eats all the food, just sees all the sights. It's going to be great.
Eric (1:27:52)
We have
four other pod fan members though out there running. Shout out to Ann Keen, shout out to Josh and Janine Vernon, and Kat Brown. It's gonna be so fun.
Erika (1:27:57)
Hell yes. Yup. Cab Brown, yes. ⁓
I'm so pumped for all of you. Like I said, if this is not a goal race for you, please just enjoy being out there. I know the time change is going to suck a little bit, but you'll get used to it. You're going to just have such an amazing time. It's honestly something else. It's so great. So have a freaking blast.
Eric (1:28:20)
Yeah, have fun. If you post
any stories, tag us and I'll reshare. Like, I'm excited to see everything you do, but Josh, I'm not resharing any Speedo pictures.
Erika (1:28:26)
Absolutely.
Josh, run Tokyo out there with your speedo on. that would be great. Do it. Do
Eric (1:28:36)
Josh, if Sam Adams takes you by
the way, they get to pick the outfit. They just need to say you're to wear what you have on in that photo. They might give you a special Sam Adams speedo, but that's what you're running in, You you did that to yourself, man.
Erika (1:28:43)
Do it!
Sorry to laugh. ⁓ that would be really, really fun for fun for everyone. I don't know. How is running a marathon in a speedo? Have you tried that yet, Josh? I don't know.
Eric (1:29:05)
I know. what the weather will be like that day. if
it's anything like 2018.
We'll talk more about Sam Adams in Boston maybe next week too. We gotta do like a poll in spring thing that we did for Tara. We gotta do that for someone special.
Erika (1:29:14)
Hope for better weather.
mean, yeah, we'll see.
well, the decision is made this coming Wednesday, so.
Eric (1:29:32)
Sam Adams, pick my girl Sixstar. Please pick Sixstar. Please. I say this, I know you guys think I'm not saying this truthfully and honestly, but I am because if she gets to run the Boston Marathon, I don't have to worry about next year or the year after. And I know she'll be all about doing the podcasting and the content and cheering at mile 19.2. So she can just run this year and get out of her system.
Erika (1:29:32)
Or it's Wednesday or Thursday.
I won't wear a Speedo, but I'm fun, I swear.
Eric (1:29:59)
I don't have to worry about it anymore. So I am your biggest fan right now.
Erika (1:30:01)
See?
literally crying, this is so funny. That was the best pitch I've ever heard. Thanks dude. Yep, and I'm not even drinking one today. I drank one on the pod the other day. Should have clipped it. Yeah, emergency pod. That was fun. I'm sorry, I don't know more about sports.
Eric (1:30:15)
last night for the emergency pod. Guys, I hope you enjoyed that too. And if I can, it's okay,
it was fun. Tara, thank you, came in clutch. She really helped with a lot of things. Like, yeah, yeah, she was awesome. A couple things. I did say one thing, and I've listened to so many podcasts in the last 24 hours, ours, about the gold medal game. And I made a comment about Matthew Kachuk. And I said, yeah, I don't know if he would actually be on the team or if he's even good enough. But what I...
Erika (1:30:25)
Thank you for knowing about sports.
Eric (1:30:45)
What I, know, stupidly didn't think about was everything he did to keep the distraction away from the team. So you always have these distractions and a lot of the Canadians have it, their best players have it because they're expected to deliver. Matthew Kachuk took that away because doing his stupid stuff or talking to the media, or he's just like, I'll talk and I'll say whatever I want to say. And the media keeps going to him for the hot takes and him for the lines, right? And the one-liners and everything.
Erika (1:30:52)
Mm-hmm.
So it's letting
the other players focus on what they need to focus on and, ⁓ okay.
Eric (1:31:15)
Right? Right? And he's
just a locker room guy. You need those glue guys. And you asked about Billy Garron and how he picked the team. And a lot of people were like, oh, he could have picked this goal scorer, that goal scorer. No, he built that team like the 1980 Olympic team where he built a team. And there's guys on that team for a reason. It's not to score goals. It's to kill penalties. Did you know I missed this? The USA did not allow one par play goal the entire tournament. And that five on three penalty kill for over a minute and a half in the second period that you slept through?
Erika (1:31:19)
Let's take it one for the team.
Hmm.
Eric (1:31:45)
was so clutch because of the team they picked and the guys they had on that team for a reason. And Matthew might not be on that team in four years, but he played such an important role on the, off the ice and also on the bench. So yeah, he earned it. And not going to say I was wrong by saying he didn't have a good tournament, but, ⁓ off the ice, man, he played a crucial role. So pumped for it. USA all the way.
Erika (1:31:46)
Yep.
Mm.
He earned a spot.
Good for him.
you
Mm-hmm. Gotcha.
Free bird, yeah.
Eric (1:32:16)
Men and women,
men and women. Last note, I know some people might be like, ⁓ cringe over a phone call in the locker room. Listen, hockey players are the best people in the world. There's no one better than a hockey player. They will do anything for you. Take your shirt off, they're back for you. ⁓ That was an awkward moment, I would say, in the locker room, on that phone call, for some of them, and when there was the laughing.
Those guys on that men's team are the biggest fans and supporters of that women's hockey team. And they've been huge supporters of them for the longest time. They go to all the Boston Fleet games. They go to all the USA women's games. They train together. They do so many cool things, camps and everything in the summer. They promote hockey together. They do so much together. It's not men versus women for the USA hockey. It is all together. you know.
I've seen a lot of that in the last 24 hours from people who want to say it and for good reason if they want to say it. No judgment. But I am going to defend those boys and those girls in USA hockey because
They're good people. And I can still hate the Kachuk brothers when they're not on USA and they're playing against Boston. They're dirty. They're dirty players. They're like a Brad Marshawn. You know, like you love to have them and you hate them when they play against you.
Erika (1:33:29)
you
you
Are they really? See, I don't watch enough.
I mean, I guess so. There you go.
Eric (1:33:46)
Yeah.
But anyways, Sam Adams, pick my girl six star. Erica, take us home.
Erika (1:33:54)
Thank you guys so much for sticking with us as always, and thank you for listening. You know we love you.
Eric (1:33:59)
Don't fear the code brown.
Erika (1:34:01)
Pick me, Sam Adams, and don't forget to stretch!
