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
218 | Jordan Marie | Running Boston for Team Eye and Ear
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Happy Friday! On todays episode we're joined byJordan Whitaker who is running the 130th Boston Marathon for Team Eye and Ear. We dive into the inspiring journey of Jordan, a passionate runner and discover her motivations, challenges, and insights into the world of long-distance running, charity fundraising, and the power of perseverance.
During the Tros, we recorded from different locations and had Ptara join us. We covered topics like Emma Bates and UCAN, Tiger Woods and we also dropped some pretty big news and teased more news to come for Boston in a couple weeks!
Chapters
- Intro (01:00)
- Supporting Friends and Crew Plans (06:00)
- Media Credentials for Boston 2026 (07:14)
- Introducing Jordan Whitaker (11:34)
- First Marathon and Charity Fundraising (13:16)
- Ultra Running Adventures (14:23)
- Building Running Stories and Relationships (15:36)
- Life in New Hampshire (22:07)
- College Athletics and Transfers (25:47)
- Passion for Running Ignited (29:52)
- First Boston Marathon Experience (35:34)
- Race Day Memories and Crowd Support (39:54)
- Team Eye and Ear (49:19)
- Winter Training and Family Life (55:45)
- Boston Race Weekend Traditions (60:42)
- Concert Moments and Hobbies (66:40)
- Meeting Celebrities and Fun Experiences (74:01)
- Jason's Ultra Challenge (84:22)
- Emma Bates and Sponsorship Issues (85:11)
- Importance of Relationships in Athletics (88:20)
- Celebrity Endorsements and Athlete Identity (92:07)
- Misinformation in Sports (94:12)
- Tiger Woods’ Legal Issues (95:28)
- Final Thoughts and Upcoming Events (100:36)
In this episode:
- Jordan’s story of running her first marathon after a breakup and the motivation behind her journey
- The emotional power of running for charity and her connection with Team Ioneer
- How she balances training as a busy mom and teacher, mostly on a treadmill during winter
- Her memorable Boston marathon experiences and her favorite parts of race weekend
- Insight into ultra running, including her first ultra experience and recovery from hamsters wheel
- Her relationship with Jared and her role as his guide during Boston
- The significance of sponsorships, NIL, and brand partnerships in modern athletics
- Her funny and heartfelt stories from concerts, country music, and family life
- Her perspective on celebrity moments and sports legends like Tiger Woods
Strava Group
Linktree - Find everything here
Instagram - Follow us on the gram
YouTube - Subscribe to our channel
Patreon - Support us
Threads
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 218 of the On the Runs podcast. Rain, rain, go away, but if this is what you need for a beautiful Marathon Monday, have at it. Boston Weeks has kicked off strong and we're about to drop some big news that we've been teasing for the past few weeks. We have an amazing guest today from one of the greatest states in the USA, but first, before we get to any of that, I must say hello to my kick-ass rock star of a co-host, the one who fixed the way you spell her name.
Six star Erica, what's up?
Erika (01:28)
What an April Fool's joke, huh, you guys? The K is here to stay.
Eric (01:34)
⁓ Kat Brown even said the C is greater than the K, but this is fun. Happy Friday Eve to you. It is Friday for everyone listening. It is rainy and we are recording off site because we're getting this in during a lunch break and we're proving to the world that you don't need a fancy podcast studio or any fancy gear or equipment to do a podcast. You just need to do it, right?
Erika (01:35)
Sorry.
Yes.
Yep, you can podcast in the car like yourself, in the office like me, or you can record at home like our good friend, Tara Taradactyl, who is also joining us today.
Ptara (02:09)
Yeah, I'm in my normal recording studio, aka my office, aka my kitchen table, aka lots of other things.
Erika (02:12)
Hell yes.
AKA AKA AKA. ⁓
Eric (02:18)
Where's
Jack and Arnold right now? Are they like, what's up with this midday recording?
Ptara (02:24)
They are snoozing on the couch. I told them that if they were quiet, I would take them for a W-A-L-K in a little bit, and I have to spell it.
Erika (02:30)
Mmm,
there we go.
Eric (02:32)
⁓
wait, you have to spell it because if you say the actual word, they get crazy. I know, I know, yeah.
Ptara (02:34)
Yeah, they will come running. Yep. Jack
can hear me when I eat my yogurt every morning when he hears me scrape the bottom of it. He comes bolting in from because he know he gets to lick it like I'm like, how can you hear that? It's so insane.
Eric (02:45)
you
Do you,
Erika (02:50)
Sonic.
Eric (02:50)
do they, do they enjoy walking in the rain?
Ptara (02:54)
yeah, they could care less what the weather is outside. They just want to go.
Eric (02:57)
Do they go for puddles? Like I took the boys on a little mile and a half hike yesterday around Livingston Park. I met it with a friend and his kids and they're all just about the puddles.
Ptara (03:07)
So Arnold is terrified of water, but he's just a mess to begin with. Jack loves the water, so he goes right through it. So I got one of each.
Erika (03:14)
Aww.
Eric (03:17)
I love it. I absolutely love that. We have a guest coming on in a few weeks. ⁓ Anyone who watches NBC Sports Boston will know this guest. Her dogs, they did not make any visual appearances, but they made a couple appearances on the pod. Making the noise, wagging the tails, doing all the fun things. Yeah, squeaky toys, that's right. It was, it was. So I actually asked Tara Tara to actually come on, on a whim, last minute. I didn't even know if you'd make it when I entered the studio.
Erika (03:17)
It's cute though.
Squeaky toys! It was pretty cute, pretty cute.
Eric (03:46)
for two reasons. One we'll talk about later. I want to talk and hear your thoughts on Tiger Woods. But also on Saturday, you and I will be recording live from the Cheap Marathon this year.
Ptara (03:52)
Mm.
Yes, I'm so excited about this one. was planning on going to cheer regardless and then when you needed me because your rock star of a kick, what is it? Kick ass of a rock star host is actually running. So I am the backup and I am happy to be podcasting and not running.
Eric (04:08)
Kick ass. Yes.
Not only is she running, she's going for a PR. Let's put the pressure on now. Like, she's going all in. You've been training. You said on the last episode, like, yeah, you might run 26.2 marathons a year, but only two of them for time, and this is one of them for time.
Ptara (04:17)
Hoo!
Erika (04:32)
Yep, yep, this is the one I've been training for all winter long, all of the sucky, cold, miserable weather. And I have to say, you're like, rain, yes, get the rain out of the way now so it's good for Marathon Monday. But I think there's the tiniest little window where my race on Saturday is not going to rain and I think it's gonna be like 56 degrees. I don't think I could be any happier about race day. Like, as long as it stays that way, I'm knocking on all the wood.
Eric (05:00)
So,
if you don't PR, what's your excuse?
Erika (05:05)
It wasn't my day, I don't know. I will be a little disappointed, but I'm trying to go for something big. if it doesn't happen, it's just maybe I'm not there yet training wise. I mean, I'm going to give it everything I got. I'm going to literally give it. I'm going to go full send. So I don't know what more I could say. Yes, actually, right after we talk, ⁓ I've got a call with Coach KJ, and she's ⁓ going to give me a good.
Ptara (05:07)
Hahaha
Eric (05:22)
Awesome. Do you have a plan?
Erika (05:33)
pacing plan to get me through and be smart about how I approach it. And I'm sure the last couple of miles will be just like, it. We'll see.
Eric (05:42)
All right,
well, you will not be making any content because I won't put pressure on you to make content when you're going for time and going for goals. But you will be coming to talk about it immediately after, as long as you're not like in an ambulance or passed out on the side. fact, no, actually,
Erika (05:49)
Mmm. Goals.
Yeah
Ooh.
Ptara (05:58)
No, let's not talk about those things. We
need to manifest positivity here.
Erika (06:06)
Thank you.
Eric (06:06)
No, but
let's just, we need to make sure we have all angles covered here. If you are in an ambulance, we're proving right now we can podcast from anywhere.
Ptara (06:13)
God.
Erika (06:14)
Sure,
just tape the phone to my hand and prop it up and I'll talk to you on a stretcher. You got it, whatever you want.
Eric (06:19)
⁓ I'll go easy, I'll
even just sit there and have the microphone and I'll just like hold the microphone for you. So Tara and I.
Erika (06:26)
Should I make you my
emergency contact and they'll just like have you go in the ambulance with me? He's like, I'm a little busy, she's fine.
Ptara (06:29)
No. Eric won't answer. He won't answer.
Eric (06:31)
Yeah, there you go. little busy
podcast on the live stream. So the hope is guys that Tara and I will be there. We're gonna show up around nine o'clock and that is after the start, but we really wanna be there for when everyone's finishing the half and the full. So it's gonna be about 1,500 runners and it is in a new spot this year. It's actually, it starts in Windham.
where it used to always start in Derry. It's gonna be much better, a big parking lot. We're gonna have an awesome presence. And anyone there running, come by, stop by, talk to us. We're also gonna do the TROs. So Erica, you have to finish, because we need to do the TROs for next week. And you don't wanna miss those TROs, because next week's a big one. And I've sworn Erica to secrecy. But that's next week. We got the race on Saturday. I'm excited. I think...
Erika (07:14)
yeah.
you
Eric (07:23)
our pod fam friend Wyatt's gonna be there.
Erika (07:27)
He is. I don't think he's actually staying with me, but he's not getting out of this one. This is his New Hampshire state and he needs it to finish the 50 states in the calendar year again. So he's got to show up. He'll be here regardless.
Eric (07:38)
All right.
Ptara (07:39)
I wonder
if he's gonna have a costume because last week he ran the Vegas one in a friggin slinky dog costume with his friend.
Erika (07:46)
Oh no no, that was
last year he did that one, but he was in a costume this year. He was in like one of those like, it's like a camouflage bush? Like what do they call those?
Ptara (07:50)
⁓
Eric (07:56)
I think,
Ptara (07:56)
right.
Eric (07:57)
I don't know, I feel like Tara's right. He posted the Slinky Dog.
Erika (08:01)
He posted it, but it was from last year.
Ptara (08:03)
I didn't realize that. That makes sense now because I did
Eric (08:03)
Okay, all right, Tara and I.
Ptara (08:06)
see the camouflage one and I was like, wait, did he wear two outfits? So.
Eric (08:10)
That
shows how far behind Tara and I are now that we're in our 40s and Erica is still in her 30s. She's with the times.
Ptara (08:16)
Yes.
Erika (08:18)
Yeah, that's why, yeah, sure.
Eric (08:21)
Well, Saturday is gonna be a lot of fun. We're gonna be there, hopefully, to get the live stream going on the YouTube, and then that episode will drop Thursday, because the big one's on Tuesday. But today is a big one, because we have some big news, we have an amazing guest, and I think, Erica, we need to drop our big news first. We've been teasing, we have big news coming. This is not the biggest of the news, but this is pretty big.
Erika (08:39)
Mm.
This is pretty big. As long as you're talking about what I think you're talking about because I don't have any show notes in front of me. So I feel like I should let you break the news so I don't break something I'm not supposed to.
Eric (08:55)
This year for the 2026, 130th running of the Boston Marathon, after 200 plus episodes and four plus years of doing this podcast, we have media credentials for the Boston Marathon. Insert, insert, insert, beep, beep.
Ptara (09:10)
Woo woo woo wait, where's the soundboard?
Erika (09:19)
my God. Yep, we are super pumped. We gotta give a big shout out to a future guest who encouraged us to apply for these. And yeah, who knows what we're gonna be able to do over the weekend besides what we're already going to be doing over the weekend. Wink, wink.
Eric (09:21)
This is pretty cool.
So the fun thing was Erica and I were filling out this application form at the same time, because we had to fill it our own. And we're like, well, what do we put down? General access, do you want access to this place, that place? There's all these options. You can pick as many as you want. And I was like, let's not, you know, this is number one. Let's just go general access. And the person, I'm going to shut him up, Chris Lotsbom
from the boss, he handles all Boston communications, media relations. He's like, no, you know what? We're also gonna give you media access to the photo tower and to the hotel and this. I'm like, all right, all right, cool. So this is cool. This is the first bit of big news we're dropping. The other bit of big news we're dropping next week, ⁓ it is out there publicly. It has been published, but we'll talk about it next week. All I'll say is,
If you plan on going to the mile 27 post-race party at the FanFest, buy your tickets because we'll be there.
Erika (10:40)
I know right? It was pretty cool. You had sent us a picture that I guess somebody sent you but yeah it's it's in writing like it is it is on the website so it's happening.
Ptara (10:40)
Cue the soundboard again!
Eric (10:56)
I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little ticious or stitious. Let me say that again. I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious, I guess. And I don't like telling the world until I see it in writing. And so I think we'll drop that next week, but we have some smart people here. They might figure it out. And I encourage you to, because I'm excited. And I encourage you to go get your FanFest tickets, which...
Erika (10:59)
Stitch them a little bit. Stitch this.
Yeah.
Eric (11:22)
By the way, the FanFest is free on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and it's only $5 on Monday. So that's not a lot. It's not like trying to go to Bruins games these days. It's $1,000 to take the whole family. Jesus Christ, Boston Bruins can nearly do something about those ticket prices. But we do have an amazing guest today. Erica, you do know who this is. Why don't you announce our guest?
Erika (11:32)
Ha ha!
Ptara (11:34)
crazy.
Hmm.
Erika (11:39)
You
I
do. We have one of my wonderful friends and a friend of the pod actually, our good friend Jared. So we have Jordan Whitaker on the pod today and she shares with us her whole Boston journey and she's actually doing some fundraising for the team that I fundraised for when I ran Boston back in 2018. So she is a member of team Eye and Ear, but for much better reasons than myself.
Eric (12:09)
Yeah, this one hits home for her, so it was incredible. We need to shout out and thank MyRaceTats for bringing us our incredible guest segment for Boston Weeks. Guys, did you see those MyRaceTat Boston ⁓ tattoos? I hope you already ordered them because they sold out. He already sold out and he did put an order in for more. I don't think he was expecting to sell that many that he sold, so they came out incredible. The cool thing about these tats.
Erika (12:16)
As always.
Boston strong.
Ooh!
Eric (12:39)
are that we all had a say, we all got to vote. If you follow MyRaceTats on Instagram, he put all these different designs and we all got to pick and vote for two of them. So the two designs he had are the winners and he's doing the same thing for Chicago and New York. So go follow MyRaceTats so you can vote for the designs of the race-themed tattoos. There's even Disney ones for you Disney runners. it's pretty cool. Thank you to Don and MyRaceTats and guys, enjoy.
Jordan Whitaker on the On the Runs and we'll see you on the other side.
Eric (13:16)
Our next guest on the pod has been someone we've talked about so many times I can't believe it took us this long to have her on for her own episode. She was the first person to greet me and give me a hug after the Manchester Marathon. She's a fellow penguin and she's the one who guided Jared through the Boston Marathon. And this year she's running for a team that holds a very close place to her heart. And I can't wait to have her on and hear her whole story. Jordan Whitaker, welcome to the On The Runs podcast. What's up?
Jordan Whitaker (13:43)
guys!
Erika (13:44)
So good to see you Jordan!
How have you been recovering since I last saw you, which I believe was probably hamster wheel? You were not having a good time after that, but I hope it went well.
Jordan Whitaker (13:55)
No,
I was really nauseous and really cold after hamster wheel. ⁓ It was cold, it was windy, it was my first ultra. Thanks, I didn't actually take much time off at all. I kind of just jumped straight into Boston training and didn't cut miles down very much. Probably not the best advice, not the best advice, but that's what I did.
Erika (14:00)
That was a rough one, that was.
You kicked ass though.
Hmm.
True ultra runner form. True ultra runner.
Eric (14:23)
realized now I messed
up my intro already. I, Ultra Runner. I didn't even know that. Ultra Runner, Jordan Whitaker on the podcast.
Erika (14:28)
Now you do put like a star.
Eric (14:32)
man, I'm excited to have you on. I mentioned in the intro, you were the first person to greet me at the Manchester Marathon. And I remember that day very well because I thought logistically it was the right marathon for me. It's five minutes down the street from my house. But instead I'm driving 40 minutes to drop the kids off at my parents, driving 40 minutes back. I'm getting in hot during the national anthem. And as I finally just like run into the line, you like tap me on the shoulder and you say hi. And it's the first time we met.
Jordan Whitaker (14:47)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (14:49)
you
Jordan Whitaker (14:51)
you
Erika (14:56)
Yeah, you came in on two wheels.
Jordan Whitaker (15:02)
It was.
Eric (15:02)
I
run the marathon and you're right there at the finish line waiting for me to greet me.
Jordan Whitaker (15:07)
was waiting for a couple of friends, but yeah, I ran the half that day.
Eric (15:11)
I don't know what it was, but there
was something in that moment when I walked up to you. I just got my medal and I'm like out of breath and I'm just like, I gave you a big hug, but I think I was, we're so asking you to hold me.
Erika (15:24)
The comfort of friends.
Eric (15:26)
Yeah, brand new friend. That was awesome. That was so much fun. But yeah, we've been talking about you for years on the pod, feel. Jared is one who kind of broke the ice and told us who you were. And then Erica goes, you're penguin.
Jordan Whitaker (15:36)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (15:39)
Mm-hmm.
Jordan Whitaker (15:39)
I
am, I've run Reach the Beach with the Penguins.
Erika (15:43)
We're so happy to have you. I think at that point I was, I had transitioned to the ultra team. So we were a couple of penguins short on the, on the regular team and you stepped right up. We got you and you, you kick ass. So.
Jordan Whitaker (15:53)
I got convinced... I got convinced in
August to run that year, but I did. Yep. I just stepped in.
Erika (15:59)
Okay, so lots of time, like you usually have to prep. That's great.
Eric (16:04)
Now we must have a lot of
like mutual connections because who got you on the penguins?
Jordan Whitaker (16:09)
⁓ Danielle, she is the school resource officer at my kid's school. And so she reached out and asked if I would join. And I was like, all right, I guess I can run reach the beach again.
Erika (16:20)
It was like pulling teeth for you.
so you've done it before and you were like, no, I'm not doing it anymore, but she kind of got you in on it.
Jordan Whitaker (16:29)
Yeah,
so I ran, before I had kids, ran on a really fast team before it was fully transitioned to Ragnar. It was a Reebok Ragnar still. And we ran it in like 23 hours.
Erika (16:41)
Okay.
Eric (16:46)
Is that fast?
Erika (16:48)
Yeah, dude, think about it. Do the math. 200 miles in
23 hours? No, thank you.
Jordan Whitaker (16:54)
Yeah, it
Eric (16:54)
Is it exactly
Jordan Whitaker (16:55)
was,
Eric (16:55)
200 miles?
Jordan Whitaker (16:56)
yeah, it's like 210 or something, something around there. Yeah. And so I ran on that team. And then the following year I ran on a five person ultra.
Erika (16:57)
I think it's over.
Yeah, I knew it was a little over. They say ish for a reason, but.
⁓ a five person. ⁓ girl. I can see why your perception of it would not be as great at this point.
Jordan Whitaker (17:14)
Yeah, it was not, it was hard. And then I got pulled
onto it, like somebody randomly asked me that I knew Savannah Moon and I ran on a team with them, but a lot of people had said they were faster than they were. And it took us like a very long time to finish. And after that, I was like, I might never run, reach the beach again. And then I went back again.
Erika (17:33)
Mm-hmm.
Until now!
did the penguins treat you? Did you only do it the one year or have you? You've been going every year now, haven't you?
Jordan Whitaker (17:43)
It was good.
I
did not run it last year because I was doing hamster wheel and I decided that was too much, too close together and I was not gonna do it. I didn't know what my first ultra was gonna look like, how it was gonna go. I decided Reach the Beach wasn't it.
Erika (17:54)
Smart move, smart move, no judgment.
There you go.
Eric (18:04)
just want to come in here and tell you I googled
it. A 210 mile race in 23 hours flat is 6 minutes 34 seconds per mile.
Jordan Whitaker (18:13)
So I was the slowest runner on our team and my long run was like 7.55 in the middle of the night.
Erika (18:13)
It's gross.
girl.
Eric (18:22)
Wow! Did you guys win?
Erika (18:24)
Yeah
Jordan Whitaker (18:25)
We came in first place in our division. We were the
second team to cross the finish line. There was an ultra team of men that beat us.
Erika (18:34)
Unreal. But hey, nice work.
Eric (18:34)
I I remember this. I think I
Jordan Whitaker (18:36)
We came
Eric (18:37)
remember
Jordan Whitaker (18:37)
accru-
Eric (18:37)
like this men's team making a video about it and it was like a super fast video and that's like the best time ever for a reach the beach.
Jordan Whitaker (18:44)
They, and they, that was before they had like checkpoints. So we didn't ever get held back. So I can remember, you could just go. And I remember coming through an intersection. I was in van two, the second to last runner. And I remember coming through an intersection in Hampton and the police weren't there yet. We finished the race and the beer garden wasn't open. Like they weren't allowed, they weren't allowed to serve us.
Erika (18:50)
You could just go
you
So you guys were just waiting around like come
Eric (19:07)
Well, you did it wrong then.
Jordan Whitaker (19:11)
They literally told us they couldn't serve us until I don't know what time it was and we were like, are you kidding?
Erika (19:16)
So it doesn't pay to be that fat.
Eric (19:17)
You did it wrong. You
should have slowed down.
Jordan Whitaker (19:19)
Yes, apparently we should
have gone slower that year. Yes. It's all right.
Erika (19:23)
Yeah, you live and you learn. But like I said, I
Eric (19:24)
Yeah.
Erika (19:25)
was going to say once a penguin, always a penguin. So if you decide to do it again, awesome. But if that was your year, then still a penguin.
Jordan Whitaker (19:29)
Yes.
We'll see what happens because I have Marine Corps this fall.
Erika (19:38)
Excellent.
Jordan Whitaker (19:40)
Yeah,
so we'll see Reach the Beaches more doable on a marathon, I feel like, than with an ultra. An ultra was a lot.
Erika (19:45)
I mean, you've done all the
more mileage. You know you can handle the marathon.
Jordan Whitaker (19:50)
Yeah,
yes, that's what I felt.
Eric (19:53)
Yeah, you've tested
all the waters, it seems. Yeah. I have yet to dabble in that ultra scene, but I have a thought process to when I will.
Erika (19:55)
She has.
Jordan Whitaker (19:56)
A little bit of everything,
yes.
Erika (20:01)
working on it.
Jordan Whitaker (20:04)
So Jared was the push to get me to run an ultra. And I think it might have been one and done. I think that might be it.
Eric (20:14)
Could have been a bad experience, like maybe
you just gotta do the right one. Not that Hamster Wheel's the wrong one, but it's the elements. That was a wicked cold weekend, right?
Jordan Whitaker (20:23)
It was cold, it was windy, and I'm gonna be honest, I don't ever look at courses before I run them. And so like, I had no idea it's out and back and out and back and out and back, and then like a tiny little loop. I just knew I was going to do 12 hours. And there was something dead on the side of the trail last year, and it smelled terrible.
Erika (20:24)
It was.
It gets boring.
Eric (20:37)
Well, you know it.
Erika (20:41)
You
Eric (20:42)
Are you sure you weren't hallucinating? Okay.
Jordan Whitaker (20:45)
It
Erika (20:46)
can vouch
for that because I did a few laps as like a pacer and people are like, hold your nose. And I'm like, why? And then you're like, ⁓ this is why. And it was only like just a tiny little chunk and then you're past it, but then you have to come right back through and yeah, it adds up.
Jordan Whitaker (20:47)
was so bad.
Yeah.
Yeah, but over and over and over again. Not good.
Eric (21:01)
Yeah, you know what they say
about looped courses like hamster wheels a looped course anchor downs loop course You know what they say about loop courses
They're pointless.
Jordan Whitaker (21:12)
You
Erika (21:14)
Shut up. That was good actually, I really liked that.
Eric (21:14)
You
Jordan Whitaker (21:14)
It's true.
Eric (21:20)
Jordan, let's get to know you. Like, I feel like we've been following you vicariously through Instagram, seeing you at events like this, like Reach the Beach, the Marathon, Hamster Wheel last year. We've heard a lot about you from Jared, but we don't really know much about you. Tell us a little bit about who Jordan is.
Jordan Whitaker (21:21)
you
Erika (21:22)
you
Jordan Whitaker (21:38)
I'm a teacher, gym teacher in Hopkinson. I have two young kids. They're six and eight, almost seven and nine. I like to go to country music concerts. I prefer summer when it's warm. I don't really like the cold. I live on the treadmill in the winter. I am. I've lived in New Hampshire my whole life, but I hate the cold. I hate it.
Erika (21:52)
Mmm.
You and I, two peas.
Eric (21:56)
Where you from originally? Are you a New Hampshire girl?
So
Erica's the same way and she, you know, the opportunity has come up recently and I'm like, you could just move. You can go anywhere, but she won't leave New Hampshire. Why, why won't the two of you leave if you don't like it? The cold I'm talking about.
Erika (22:07)
Two peas in a pod, telling you.
want to.
Jordan Whitaker (22:16)
Why though?
Erika (22:19)
It's trading, it's
trading weather for friends. And how can you do that? Like friends, family are here. I mean, I do have some family in the South, but I mean, my, my support system's here. And even though I hate it, I love it. It's hard to explain. You get it? Exactly.
Jordan Whitaker (22:31)
Mm-hmm.
people I don't like the weather. If everyone
would go with me it would be fine.
Erika (22:41)
That's a different story.
Jordan Whitaker (22:43)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (22:44)
Erica, take them with you. I'm
on the side of I love the summer and I love the winter. Fall is nice and spring is nice, but there's that period in between that sucks. It's like fall, yeah, like right now, winter's over, but it's not really warm yet. We get a couple of nice days. The end of fall is the worst really, to be honest. The end of fall. Fall's over, the leaves are dead, but winter's not here yet. There's no snow, there's no skiing. It's just miserable.
Erika (22:54)
Mm.
Jordan Whitaker (22:55)
Like right now.
Erika (23:02)
Mm.
Mmm.
Jordan Whitaker (23:13)
Yeah, my kids started snowboarding this year, so I went back to snowboarding and it wasn't as bad of a winter, but it's still cold and like, no thank you.
Erika (23:19)
you
Eric (23:23)
I love it.
Erika (23:24)
You can't
get me outside in that. Nope.
Eric (23:25)
It's not about us. It's not about me. ⁓ It's about you. So you grew up here. Like, what did you do? You play sports? Were you a runner then? Were you an ice hockey player? Cause you're a big winter person.
Jordan Whitaker (23:31)
I did.
Absolutely no ice hockey. I played soccer up through my freshman year of college. I played basketball of high school. I track. We never really practiced. used to, well, because you see, we parked our car and in my high school, it was like all of the schools in a row. And so we parked our car at the elementary school. And then we would run down the road to our car and we would go to like Duncan or McDonald's or any place a high school kid would go. And then
Eric (23:43)
no way.
How do you cheat?
Erika (23:49)
you
Jordan Whitaker (24:06)
have all the snacks and then we'd come back to the car and it was uphill and so we'd sprint up the hill and then it looked like we'd been on a long run.
Eric (24:12)
my God. We would make Dunkin' Donuts or Wendy's runs
Erika (24:16)
This is like a life hack.
Eric (24:20)
in the middle of like a, not a class, but like a study period. Like we never, I enjoyed the practice part, but that's funny.
Jordan Whitaker (24:26)
no. And then you had
to, then you'd have to go run like the two mile and you'd be like, and it was terrible out of me.
Erika (24:31)
I'm full of Dunkin's and nuggets.
Eric (24:33)
It's like you've been practicing so
hard, why isn't it showing in the game? What school was this?
Jordan Whitaker (24:37)
Yeah, it was bad.
I went to Hillsborough Deering High School. So I went to a little school.
Eric (24:42)
Okay. All right.
My schools were similar set up. The middle and high school are next to each other and all those fields and parking and everything was right there in the middle alongside it. And I do know like a lot of kids did similar things. Like some of the distance runners would, the slow ones, they would run a little bit and then stop and then run back when the rest of us come back and act like, yeah, that was a great five ball run.
Jordan Whitaker (25:05)
It ⁓
was a great idea back then. So no, I did not run.
Eric (25:07)
Yeah, it was fun.
Erika (25:09)
Look at you now!
Eric (25:10)
Back then without phones, no YouTube, no internet. Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (25:13)
You wouldn't get caught. That's the difference. can't, you
didn't get caught. Now it'd be all over the place. You couldn't get away with it. No, absolutely not.
Eric (25:18)
They couldn't do it. They couldn't get away with it. Yeah.
Erika (25:21)
Those are the good old days.
Eric (25:23)
Yeah. We got away with so much shit.
Erika (25:23)
We really grew up in like the prime era. We did. We did.
Jordan Whitaker (25:28)
I told
Eric (25:28)
There's no cameras to see it.
Jordan Whitaker (25:28)
my kid that the other day. McKenna was like, mom, when I'm older, I'm like, you can't, I did everything and got away with it. You will not get away with anything.
Erika (25:38)
Nice try, kid.
So you did a little running in high school, and then you said you played just one year in college of soccer. Where'd you go to school?
Jordan Whitaker (25:47)
I spent my first semester at UMaine Farmington and I played soccer there. That was not a place for me. I didn't do well. I did, I transferred out and I went to, I spent the next four years at Keene State.
Erika (25:50)
Mm-hmm. Mm. OK.
Did you wind up transferring or just no more? Okay.
Very nice, very nice. Did you play any sports there too?
Eric (26:06)
You would have gone south maybe
if you hated the cold you went north to Maine
Jordan Whitaker (26:10)
So, it's a funny story. I didn't really know where I wanted to go and I accepted at Bridgewater State in Mass. And then I went to orientation. I was like, that's too big. No, thank you. You may not had a full ride open for me until the day soccer started. ⁓ Farmington. And so I went and I played soccer for a semester and hated it. Transferred back to Keene.
Erika (26:10)
You
Mm.
Eric (26:24)
Up in Orno. ⁓
Erika (26:26)
Farmington.
⁓
So Keane was more your style, the vibes you liked, good. Did you do any sports while you were there?
Jordan Whitaker (26:38)
Keen was fun. Yep, I had a good time with Keen.
I did not, I didn't do well academically when I played soccer. I did a lot of partying. So, was a great time. I had a great time. I just didn't go to class. I was the only freshman on the team. So, my parents were like, we're not helping pay for college if you think you're playing soccer and Keen. I was like, fair, okay. We're not playing soccer anymore.
Erika (26:48)
College, college. Mm-hmm. No shame.
Eric (26:49)
I mean, that was the thing to do. That's what Erica and I did.
Erika (27:05)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Eric (27:09)
mean, you know what, that's fine because I think then you get to experience college in a different way. You're not an athlete, you know, have to be at practice, have to do well, worried about soccer. Right.
Erika (27:18)
pressure with the collegiate athletes, especially
like if it's a good school. I feel like Plymouth was never that great. Not that I could even play there, I don't know. We weren't D1 or anything.
Jordan Whitaker (27:23)
Mm-hmm.
you
Eric (27:31)
Erica rode the pine
Jordan Whitaker (27:31)
Yeah.
Eric (27:32)
on the soccer team in high school. but in college, but in call, there you go. But in college, you're allowed to like do the, you can do clubs. can, you can join a soccer club and play just pickup soccer. did boxing club, believe it or not. Erica and I met in a club called Monday night fun club. Like you get to do those things and there's no pressure. You know what I mean? You just.
Erika (27:34)
I did. I was the best bench warmer there was.
Jordan Whitaker (27:38)
That was a good basketball bench warmer.
Erika (27:40)
Perfect.
Monday Night Fun Club.
Eric (27:59)
You need a break from studying from school? You go do this club and you have some fun.
Jordan Whitaker (28:03)
It was definitely more fun at Key and State. There was a lot less pressure. I wasn't like mandatory lifting and practice. It was a lot more low key. Like you can go, you can have fun. If you don't win, it's fine. Nothing happens.
Erika (28:13)
Perfect.
Love that.
Eric (28:15)
Yeah.
But then when he do win the intramural championship, which we won one year, we celebrated hard, We won in floor hockey and we beat guys on the hockey team. They're all fifth year seniors, so they were no longer eligible to play in the NCAA, but they had to finish school. We beat them. It was awesome. Says a lot for the Plymouth State hockey team back then.
Jordan Whitaker (28:19)
then you celebrate real hard.
you
Erika (28:34)
Ha ha ha ha.
Jordan Whitaker (28:36)
Perfect!
Maybe not so much. It's all right.
Erika (28:41)
Our sports were not top notch.
Eric (28:45)
Keene State though.
So did you like Keene State? Because I actually chose between Keene and Plymouth and I wanted the mountains. Again, we know I love the mountains. I love the winter. What brought you to Keene?
Jordan Whitaker (28:56)
It was not super far from home. It was like 45 minutes from home. They have a good education program. And I had a couple friends that were there from high school and they had really good parties. We had a great time. We had a great time.
Erika (29:06)
Awesome.
It's a double whammy. It's perfect.
Eric (29:13)
Not as good as Plume Estate though. Right Erica? Would Playboy rate us?
Erika (29:18)
We're number one. We're number one. In 1989, what year was it? 1990 something? 94, okay. I it was way back then.
Jordan Whitaker (29:21)
Perfect. That was a long time ago.
Eric (29:24)
94, 94.
Erika (29:28)
So enough about partying, even though it was so fun. I miss my college days. I was actually just looking through a bunch of pictures this past weekend and I'm like, man, these were the days, the digital camera pictures that like live on some external flash drive somewhere, but I digress. But we want to find out what really sparked your love for running and especially now because you're out there doing the damn thing all the time, Miss Ultra Runner. So what kept it going?
Jordan Whitaker (29:52)
So my
first marathon was 2015 and I had gone through a knocker eight breakup and in that breakup he said something about how I would never run a marathon. And that day I signed up to run Vermont City because what else would you do? What else would you do except sign up to run the marathon? I ran it.
Erika (30:06)
I love those kind of stories where you're like, I'm going show you. You don't ⁓ know what, you don't know me. Of course, of course. It's a challenge.
Jordan Whitaker (30:19)
And then I signed up to run 2016 because I didn't love how well I ran and that year was like 100 degrees at Vermont City and they called it and I was at mile 19 and I cried. I cried. Nope, they pulled everybody off course with a black flag and I cried. From there, that's the year.
Erika (30:26)
Ugh.
no, you didn't even get to finish. that's tough.
I believe that.
Eric (30:39)
Did you have like
in your head what you were gonna say or what you're gonna post? Like, you know what I mean?
Jordan Whitaker (30:44)
Well, no, I didn't.
Erika (30:45)
Wasn't my fault!
Jordan Whitaker (30:46)
I never said anything to him. That comes later. I never said anything to him about it. I just did it. Whatever.
He is now a cop in New Hampshire and there are people in the running community that are also police at the same station and there have been pictures like at finish lines, like left in the break room that have disappeared after a day or two. So it is out there. It is known. I didn't have to say anything.
Eric (31:08)
Yes!
But that's, that's incredible. Okay. So, but what sucks is what happened at the race. So how do you continue on past that? Like where you're like, I got it. I got to finish this.
Jordan Whitaker (31:13)
HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE
I ran, reached the beach for the first time. I got pulled onto that team, that really fast reach the beach team where we ran in 23 hours, through people that I work with. I was coaching high school girls soccer at the time in Hopkinson and one of the moms was supposed to be on the team. And she's like, I just found out like a week before that I'm gonna be away at a work meeting. My husband's gonna kill me. I need you to fill in. You don't have to pay for it. You just have to show up and run. And I was like, great, I can do that.
Erika (31:32)
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Jordan Whitaker (31:54)
Then I had McKenna and then I had Lucas and I took time off in between and then it was COVID. And I had a friend try and convince me to run a half and I was like, yeah, I'll run a half. and in there I'd run a couple of torch runs from Concord to UNH with the Hopkinson Police Department. So then I was like, yeah, whatever. I signed up to run the cheap half. I got put on the wait list and I was like, great, I'm not gonna have to run. I didn't train.
Erika (32:02)
Mmm.
Eric (32:02)
Okay.
Erika (32:13)
Mm-hmm.
And then...
Jordan Whitaker (32:23)
I did nothing.
And then like two weeks before I got pulled off the wait list.
Eric (32:27)
You're in.
Erika (32:28)
So, wait, you hadn't
been training much at all for this because you didn't expect it.
Jordan Whitaker (32:32)
had been running
short three, four, nothing. I went out and ran one nine mile run and I was like, all right, I'm gonna do it.
Erika (32:36)
⁓
Okay.
Eric (32:40)
All
right. Hold on though, real quick. I want to back up. Let's go back to the boyfriend who said you'll never run a marathon. What sparked him to say that? Like, were you trying in your, at the time? Were you a runner?
Jordan Whitaker (32:43)
Yeah.
I had run
a half and I did not do well and I had said I always wanted to run a marathon, specifically Boston. And so he knew that like that would make me upset. And I was like, fine, I will run a marathon. The next one I can sign up for. And he was trying to crush it and I was like, no, you can't tell me I'm not going to. Now I have to right now.
Erika (32:58)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (33:06)
Okay. So you were running and it was a dream of yours and he, yeah, it was a trigger. It was a trigger.
Erika (33:15)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (33:16)
Have you ever looked back at that? And if he never said that, like, do you think your path would have changed?
Jordan Whitaker (33:25)
think, I don't think I would have gone into marathons as quickly as I did, because I'd only ever run one half before I jumped to a full. But I think I would have tried a marathon, but I don't know when it would have been. And I don't think that I would have run as many now or run an ultra had that not happened.
Erika (33:32)
Mm-hmm.
Gotcha.
Are you happy with the way that you're, are you happy with the way that things have transitioned since then? Like, are you, you like your path.
Eric (33:45)
gonna clip that and put that in the police department. No, I'm kidding.
Jordan Whitaker (33:48)
Yes,
I do. Yeah, no, marathon is definitely one of my favorite, that and a half.
Eric (33:54)
Yeah.
I love that because we never knew that. So that's one of those cool stories within the journey, as I always say, everyone has a journey, but there's a story within it and I found it. That's a good one. Ah, never trained back to the cheap marathon. How did that go? Like half marathon, no training.
Jordan Whitaker (34:05)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Erika (34:08)
Mm-hmm.
Jordan Whitaker (34:16)
I ran
the half in a 2.04, 2.05, and I beat my friend that convinced me to run it by like two minutes. then she was like, are you serious? I was like, I don't know.
Erika (34:21)
Mm-hmm. That's great.
Eric (34:21)
Not a big deal.
Erika (34:30)
So the talent's coming through. You're like, all right, COVID's happening. can train. Now that I know I can do this, maybe things will pick up.
Jordan Whitaker (34:31)
And so...
And so then
I, Crystal Buckley had always helped me with my run coaching. And so then I was like, all right, let's try another full. I want to go back to a full. I had never, I had run like a five hour full. It's the only one I'd finished. And I was like, Crystal, I want to run under a 430. And she was like, all right. And so I signed up and I ran Hartford, Connecticut. I went to Hartford on a Friday night.
Erika (34:42)
we love Crystal.
Mm-hmm.
Awesome.
Jordan Whitaker (35:03)
all by myself, I knew nobody down there, I stayed in a hotel and I went and I ran Hartford. And I ran it in, I don't remember, was under a 430.
Erika (35:13)
So you're like, all right, I got this. Like, now we're talking.
Jordan Whitaker (35:15)
I was like, okay. And that's when I
signed up to run my, got on a charity team for my first Boston.
Eric (35:22)
Yeah.
Erika (35:22)
That's so exciting.
So it's been your dream for since at least 2015, right? And you're finally like, all right, now my dream can start to be realized. So which charity team did you work with the first time around?
Jordan Whitaker (35:29)
Yep.
Mm-hmm.
The first time I ran for Gronk Nation Youth Foundation. So I ran for Rob Gronkowski's charity.
Erika (35:39)
awesome.
Very cool. Did you get to meet him? ⁓ such else.
Eric (35:43)
Did you get to meet Gronk?
Jordan Whitaker (35:44)
We did.
Yes, more
Eric (35:47)
Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (35:48)
than once now. And I love Gronk. We did a workout with him Tom Brady's gym. We did a workout with Gronk and then he signed jerseys for all of us. And then we got to have an after party with the marathon with him. And then
Eric (35:53)
Again, not a big deal.
Jordan Whitaker (36:07)
this past August when he opened his playground in Boston, we all got a personal invitation to go down to the grand opening because we'd all fundraised for that playground. So the kids and I got to go and he like raced them across the playground and was like playing with them. Yeah, it was really cool. It was fun.
Erika (36:16)
⁓
Cool.
Are your kids Pats fans? Like, did they realize how cool of a moment that was?
Jordan Whitaker (36:31)
I don't think they did until after. Yeah, they like get it now a little bit, but they were like, why are we going here?
Erika (36:32)
Probably cooler for you than it was for them, okay.
kids.
Eric (36:39)
Can I just
say the Gronk Nation singlet is awesome. It looks amazing. is this from the year? Yeah, this is that year.
Jordan Whitaker (36:40)
you
Erika (36:42)
awesome. ⁓ look at you!
Jordan Whitaker (36:44)
Mm-hmm. That was my first Boston. Yep,
that is that first Boston. Yep.
Eric (36:52)
It looks like an amazing day. there's the man, Jared.
Jordan Whitaker (36:54)
There's
Erika (36:54)
Jared!
Jordan Whitaker (36:55)
that's
my second Boston and his first.
Eric (36:57)
Okay. So
we're getting a little ahead with a second, but back to the, um, back to the grok nation. That looked like a beautiful day. I love first marathon stories, but I actually, since this is Boston week, I want to hear your first Boston marathon story.
Jordan Whitaker (37:04)
Yeah.
All right, so I got in contact with Susan Hurley who's since passed, but she ran charity teams and I had phone interview with her and she offered me a Boston bib to run for Gronk Nation. So I accepted it.
Eric (37:30)
So is she like deciding who you should run for?
Jordan Whitaker (37:33)
You had
to apply to the charities. And so then she would do a phone interview with you if she thought it was gonna be a good fit. Yeah, you still have to apply to all of the charities. And so I accepted the Gronk Nation, but I'm having no idea how I was gonna fundraise.
Eric (37:36)
Okay.
Erika (37:46)
Ciao.
What was
Eric (37:53)
But
Erika (37:53)
your fundraising goal?
Eric (37:53)
you knew you had to fundraise, like, what was the number?
Erika (37:56)
Was it a lot?
Jordan Whitaker (37:58)
8,000.
Eric (37:59)
Okay. It's still really high.
Erika (37:59)
Yep, still a staggering number, especially like
when you're first time fundraising, you're like, oh boy.
Jordan Whitaker (38:05)
Uh-huh. And I was like, I don't know how I'm do it, but I'm going to run Boston. And I can't even tell you what I did for fundraisers, but I ended up making the amount and going to Boston. ⁓ That day was a perfect day. was like 55 and sunny with a light breeze.
Erika (38:17)
Mm-hmm.
wow, I don't think you could get a more perfect Boston.
Eric (38:23)
What year?
Jordan Whitaker (38:30)
2022? I think 22. No, that was the next spring. So October happened. I think that was 21 and then 22 was like seven months later. Yeah. And so we couldn't even accept charity bibs until after the fall race had happened. They couldn't even open charity applications. So it was an even shorter window to fundraise. I didn't find out to like...
Eric (38:31)
Was that the October race?
The first spring back. Yeah.
Erika (38:41)
Mmm.
no.
Jordan Whitaker (38:53)
November, December that I was gonna go be going to Boston?
I did. And it was like perfect weather. I ran the fastest marathon I'd ever run at that point. It was a 416 in Boston and I was so happy to be down there. It was so much fun.
Erika (39:08)
beautiful
So at that point, if you're running Boston and what did you train for? Like, were you going just for another sub 430 or like, all right, so you knew you wanted to do a little bit better, but I'm sure.
Jordan Whitaker (39:24)
Yep, but I didn't,
I had no time idea whatsoever. In that training plan, I'd gone and I'd run Clearwater Half Marathon and I'd run a 147 or 148 there and came in fourth female. And so I was like riding this wave of like, yes, I just ran my fastest marathon, now my fastest half. I was like, all right, maybe I can do this in Boston.
Erika (39:28)
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
That's incredible. Jordan.
Yep.
my gosh. I just know like Boston's course can be a little bit intimidating if you've never run it before, because you just hear about the Hills and you're like, God, what am I in for? Okay.
Jordan Whitaker (39:54)
You just go in blind. That's what I did. Nope, I'd
never looked. I'd heard about the hills. I just never looked.
Erika (40:02)
That seems on brand for you, right? You're like, nope, just gonna go runnin' it.
Jordan Whitaker (40:04)
just never looked and I was like,
we're just gonna see what happens. had no, I mean, I had heard of heartbreak kill, but I had no idea what that logistically looked like and how hard it was at that point in a race.
Erika (40:13)
Uh-huh.
So would you, so at this point, if you're running like a, a 1 47 half, like that will translate to the marathon, but how did the crowds help you get through this? Like it must've been the perfect spectating day. If it was a perfect running day, must've been great for spectating too.
Jordan Whitaker (40:30)
It was great.
I remember turning off my headphones for a lot of that first Boston and not running with music. And I had always run with music, but there was just so many people out on the Boston course when it's a nice day and they're so loud the whole way. had never, I mean, I ran Hartford and there's an out and back that's like five miles of no people in cow pasture. So coming into Boston, coming into Boston where there's people everywhere, I was like, this is great.
Erika (40:38)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (40:51)
That's tough.
Erika (40:58)
Yep.
Jordan Whitaker (40:58)
the crowds definitely
help in a big marathon.
Eric (41:01)
Are you one who typically runs with music? Yeah.
Erika (41:01)
It's kind of,
Jordan Whitaker (41:05)
⁓ yeah, there have been marathons I've been forced to run without it. But yes, ⁓ revel and ⁓ my second Boston, I was walking to the start growl at Jared and my headphones wouldn't turn on. And I got really mad, got really mad and threw them and left them on the side of the street in Hopkinson.
Erika (41:09)
Which ones? Wait for- ⁓ Revel.
no!
I was thinking like the worst though, like somebody was like, hey, you can't use those. But like literally we're just having a malfunction. No, ⁓ God. So I can see, yes, that's why rainy runs are not your jam either. ⁓ my God.
Eric (41:27)
Was that?
Right.
Jordan Whitaker (41:31)
No, no, like, Rebel, stopped working in the rain.
Eric (41:36)
Okay. Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (41:38)
You
No, I'm done with it.
Eric (41:43)
That second
Boston, that was the Boston when Jared, what, forgot his watch?
Jordan Whitaker (41:48)
That was the third Boston. No, the second Boston is ⁓ shortly after I'd met Jared, actually. That was.
Eric (41:49)
Okay. I'm really jumping around, but.
How did that?
Okay, let's hear this story. I know it's not a love story, but it's a friendship story.
Erika (42:04)
love story. Still counts.
Jordan Whitaker (42:05)
It is. So I had gotten into my first Boston and a kid that I went to high school with was in the army with Jared. And this kid Slade knew that I had run Boston and then him and Jared were friends. They must have been talking about Jared wanting to run Boston. And he was like, listen, I know one girl that's run, this is her. And he gave him my Instagram.
So Jared messaged me on Instagram, no idea who this guy is, and explained Slade and talked for a while. And ⁓ I told him how I had gotten into Boston through charity teams. And a few days later, ⁓ there was a post about how there was a bib open, a last minute bib open in February. And so I told him, and he got it.
Erika (42:31)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
my God. So what
team was it for? And he had to do the whole fundraising thing, right? that's scary.
Jordan Whitaker (43:02)
Millet. He did. I'm pretty sure he
paid a lot of it though that year. It was.
Erika (43:09)
That's how they get you.
If you don't do it, they put you on the hook and your credit card's
Jordan Whitaker (43:14)
Military,
something military was his ⁓ team that he ran for, but it was through charity teams. And that year I was running for team Ioneer. So I wasn't even running with charity teams, but we found a bib. He was still living in New Hampshire at the time. So then he donated. Then we ended up doing a few runs together. He had driven to Hillsborough and we'd run together a few times. And then we ran
Erika (43:25)
Gotcha.
Mm-hmm.
Jordan Whitaker (43:43)
Eastern States 20-miler together. And that was windy and cold. I was like, this is awful. But we ran all but like one mile of that together. And then we ran a couple more times before Boston. And then we ended up running all but the last three miles of that Boston Marathon together. And I was glad because that's the year my headphones wouldn't turn on.
Erika (43:49)
Uh-huh. That's very on brand for that race.
Awesome.
You need a friend. Sometimes the crowds don't carry you the whole way,
Eric (44:14)
Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (44:14)
We talked the
whole 23 miles that we ran together.
Erika (44:20)
That's so fun. ⁓ Jared.
Eric (44:21)
And then, so
you built this relationship and Jared, we all know his story, but he's considered, ⁓ a disabled athlete. And so disabled athletes get guides. One year he decided to return the favor and he asked you to be his guide.
Jordan Whitaker (44:26)
Yes.
Mm-hmm. They do. The following year, the
following year he asked me to be his guide in Boston. And so I obviously said yes, going back to like, nobody's going to say no going back to Boston, not fundraising, not paying, just going to Boston. So the following year, even though he is much faster than I am now, we went back and we ran Boston together again.
Erika (44:47)
Mm-hmm.
That's so exciting. Yeah, Jared's just taking off. Yeah.
Eric (44:57)
was so cool.
That was the year we met Jared.
Jordan Whitaker (45:00)
real fast.
Eric (45:02)
We had him on the pod and he told us that story and we thought that was so cool that in a way he returned the favor.
Jordan Whitaker (45:02)
Yes.
He did, and he's ⁓ bringing our friend Slade to run Boston with him this year. So Slade is not a runner, and we kind of had made these jokes, Slade's in the military and always been at the start line when we go through Athletes Village and walked us to the start line. And we had made all of these jokes about Slade not being a runner. And one night, Jared brought it up in front of people. And so Slade said, yes, trying to like play it off. And then...
Eric (45:15)
No way. That's so cool.
Erika (45:15)
No way!
Mm-hmm.
it's out in the universe
now. It's gonna happen. Uh-huh.
Jordan Whitaker (45:38)
Jared can't let it go. And so
I think Slade's supposed to be coming to run Boston this year.
Eric (45:44)
That's so cool. We'll have to hear how that goes.
Erika (45:44)
That's... I hope he has fun.
Jordan Whitaker (45:47)
We'll see how it goes. I know. He is. grew up in the same hometown as I did in Hillsborough.
Eric (45:49)
And Slade's a New Hampshire guy, right?
That's so cool. All the dots connecting and how close they are and everything. That's amazing.
Jordan Whitaker (45:57)
Yeah, and
Jared's from Ohio, so like, that's the one that's kind of out there.
Eric (46:02)
Right.
Right. I love how Jared though, and yeah.
Erika (46:04)
He can come back. Come back, Jared.
Jordan Whitaker (46:06)
He could
come back. He can move back. We'd let him.
Erika (46:07)
We'd love you to be in the area again.
Eric (46:09)
Well,
I love how Jared came here to begin with. He's like needed a change. So what? All the places in the world. Go to New Hampshire!
Jordan Whitaker (46:15)
Mm-hmm.
He knew Slade
Eric (46:20)
that was it. Okay. Wow,
that's awesome. We'll have to talk to Slade. Let's get him on after the marathon and hear how it went because I'm wondering it's... Yeah, it'd be a great story.
Jordan Whitaker (46:24)
He's not a runner. mean, so
Erika (46:29)
It'll make for, yeah,
great stories for sure.
Jordan Whitaker (46:30)
yeah, to see how his first marathon was and it was Boston like.
Erika (46:36)
Well, I hope he listens to this and I hope that he knows that we will be cheering at mile 19.2 because if he needs anything like a piece of candy or like a soda, we'll help him out, get him to the finish line.
Eric (46:46)
beer shots.
Jordan Whitaker (46:48)
No, we don't we don't do
shots in the middle of runs ask Erica. Oh She no She had fireball at hamster wheel and I'm like, I don't know not very far in and they're trying to get me to take shots of fireball I was like guys, I'm gonna throw up. I have so many hours left to run
Eric (46:54)
What happened?
Erika (47:01)
You
you
Eric (47:08)
Ball does not
sound appealing at all to me, by the way, hot cinnamon type liquor.
Erika (47:12)
When you're cold,
Jordan Whitaker (47:12)
Okay,
Erika (47:13)
it's not that bad.
Jordan Whitaker (47:14)
okay, but like we're talking I started at nine they're offering this at like 10 30 in the morning and I'm signed up to run a 12-hour race
Erika (47:21)
In my defense, I wasn't running that day and I had nothing else to do except cheer and have a couple shots along the way. here I am peer pressuring everybody else. Like, come on guys, let's go.
Eric (47:23)
I think...
Jordan Whitaker (47:31)
did take the very last one they had, but I didn't
drink it. It was just sitting in my pocket for a while.
Erika (47:35)
That is fine with
me. don't have to tell me. It's just for fun. like, we don't pressure anybody anyways. It's all good fun. Not that bad. No, that's vodka.
Jordan Whitaker (47:39)
I took it. I was like, all right, I'll take it, but I'm not taking the shot right now.
Eric (47:46)
Just sounds so gross to me. Fireball. Like a pink Whitney sounds good to me in the middle of a race. A pink Whitney. It's pink
lemonade flavored vodka. Cold.
Jordan Whitaker (47:57)
If I was, okay, so in a marathon,
I probably might've taken the fireball. I didn't know what I was getting into with an ultra and I was like.
Eric (48:02)
What is it that everyone
loves about Fireball? I don't get it.
Jordan Whitaker (48:05)
It's not bad.
Erika (48:06)
the rules. It just is that way. It is what it is. Blame the Yetis. It's all the Yetis' fault.
Eric (48:08)
I don't know. I don't get it. You know what?
I know what it is. It's because of this.
Erika (48:18)
That doesn't
hurt.
There's actually a video of me or no, like some of my pictures from one of my my ultras last year, like somebody played it like they're running around like, get the fireball, get the fireball. I had just finished and I'm just like, who wants to do what now? Somebody has me on. I'm like, all right, game on. Like you just do it.
Jordan Whitaker (48:34)
Had
it been the end of my race, might have put the start of an ultra. I was like, I don't even know what I'm doing here, guys.
Erika (48:41)
Different story, yeah.
Eric (48:44)
Yeah.
Erika (48:44)
It's a wildest place.
Eric (48:47)
All right. So one thing I want to touch on here is the rest of your story. And if people who listened to this podcast since day one, about four years know I give Erica such a hard time when we talk about her one and only boss marathon running for team IANEER. Because I feel like it's easier to fundraise if you have a purpose behind that charity. And Erica did exactly that last year for Chicago and she
Jordan Whitaker (48:47)
you
Erika (49:03)
I did.
Eric (49:12)
raised her fundraising goal in one day because of the connection she had. But still you made it. You still made it in one day. Now.
Erika (49:16)
I had a very low one. didn't run Boston, exactly. But having
Jordan Whitaker (49:18)
⁓ Chicago is much lower.
Erika (49:23)
the connection helps so much to just bring awareness to the cause and to get people to, like, they're more likely to donate if you're very passionate about what you're doing. So in 2018, my Boston, I fundraised for Team Ioneer and I did not have the connection, but I'd love to hear about the connection that you have to Team Ioneer.
Jordan Whitaker (49:34)
Mm-hmm.
So Team Ionier, I got connected with them because my daughter, when she was little, had a cyst that kept reoccurring in her ear canal. And they knew I was a runner. Let's go back. She had a cyst in her ear canal and no one in New Hampshire was willing to touch it because she was so little. And when it would get inflamed, you couldn't even see in her ear. So we finally got a referral after a year and a half.
Erika (49:56)
⁓
⁓
⁓ no.
Jordan Whitaker (50:16)
to Mass Eye and Ear. We went down to Mass Eye and Ear. It wasn't inflamed at the time. They did like a routine checkup and he was like, ⁓ does she snore? And I was like, yeah, like an overgrown, like male, like truck driver. It's awful. She was four. It was so loud. And so he was like, okay, so I believe you about the cyst. It's not inflamed right now. So we want to do an MRI of her head. She's four. And
Erika (50:17)
Mm-hmm.
my gosh. But a four year old, that's,
Eric (50:30)
Hey, women's store too!
Erika (50:43)
that must have been scary.
Jordan Whitaker (50:45)
We wanna do a pediatric sleep study. I, okay. So we did the MRI of her head. She had to be fully sedated and put out in Boston. And they found that it sat on her facial nerve. So yeah, so then we did the sleep study, which a pediatric sleep study is awful. They connect everything all over their head, then the breathing pieces. They didn't listen when I said she doesn't breathe through her nose. So then they had to wake her up.
Erika (51:01)
Wow.
Jordan Whitaker (51:15)
and they expect this little kid to sleep. Her sleep study came back that her breathing was disturbed 30 times an hour because her sleep apnea was so bad. The study came back on a Monday and they scheduled surgery for Friday.
Erika (51:22)
Whoa. ⁓ my gosh.
wow.
Jordan Whitaker (51:31)
So she had her tonsils and her adenoids removed in Boston, as well as in one surgery, the cyst in her ear that touched her facial nerve. We went in knowing that there was a possibility that they wouldn't get the entire cyst or they could hit her facial nerve and she would lose all movement and feeling in that side of her face at four.
Erika (51:52)
that's so scary.
Jordan Whitaker (51:53)
It was, ⁓ and that was while I was training for my first Boston. So I was there running on a treadmill at Mass Eye and Ear while she was in surgery. ⁓ Her surgery was successful. She kept all movement and feeling in her face. She stopped snoring. She started sleeping. They were wonderful. Then in August, assist was in her other ear.
Erika (52:04)
my gosh.
Are you serious? Do they know what was causing these cysts? Like what made them pop up?
Jordan Whitaker (52:22)
So they think
that it's just the way her sinuses developed. There was an open space. And so it just filled with the cyst. And so they saw her. They put her on an antibiotic. The antibiotic wasn't working. The cyst was still growing. So then we ended up in Mass Eye and Ear's emergency department, and they gave her an IV drip. This is the first week back to school for teachers. They gave her an IV drip.
Then they said she needed to be seen on the pediatric floor in 48 hours. We went back on a Thursday and he said, I don't have room on my surgery schedule for tomorrow, but it has to come out tomorrow.
Erika (53:01)
wow, so it was that urgent. my gosh.
Jordan Whitaker (53:04)
because
it was still growing after antibiotics. so we had surgery the Friday before she was supposed to start kindergarten. And it was successful. They got it all out. They didn't touch her facial nerve on that side either. But she went to her first day of kindergarten with her ears still dripping blood and had to leave early to go get a follow-up at five.
Erika (53:06)
Oh, oh no.
What a poor
Eric (53:27)
Wow.
Erika (53:28)
kid! What a trooper though! ⁓ my gosh.
Jordan Whitaker (53:31)
So
shortly after that surgery in August is when they start their marathon things. And so I got a phone call and it was about McKenna being their pediatric patient partner for the Boston Marathon the following spring. So I said yes, they'd known I'd trained for Boston. And two weeks later came the phone call, will you run and fundraise for Team Ionear? So I'd already said yes, McKenna could be a part of the marathon weekend.
Erika (53:39)
Mm-hmm.
Jordan Whitaker (53:59)
So there was no question that I was gonna go back to Boston and fundraise for them.
Erika (54:02)
⁓ what an amazing team of doctors. Like you have to be an absolute specialist to work with that kind of, she's so tiny too. my gosh.
Jordan Whitaker (54:11)
Yeah, there's she and that's why nobody in
New Hampshire was willing to do it. We saw an ENT in Concord and he was like, no. He looked in her ear and was like, no. And he was like, and if it was my kid, I'd be going to Boston. And I was like, say no more to Boston. go.
Erika (54:25)
Yep.
Yep. I'm so glad that they were able to help her. Both times. Both times. Poor thing.
Jordan Whitaker (54:30)
Me too. Both times. I know the second time I was like,
is this serious? But yep, twice.
Eric (54:36)
You know, we're
Erika (54:36)
They don't come
Eric (54:36)
so
Erika (54:37)
back, do they? my gosh, yes.
Eric (54:37)
lucky to live near Boston, which is like one of the best Boston Children's Hospital. I think it's the best children's hospital in the country.
Jordan Whitaker (54:41)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (54:44)
Hmm.
Jordan Whitaker (54:44)
I was
a patient there growing up for a long time. Yep.
Eric (54:47)
Yeah.
Erika (54:47)
wow.
Eric (54:48)
Very fortunate when, when my boys, ⁓ we had to go to chop in Philadelphia because they were the specialist for what we had. Boston was not, but it was, we were lucky. It was a five and a half, six hour drive and we spent some time there, but there are people there from all over the country, like middle of nowhere, Kansas, middle of nowhere, Idaho. And like, they don't live near anywhere close enough like we do here to Boston. So we're very fortunate. I feel in a way this is why New Hampshire is awesome.
Jordan Whitaker (55:05)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (55:07)
Mm.
Eric (55:16)
We're an hours drive from the best hospitals in the country. And, and it's so great that the doctor in Concord realizes that and says, you need to go to Boston. I can't do this. You need to go there.
Jordan Whitaker (55:17)
I mean, we are.
Erika (55:19)
Not too shabby.
Jordan Whitaker (55:27)
Mm-hmm.
No, I'm definitely thankful that they didn't try because they wouldn't have known what they were getting into. Mm-hmm.
Eric (55:35)
right?
Erika (55:35)
Right. wow. ⁓
my gosh. So I'm so happy that everything worked out. But how did your fundraising go for the first time you ran with Team Ioneer?
Jordan Whitaker (55:45)
The first time I ran with Team Ioneer, I was like $300 short of my fundraising goal. And so with, I should have. But no, so I paid 300 of my $8,000 I had to fundraise that year for Boston, which isn't terrible. Because I had already fundraised for one Boston and then New York City. And then I was going back to Boston for a second time in like a calendar year. So 300 wasn't so bad.
Eric (55:50)
You Jared pay the rest, right?
Erika (55:52)
You
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
Nope, not bad at all.
Jordan Whitaker (56:14)
Yeah
Eric (56:17)
So what I did not know before this was it seems like you've built a relationship with Team Ioneer throughout the years now. cause you're going back to run for them today. So you've built this rapport, this relationship. They know you, they know your kids, they know your story and they, do they keep coming to you every year? Is that how you're, you got on their team again this year? They just asking you like, please, you're the best.
Jordan Whitaker (56:22)
Mm-hmm.
Yes, sir.
So I took a year off from Boston and fundraising in general because it was a lot. ⁓ And so I reached out to the coordinator. ⁓ I saw her email. We'd been in touch. And so when I reached out to her, she's like, yeah, let's have a phone call. And so when we had a phone call, she's like, we'd to offer you a spot on the team, but I want you to know our fundraising minimum's gone up. Do you feel comfortable with that? Because they went up to 10,000 this year, which is pretty standard for Boston.
Erika (57:01)
Mm.
Eric (57:06)
Right.
Jordan Whitaker (57:07)
And I mean, it was a very brief phone call. She was like, oh, are you still running a lot? And it was right before a couple weeks before hamster wheel. So I was like, oh, like the running part's not a problem here. And she was like, all right, then come back to our team. And so, yeah, it was pretty, I was sent an email about a Sydney bib, but I was like, I can't swing Sydney in the same year. no. Maybe another time.
Erika (57:15)
You have no idea.
Eric (57:23)
That's awesome, the relationship you've built.
Erika (57:32)
Kind of a lot, but...
Eric (57:33)
Maybe next year. Do you have many
stars? Because you mentioned New York. Have you run Chicago and the others?
Jordan Whitaker (57:38)
I have three.
I've run Boston, New York, and Chicago. I've run all of the US ones. With little kids, it's not super feasible to do the others yet.
Eric (57:42)
Okay.
Right. All right. We'll get ready before the end of this podcast to rank them, but we'll get to that later. Yeah.
Erika (57:48)
understandable.
Jordan Whitaker (57:52)
All right, I can rank them easily
because my experiences were very different in all of them.
Eric (57:57)
Nice. But alright.
Erika (57:58)
I am kind
of excited to hear about it. But I want to hear a little bit more about the charity team itself. So ⁓ I know that there is one staple who has been on the Team IonEar marathon team for several years. So you must know Sally Riley. She's such a sweetheart. She's raised like $100-something thousand dollars for Team IonEar alone. Love her.
Jordan Whitaker (58:13)
I do, we've been in several calls together, yes. And she's run forever with the Ionier, yep.
She's running again this year. Mm-hmm.
Erika (58:27)
Are there any other people who are on your first team, IANEER team, who are on this team besides Sally?
Jordan Whitaker (58:33)
I don't think so.
Not that I'm aware of. Although we do have a fairly big team. It's like a 50 person team from As I Anear. So yeah, so it's a big, and I did not make the event that they had because I had my kids. ⁓ So I won't see everybody until marathon weekend. We've done some online stuff, but not everybody's picture is up. So I'm not, that I know of, nobody is the same.
Erika (58:41)
That's pretty good.
you
Gotcha. So let's talk a little bit about how training's been going. I know you don't love the winter, but you have a treadmill, so I hear. So how has this winter been treating you?
Jordan Whitaker (59:09)
I've run a lot on my treadmill. My treadmill is in my living room and my children watch TV. They play on their tablets. I open their snacks. We have to pause and break up fights. But I have spent a lot of time on my treadmill this winter. They're with their dad every other weekend. So every other weekend I try and do my longer. like 16 to 18 one weekend when they're with their dad and then like an eight to 10 the Sunday.
Erika (59:14)
Mm-hmm.
You're getting it done.
Jordan Whitaker (59:37)
And then the weekends that they're with me, I try and do like two 10 mile runs because 10 miles is way more manageable when they're there or getting up to run a 10 mile run before they're awake is more manageable than getting up to run 18. Yes. I've done up to 17 on the treadmill this training cycle. And...
Erika (59:38)
That's fair.
Absolutely.
Eric (59:49)
On a treadmill. that sounds gross.
Erika (59:49)
Yup.
I've been there.
Eric (59:56)
Ugh, ugh. I don't think I've ever
done more than seven and a half or eight.
Jordan Whitaker (1:00:02)
I was running 12 miles before work on my treadmill training for hamster wheel, like before going to teach for the day.
Erika (1:00:03)
you
Eric (1:00:11)
does not sound fun.
Erika (1:00:11)
Things we do for
Ultraspan. We get it done.
Jordan Whitaker (1:00:12)
So Boston training's
been good. If it's a warm Boston, it's okay because I also heat with a wood stove at my house. So it's like 75, 80 degrees in my living room where my treadmill is. Yeah, it's been a very warm training cycle, not cold here.
Erika (1:00:22)
There's your heat training. You're going to be just fine.
Okay.
Eric (1:00:31)
And you've got to experience Boston a couple of times. I want to know what are your favorite parts about not just the marathon, but about the whole weekend.
Jordan Whitaker (1:00:41)
⁓ so when you run with a charity, one of my favorite things is the before they always do some sort of a charity event. ⁓ and whether it's like with Gronk when we had like a dinner with him or team I and year does a giant, it's a big deal. team I and year has like a big, what they call a pep rally and like all the families come and they do a big lunch and they have a team coach that talks. ⁓ I also like, like just walking down Boylston street. ⁓
Eric (1:00:53)
Not a big deal. Not a big deal.
Jordan Whitaker (1:01:10)
you see so many people, run into people you know. One year, Jamie Staten was like, I had already done a WMUR article with them, or they'd come and filmed at school. And I was walking down Boyles Street at like eight o'clock at night with Melissa. And she's the one that was recognized because she's got the colorful hair and is not the little blonde girl. Like she is sticking out here. And he's like, Jordan, come up here. And I had to like go up in the media thing. And I was like ready for, I was ready for bed. I had like my sweatshirt on, my glasses were already on. And I was like,
Erika (1:01:32)
no way.
Jordan Whitaker (1:01:40)
Are you kidding me right now? This is going to be on the news in the morning? I said yes. And then the next morning, my face was the picture in my glasses. And I was like, are you serious guys right now? So just like, I'm sure it's still out there. If you Google my name and WMUR, I'm sure it's out there. People had sent it. And I was like, this is the worst picture. Thank you, everyone. It's fine now. ⁓
Erika (1:01:41)
You can't say no to Jamie though, come on.
You
Eric (1:01:56)
Is this still out there?
Erika (1:01:59)
You
He did you dirty. no.
Jordan Whitaker (1:02:10)
So the people that you run into, the people you see that you don't even know are down there is one of my favorite parts of Marathon Weekend. It's just busy in the city. And I'm excited this year. My kids are both running the Youth Mile Marathon Weekend, which it's new this year. So they're both going to run the Youth Mile on Saturday when they're in the city with me. And then they'll go home because I don't want them there Sunday morning or Sunday night with me. They're going home.
Erika (1:02:18)
Mm-hmm.
That's so exciting.
You need to focus, you need to
decompress, you need to get ready for a marathon Monday. So that's totally okay.
Jordan Whitaker (1:02:40)
Yes.
And I have a favorite part of the course probably too. And I think it's probably Boston College. When you come up over Heartbreak Hill, the kids are really loud, really drunk. You can smell the alcohol before you see the kids, but they're just loud and they've been out there all day and they're having a great time. And you know, it's all downhill from there. Like coming into the city, you know, it's all downhill from there. And like,
Erika (1:02:48)
Mmm.
Eric (1:02:49)
Okay.
Erika (1:02:54)
no way.
Eric (1:02:56)
Mm-hmm.
Erika (1:03:05)
There you go, you did the hard part.
Jordan Whitaker (1:03:09)
you get closer to the city the crowds get louder. So I think there's like you crest that awful hill and you're coming back down and BC is loud and you just you know that you're coming back into the city and like it's only a 10k left.
Erika (1:03:12)
Mm-hmm. I can believe that.
that you break it into the small chapters and you're like, all right, this is the home stretch at this point. hmm. hmm. I'm so excited for you for this year. I am hoping that you get your 55 degree. I'm going to knock on wood because this is probably going to jinx you, but we're going to be out there too. We may not be running, but we'll be out there. So we want nice weather as well. But it's going to be an awesome day for you.
Jordan Whitaker (1:03:28)
This is it. Yeah, like six miles. You can run six miles even on your worst day.
You
I've
run it perfect. I ran it in the rain and I ran it really hot already. So like, let's go back to nice weather.
Eric (1:03:53)
no, what just happened?
Eric (1:03:57)
I was doing my creeping as we like to call it sometimes. And look what I found.
Jordan Whitaker (1:04:01)
And did you find the picture?
Erika (1:04:02)
What do you find?
Eric (1:04:04)
me.
Jordan Whitaker (1:04:05)
Yeah, see, I was like, I was like, my glasses, I'm ready for bed. Like, is this serious right now? He was very serious. I hate my I hate my glasses. I was like, this is the worst. All right, here I come.
Erika (1:04:06)
Jordan you look great shut up
You would never tell. You just have a pair of glasses on. Like, you look fine.
Eric (1:04:20)
Well, I hope if you get on the news this year, ⁓ you're ready however you want to be. But this year is going to be exciting. You're bib 28463. She got her number. Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (1:04:24)
you
Mm-hmm. They came out today. They came
Erika (1:04:31)
That's so fun. I'm ⁓
Jordan Whitaker (1:04:33)
out today.
Erika (1:04:33)
fantastic. I'm going to what was it again, Eric? You can cut this. I'm going to add you to a tracker.
Eric (1:04:35)
28463 and Erica definitely wants to know
like what are some of your favorite snacky snacks or drinks that maybe we'll have at mile 19.2
Erika (1:04:45)
Yeah, if you want
anything, I got you.
Jordan Whitaker (1:04:48)
The gummy nerd clusters have been one of my go-tos during this training. And Jared got me stuck on Uncrustables. And I use them at Hamster Wheel, but now I'm like, how do you carry these in a marathon? Because I just stopped at my table and could open a new one. So.
Erika (1:04:57)
⁓
you
Eric (1:05:05)
True. Yeah.
Erika (1:05:06)
That's true. I
feel like the gummies might be the easier thing for me to hand out because they have the little like cute things and you can just pop them in your shorts or something. So I'll have that. And if you need like a water or soda or something, we got you covered.
Jordan Whitaker (1:05:11)
They are.
Mm-hmm. They're definitely the easier.
Eric (1:05:19)
Yeah,
we got you. You know, 19.2 on your left. You've been there before. Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (1:05:19)
Perfect.
Yes. I've seen, yes, we saw you. Yes.
Erika (1:05:23)
She knows where to find us. Johnny Kelly statue. Mm-hmm.
Jordan Whitaker (1:05:27)
And when
I ran, when I've run with Jared both times, I was still with him at that point.
Eric (1:05:30)
But you gotta be there
before like 3.30. Because we have to go at 3.30 to do something that we're gonna talk about later.
Jordan Whitaker (1:05:35)
that's fine. I have like a-
I have like a four hour-ish marathon and I started at 11.20. So I'll be through there. I'll be through there unless it's really a bad day.
Eric (1:05:44)
Awesome.
Erika (1:05:45)
There you go. Perfect.
Eric (1:05:48)
What are
your plans after the marathon?
Erika (1:05:49)
Hoping for the best.
Jordan Whitaker (1:05:52)
So one time I've stayed in the city and one time I've gone home, I haven't decided what I'm doing yet. I only put in for Marathon Monday so far from work.
Eric (1:06:02)
you should come
to the FanFest and see us there around 6 o'clock.
Erika (1:06:03)
you
Jordan Whitaker (1:06:06)
Six o'clock. I'll probably still be in the city at that point. Maybe I'll have showered. Erica says no. Eric says yes.
Eric (1:06:10)
yeah, please.
Erika (1:06:11)
you don't even have to. I'm like, nah, come stinky. Let's go. I don't care.
Eric (1:06:15)
You know, it's funny is sometimes we have someone like a Bex
Gentry on this podcast and Erica and I jump in the room 10, 15 minutes before we're both like, yeah, we just took a shower. It's like, they can't smell us, but we were so nervous. We took a shower.
Erika (1:06:24)
Like she can smell us through the screen.
Jordan Whitaker (1:06:25)
Like
in case it's bad.
Erika (1:06:30)
Hey, I technically showered before I jumped on this, so I probably smell better than both y'all.
Eric (1:06:35)
Nice.
Jordan Whitaker (1:06:35)
I showered this morning, I didn't run today. Yesterday's 16 was enough.
Erika (1:06:37)
you
Eric (1:06:38)
Well,
you make me feel gross. I haven't showered yet or done anything.
Erika (1:06:42)
Sorry. I had to. was like, I had that rainy run and I was like, total drowned rat.
Jordan Whitaker (1:06:44)
you
Eric (1:06:49)
Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (1:06:50)
That's what I say, a drowned sewer rat after a wet run. Yep.
Erika (1:06:52)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it needed to be done.
Eric (1:06:55)
Well, I'm so excited for this for Boston, but we need to get to our final two questions and then we can wish you luck. our final two questions are brought to you by My Race Tats and everyone knows what's coming up here. I'm going to go first. I want to know what's your hot take. Can you give me a hot take for 2026 or for running or for life? Do you have anything?
Jordan Whitaker (1:07:17)
Hmm.
I don't, I got, this is a hard one for
Erika (1:07:22)
Or so.
Jordan Whitaker (1:07:22)
All
right, my hot take for 2026 and running is take the shot when you're giving it on course. I'm gonna do it. That's gonna be it. We're gonna take it, even in Boston.
Eric (1:07:34)
Fireball.
Erika (1:07:34)
So you're saying. It's a strong possibility I'll have
the fireball there too.
Jordan Whitaker (1:07:41)
I've said in Boston I would, and on a marathon I would. It's all for fun. And maybe that will get you through heartbreak, because that's awful either way.
Eric (1:07:44)
I mean at mile 19.2, you only have seven miles to go.
Erika (1:07:45)
Take the shot.
Eric (1:07:50)
Right. Or maybe
it will ⁓ make something happen that will just be a great story to share later. Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (1:07:57)
Either way.
Erika (1:08:00)
Well, I really hope that whatever shot you take during the marathon does not cause any issues, but you're always welcome to come back and talk to us. But on this note, I have my final question. So we have our excellent Spotify playlist. And now that I know that you are a music girlie, you like listening to music while you run, what is your go-to song that you like to listen to during your runs that just pumps you up, gets you going?
Jordan Whitaker (1:08:00)
you
Heh.
So there is a new song that came out on Friday and it has been playing. ⁓ It's Just Believe by Bailey Zimmerman, who I just seen. So it's him and Brandon Lake and I just saw him in concert like a week and a half ago. And that one it is. And it is it is ⁓ one of the ones that I've played on all of my runs since it came out.
Erika (1:08:34)
Ooh, I do not know this one.
Eric (1:08:40)
Is this country? Yeah, I knew you were big country, girly.
Erika (1:08:49)
You find that one song, you just latch on, and it just drives you through all those hard moments. I love it.
Jordan Whitaker (1:08:53)
There, yep.
Eric (1:08:55)
Favorite country concert you've ever been to?
Jordan Whitaker (1:09:02)
for the concert or the fun that was had.
Eric (1:09:04)
Ooh, you can get me both in this time.
Erika (1:09:05)
Good stories
Jordan Whitaker (1:09:08)
All right, so I went and saw Jason Aldean, 20, I don't know, 22, you would find the pictures. I wore a really great tailgating outfit and it was probably the most fun that I've had in a concert. It's a one piece bathing suit, looks like a man body boar rat. And that is probably, and I wore it tailgating at Jason Aldean. I was like directing traffic at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, like telling people where to park, like I worked there.
Erika (1:09:25)
I've seen that picture Jordan. ⁓ my god
Jordan Whitaker (1:09:37)
I didn't buy a drink all night. I don't remember seeing him on stage, but I had a great time. I was not the designated driver. he can find it. It's out there. It's fine. It's a great photo.
Erika (1:09:41)
He's finding the picture, you realize that.
Eric (1:09:41)
How'd you get home?
Erika (1:09:50)
do believe I've seen this.
Jordan Whitaker (1:09:52)
⁓
it was a great outfit. And then...
Eric (1:09:54)
What was your favorite
concert then? So that was your favorite time, right?
Jordan Whitaker (1:09:59)
that was my favorite time at a concert. My favorite country concert I've been to.
⁓ I brought my kids and we went and saw Chase Matthew at the Freiburg Fair. They love Chase Matthew and I brought them and they were front row and he puts on a really great show and they got their hat sign. It was probably one of the best shows. It was small and he, yeah, he put on a really good show and they were literally front row. My son was on my shoulders the entire show. That was probably one of the best shows I've seen. I'm sure he's finding that photo.
Erika (1:10:28)
I love that. Aww.
Eric (1:10:31)
That's cool.
I'm looking for it. My favorite concert, so I'm a huge Aerosmith fan. I saw them three times. The first one was amazing. It was in New Hampshire. It was in Manchester. It was the second day the Verizon Arena was open. The first day was a hockey game. The very next day, this 2003, was Aerosmith. And I saw them twice since. They were amazing. But honest to God, on an entertainment level, the best concert I ever saw was Toby Keith.
Erika (1:10:33)
Absolutely.
Jordan Whitaker (1:10:41)
Mm-hmm.
⁓ okay.
He puts on a very good show. I did see him. I've seen a lot of shows though. So like, I probably saw 10 last year. So it's hard to pick a favorite.
Eric (1:10:58)
Yeah. He put on a great show.
Did you ever see Montgomery Gentry before ⁓ one of them died in, I think it was a helicopter accident, on the way to a concert, by the way. But I saw them. I saw them in New Hampshire at the pavilion and that was awesome too. I remember counting the kegs on stage. There were like 12. There's like one for every band member and all the backstage people. was like, there's 12 kegs on this stage. They have three right there. I know.
Jordan Whitaker (1:11:12)
I did not. Yeah, but I did not.
Erika (1:11:12)
Oh my God.
Jordan Whitaker (1:11:25)
you
Country concerts are something. Country
Erika (1:11:30)
You
Jordan Whitaker (1:11:32)
concerts are something else. They're fun. Yes. Yes, you are.
Erika (1:11:34)
I have never been to a country concert.
Eric (1:11:35)
Yeah, you are so missing out and you're like, you're, Erica's like hates
country and everything. She's so missing out.
Jordan Whitaker (1:11:42)
I say, I went and saw Brantley Gilbert at the Casino Ballroom this fall, and my best friend's wife is a bartender there, and we got in early, we were front row, like we had drinks delivered to us in the pit, like that was probably another good time. Like you just have to the right connections to get into all of these things. That's what I figured out as an adult, the connections are what like get you where you need to be.
Erika (1:11:42)
I it.
There we go.
Eric (1:12:02)
Yeah.
Erika (1:12:04)
Beautiful.
Eric (1:12:05)
Guys,
I found it.
Jordan Whitaker (1:12:08)
You found it. It's good. There it is. So I was directing traffic and like people wear to park like I worked there wearing this. yeah, no, I was like getting shots of fireball from my friends like telling people where to park like this. And then my friend Melissa is like, you I was only wearing a tailgating as a joke. She's like, you won't wear that in. There's the bank and you
Eric (1:12:12)
It's great.
Erika (1:12:20)
So you were just doing it for fun? Like you didn't actually work.
Eric (1:12:35)
backside.
Jordan Whitaker (1:12:36)
But there's the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion's photographer and he thought it was the funniest thing. So yeah, she's like, you won't wear that into the concert. I was like, I'm already wearing it. Why change now? yeah, and everybody I was with is like, you are the most embarrassing human. It was a great time.
Erika (1:12:43)
Thank God.
Eric (1:12:47)
Look how happy you are.
Erika (1:12:54)
So you're failing
to mention that you're also wearing cowboy boots with this like Borat glittery ones. It is a look. Jordan, you are you are my kind of people, like people who just have such a great sense of humor like need more of this in my life.
Jordan Whitaker (1:12:58)
glittery, glittery cowboy boots. Yes, I very much am. Yes.
Eric (1:13:04)
That was awesome.
Jordan Whitaker (1:13:09)
I'm like, let's go. It's fine.
Eric (1:13:11)
That was so cool.
So great. I love that your Instagram though is, it's so much of everything. So much running, so much kids, and then that.
Jordan Whitaker (1:13:20)
The only part about that, I was like, so it ended up on the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion's Facebook and I was like, man, I teach. I'm like, what parents are gonna see this?
Erika (1:13:21)
It is our life.
Eric (1:13:22)
It was fantastic.
And you're on WMUR,
Erika (1:13:31)
no!
Eric (1:13:32)
you're on their Instagram and Facebook.
Erika (1:13:35)
Hey, teachers are allowed to unleash every once in a while.
Eric (1:13:37)
UGH
Jordan Whitaker (1:13:37)
⁓ whoops, I had a great time,
it's fine.
Eric (1:13:41)
That's awesome. I'm glad you can smile and laugh about it now, just like we all can about code Browns and stuff. I'll share one more photo since I've been digging, digging and digging it and I found it, but this one I think is not a big deal.
Jordan Whitaker (1:13:49)
boy, what's this one?
me and Gronk. Yes, we do love Gronk.
Eric (1:14:01)
That was pretty cool.
Jordan Whitaker (1:14:01)
Also notice how giant he is.
Erika (1:14:03)
He
is enormous.
Eric (1:14:03)
Yeah. How
tall are you? Okay.
Jordan Whitaker (1:14:06)
Five, three.
Erika (1:14:09)
Yeah, he's still enormous though. he is a wall.
Eric (1:14:10)
He's a solid, he's solid. Like it looks like two feet above you. His
Jordan Whitaker (1:14:11)
There was a...
There's a
picture somewhere.
Eric (1:14:14)
head, there's a full, like you could fit his head in between the top of your head and his chin.
Jordan Whitaker (1:14:18)
at his shoulder. There was a picture
that we took both in like those Gronk Nation jerseys in the gym and you can see there's like a white triangle above my shoulder and in between his armpit. He's giant.
Eric (1:14:33)
Yeah. Big guy. Cool guy. Love to meet him. He should run a marathon and come on the podcast and talk about it. No, he's not. No, but I'm excited for you. This is so cool. We've seen you before we've talked, you know, in passing and things, and you were my first hug after Manchester that one year. Like, I feel like we've known each other forever, but we never knew these stories and you absolutely delivered. feel bad that it took us this long to get you on the podcast.
Jordan Whitaker (1:14:35)
Mm hmm. Yep. He's he's fun.
I don't think he's a runner. No.
You
you
Eric (1:15:02)
especially with the New Hampshire connection, the Jared connection, the Penguins connection. I know. So this is awesome. And I think we might have talked Erica into going to a country concert. Yeah.
Erika (1:15:04)
Worth the wait.
Jordan Whitaker (1:15:07)
All of them.
They're fun.
Erika (1:15:18)
Say no.
Jordan Whitaker (1:15:19)
And know, even if you don't love country music, they're like a lot of fun. They're some of the most fun. You would have a great time. The lawn seats at Meadowbrook or Banking Hampshire Pavilion, the best. They're not expensive.
Erika (1:15:24)
would make the most of it, I absolutely would.
the best!
Eric (1:15:31)
No, we're gonna call Ali G
and she's gonna get us a suite with all the food and the drinks and everything. I did for Kidz Bop. Thank you, Ali G.
Jordan Whitaker (1:15:37)
I've never been in a suite there, but we could go. ⁓ I did not bring
my kids. I did not bring my kids to Kidz Bop. We went to Brad Paisley instead. No, we went to Brad Paisley instead and walker days.
Eric (1:15:46)
No, you went by yourself.
Erika (1:15:51)
No shame.
Eric (1:15:52)
Kids, I don't think I ever really paid
attention to what was going on stage, but I did enjoy the music and the little suite we had, so it was pretty cool.
Jordan Whitaker (1:16:00)
Okay,
sweet. Otherwise, there's like 8,000 kids running around that. No.
Eric (1:16:04)
It was a lot less
than what you would have thought. Yeah. I mean, there was a lot of kids, but it didn't give that whole like crazy kid feeling. There's probably like three, four or 500 kids up close. And, but we were like at the very top of the stadium seating part. And then the lawn was kind of just above us. So it wasn't that like that bad. Maybe it was just because of where we sat and the experience we got to enjoy. Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (1:16:07)
Really? Hmm.
Mm.
Maybe.
Eric (1:16:32)
And the fact that we snuck nine
of us in when we only had eight tickets. mean, when you have twins and you just, look young, know, yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (1:16:36)
Hey, that's a win. You just
Erika (1:16:37)
you
Swap them out. Here,
take this one. Wink, wink. Yeah.
Jordan Whitaker (1:16:41)
scooch him through.
Eric (1:16:44)
Well, this is fun. This is so much fun. Thank you so
much for doing this. Good luck in Boston. Can't wait to see you at mile 19.2. I hope to see you at the Fan Fest after. Gonna be incredible. On Saturday, let's walk. What's the name of the street again? Boylston. Let's walk Boylston Street.
Erika (1:16:49)
You're gonna do amazing.
Jordan Whitaker (1:16:51)
Thank you. Hopefully.
Erika (1:16:58)
Boil soon.
Jordan Whitaker (1:17:01)
Be there Saturday. I have a team I near thing and my kids are running the youth mile. So we'll be in Boston all day Saturday
Erika (1:17:05)
We'll meet up,
we'll meet up, it's gonna be a blast.
Eric (1:17:06)
Incredible. Can't wait.
Can't wait.
Jordan Whitaker (1:17:08)
Sounds good.
Erika (1:17:09)
Jordan, may your day be epic and the weather be beautiful. Run those miles for Team Ioneer. You're doing a great thing.
Eric (1:17:17)
Awesome, guys. I hope you enjoyed that because that was wicked awesome. Jordan Whitaker, finally on the On the Runs podcast.
Jordan Whitaker (1:17:24)
Thank you.
Erika (1:17:29)
Jordan, we're so proud of you for everything you're doing to raise money for Boston. I hope you are almost at your goal. I think you said you were pretty close. So I just hope that you reach it and that your training is tapering and that you are ready for race day. We are envisioning the best day for you and we hope everything goes well. So thank you for coming on again. Pod fam always.
Eric (1:17:51)
That was incredible. Thank you, one, Jordan, for coming on. Two, for that hug after my Manchester City marathon. That felt good. She really held me up because I probably would have fallen if she didn't do that. Because I just let all my weight and I was like, ugh, I'm tired, hold me. That was awesome. Thank you to my race tats. Tara, do you know who Jordan is?
Erika (1:17:58)
You needed that.
Aww.
Ptara (1:18:13)
Yes, I do. are social media friends. I've never met her in person, though. So, yeah.
Erika (1:18:17)
We gotta change that.
Eric (1:18:17)
Well, you will. Yeah, at mile
19.2, you'll get to meet her.
Ptara (1:18:22)
Yeah, I know it's funny. That just happened with me last weekend with Beard. I've been friends with Beard for two plus years on social media. Never met him in person and I met him in person last weekend.
Eric (1:18:27)
Mm-hmm.
You didn't
meet him last year after the BAA 5k?
Ptara (1:18:33)
No, didn't. I didn't see him. was I think Lindsay and I went somewhere else. We did not in crossing. So, yeah. So.
Erika (1:18:39)
So you didn't get
to meet the real Michael Scott either, because he was there. God. I'm gonna handcuff, handcuff ourselves together.
Ptara (1:18:43)
No, nope. Bye now.
Eric (1:18:43)
Yeah, the one with that famous photo.
Ptara (1:18:48)
That's the one thing that comes to my mind when you say Michael Scott.
Eric (1:18:51)
Every time you say Michael Scott, you think about, well, you might think of the office, you also might think of that photo. ⁓
Erika (1:18:59)
I know exactly the one you're referring to.
Ptara (1:18:59)
Yes. So,
look at how red I'm getting. ⁓ my goodness.
Eric (1:19:07)
That, it could be in the pit, episode two. That could have been that one. It could have been, yeah, absolutely. That was great, again, thank you to my race tats. And don't forget, on Saturday, guys, we're gonna be at the Cheap Marathon in Wyndham, New Hampshire, when Erica's going for that PR. Tara and I will be there, so stop by the booth, talk to us.
Ptara (1:19:11)
yeah, ⁓ God, the pit. It could have been, yeah.
Erika (1:19:16)
goodness. That's hilarious.
Yeah. Come cheer me on.
Go talk to them. And ⁓ you guys need to make sure that you have a mic ready for me when I finish so I can be there and just be like, just breathe into it when I finish. So I'll come right over immediately.
Eric (1:19:39)
Ooh!
I would say
we need to get your mic in your headphones, or at least your headphones. Tara could bring her mic. But now thinking about it.
Ptara (1:19:50)
bring one.
Erika (1:19:50)
⁓ I'll see what I can do if I can get him to you. I can have him in
my car. I can have him in my car and be ready. I'm park I'm parking in the VIP section so it's close.
Eric (1:19:56)
There you go. There you go. Well, I
O-V-I-P!
Ptara (1:20:02)
Of course Erica has VIP. That was-
Erika (1:20:02)
VIP baby. I only
Eric (1:20:04)
I mean...
Erika (1:20:04)
got the VIP because I paid so little. I paid $26.20 for this race and I said, ⁓ why not? You know it.
Ptara (1:20:12)
Blurge on the VIP.
Eric (1:20:13)
I know, she
splurges on the VIP, she gets these secret bathrooms at the Chicago Marathon, but she won't get the lay down seat on her flight to Tokyo or to Sydney. That's worth every penny. Get the lie down seat. Like you got, you got.
Erika (1:20:19)
worth every penny.
Ptara (1:20:25)
Bye.
Erika (1:20:26)
I'm sure it is. I'm sure it is,
but hey, $20, $100. How much is one of those seats? Like $10,000. No.
Eric (1:20:36)
It is not.
If you would just stick to one airline, you would have enough points and you would lower that cost, but no, you gotta fly like low budget airlines, Southwest.
Erika (1:20:44)
There's
no talking to this guy, this guy here.
Eric (1:20:48)
Well listen, listen,
you got no kids, no responsibilities, you got a full-time job, I mean, you can cut this. ⁓
Erika (1:20:55)
Do I? Do I? We haven't talked about this yet, so we'll talk about
Ptara (1:20:57)
OOF
Too soon.
Erika (1:21:00)
it later. I'm not in the mood.
Ptara (1:21:01)
Too soon.
Eric (1:21:03)
Hey, are recording from your work. They're pretty awesome. And you get to do this during work. It's the best guys. Yes. you wanna talk about our friend Jason and I've been following this journey and I am loving it because one, he's not posting 50 stories at once. it's like 50, some people post like so many. He's posting at the most in a day four story posts. So maybe a max of four minutes.
Ptara (1:21:04)
Only feet, here we come!
Erika (1:21:07)
Yes. Beautiful conference room. That's my lunch break.
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:21:31)
I am truly enjoying it. He talks about, you know, he's running at night, getting little naps, the snake tunnel that really kind of freaked him out for a second. And he didn't want to run through it. And then talking about this one section of the trail and even with his shoes on, it felt like walking on Legos.
Erika (1:21:49)
Yeah, yeah, I am just so in awe of him. He is just getting it done no matter what. And I can just imagine the struggle that he's going through because he must be in so much physical pain. Like I know he was saying he's developed shin splints, like something that could never happen to you before, just the amount of pressure you're putting on your body. It's so immense and he is just getting there. At this time, this is Thursday when we're recording, he has
Ptara (1:21:49)
Hmm.
Erika (1:22:19)
Probably a good less than 15 miles maybe like 10. He's so so close and like we're just rooting for him so much We know he's gonna get there. He's got the grit and determination, but I'm just I am absolutely blown away
Ptara (1:22:32)
Yeah, it's been I've been following too. And I've been commenting on every single one of his stories because it's like, I just told Erica, I'm like, have you seen his last update? And he was emotional on the on the and I started crying and I was like, my God, I'm like, you got this. I'm so proud of you. I don't even know why I met a train. But I was just like, it's so cool to watch somebody crush their goals. And like, I feel like we're kind of there. So I'm just like rooting for him. And he is so close. You're so close.
Erika (1:22:35)
Have some tears.
Mm-hmm.
Yep. ⁓
you
Eric (1:22:56)
Now, what day did he start? He started last Friday, right?
Ptara (1:23:00)
Friday, Yeah.
Erika (1:23:01)
Yeah.
Eric (1:23:02)
So this is
gonna be a Friday to Friday race, Friday to Thursday, seven days. here? How much sleep has he gotten in those seven days?
Ptara (1:23:13)
God.
Erika (1:23:14)
I don't think he's gotten a lot. I know he's taken like 45 minute naps here, two hour nap here, but I honestly couldn't even tell you. Like not enough is the answer, not enough.
Ptara (1:23:15)
No.
Eric (1:23:23)
Now,
has no Pacer, he has no support crew. know Andy's doing it, Andy's doing amazing. Andy's story is really great because he's, Andy Glaze we're talking about. Yeah, but he had that one night where he almost quit and he had team, I would say, maybe not with him all the time, but updating on the stories and doing a great job of kind of telling us what was going on. So.
Erika (1:23:33)
And he finished. Yeah, he finished.
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:23:51)
You know, he had a team, but I don't think Jason has anybody there.
Ptara (1:23:54)
Jason Solo which makes it that much more badass.
Erika (1:23:54)
He is solo.
Me either. That's a huge
Eric (1:24:02)
Well,
Erika (1:24:03)
undertaking.
Eric (1:24:04)
partly true, but Jason does have someone with him.
Dooley!
Ptara (1:24:10)
I was like, God, who?
Erika (1:24:13)
I'm just gonna say, I don't know how much help Stooley's gonna be, but if he does help, I'm so happy.
Ptara (1:24:18)
Yes.
Eric (1:24:19)
Stooley's
with him every step of the way. So it's awesome. It's awesome. He's doing like, yeah, we're gonna have him back. He'll probably be our first guest after Boston Weeks. And ⁓ it's gonna be incredible. We gotta figure it out. Like maybe we drive to Maine and talk to him in person. I don't know. He's gonna need some time to sleep. He might sleep for a whole week. ⁓
Ptara (1:24:22)
Literally.
Yes.
Mm, right?
Erika (1:24:39)
Give him the rest he deserves and we'll talk to him whenever he wants. I'm ready. guy.
Eric (1:24:43)
That's right.
If we were ever a real media outlet, think like journalists, which we are not, I think we would heavily dive deep into this Emma Bates, you can or you can't story. I've been doing a little bit of a deep dive. I had thoughts and then I wanted to listen to the Emma Bates ⁓ episode on the Ali on the Run show. And I know Tara did, did you, Erica?
Erika (1:25:11)
I made it halfway through the episode and I did not have a chance to finish it yet. So I'm working on it, but I would love to hear your opinion.
Eric (1:25:18)
My opinion, I would love to hear Tara's opinion. I have changed my opinion a little bit, but not really. I'll tell you my opinion at first. My opinion at first was, you can wouldn't do this, but then why would Emma do it? And I went back and forth and I'm like, I really thought this was a brave decision by Emma because potentially it could hurt her in the long run.
That I completely flipped after listening to the episode, but I'll elaborate more after I hear what Tara said.
Ptara (1:25:51)
So I think after listening to Ali on the run interview her, think that what happened was they had a, there was the contract that was in place. And I think that there were very specific contract obligations and finding out that she was pregnant. She wasn't going to be able to do these obligations. And when I say obligations, I'm saying races, ⁓ just cause I've read a ton of professional women, their, their, ⁓ autobiographies and stuff like Kara Goucher and what happened with Nike.
Erika (1:26:12)
Right.
Ptara (1:26:21)
So I think what happened was they took the contract back and they re-written the contract from a pregnancy point of view, which was obviously money decreased. And I think that's what Emma was like, I'm not doing this for that. And then her saying like, if I don't agree to this and we're done with this partnership. And I think that's what happened.
Erika (1:26:21)
Yeah.
Eric (1:26:33)
in it a lot.
Yeah.
I hate the whole, guest next week, talked a little bit about sponsorships and like having the pressure of competing for results. And I so disagree with that. Aren't you trying to build a partnership? Like, do you see what college sports is doing today with NIL? Erica, do you know what NIL stands for?
Erika (1:26:51)
Mm-hmm.
⁓ huh.
I don't.
Eric (1:27:05)
No, Tara, you must know.
Ptara (1:27:07)
Yeah, I do. I have to deal with it at St. A's with us being D2, it's more like in D1. That's like the kids are going from school to school to school. Nobody's staying out of school for four years anymore because they're going where the money is. So they're getting paid off of endorsements and brands. yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Eric (1:27:20)
Right, so and I.
Erika (1:27:20)
wow.
They can get deals now in college. Okay, okay, okay. I did know that. I did
Eric (1:27:24)
Oh yeah. I mean,
Erika (1:27:27)
know that.
Eric (1:27:28)
in the NCAA for years, these athletes were making these colleges millions of dollars on TV deals and they were getting nothing except a free education, which that's kind of a big deal, but also the tuition at these schools is nothing compared to the millions. so NIL stands for name image likeness. And if I were a brand like YouCan or any brand, Nike, Adidas,
Erika (1:27:33)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Eric (1:27:53)
I am looking to build a partnership and a relationship with an athlete. I could care less sometimes about their race results. Their name, image, and likeness trumps race results. I mean, if you win, great. If you finish top five, amazing. But build a relationship and partnership with that person where you have this long, lengthy, healthy relationship. And I think brands are missing it right now. I don't understand why they're doing
Erika (1:28:20)
huh.
Eric (1:28:22)
The whole must finish in top five. Like what does that actually prove?
Erika (1:28:28)
I know, but money is their driving force. if it's like, I don't know, it's just all about money. It's dumb.
Eric (1:28:33)
These athletes though, these athletes
have such a huge following after their pro career. Like look at Kara right now with the podcast and she does NBC and her Instagram and her threads and her engagement. Like she's just as popular now, if not more than when she was a pro. Like she's still active in the game and brands should be like Brooks, Brooks, you know, is along for the ride. They're along for this journey.
Erika (1:28:51)
huh.
Eric (1:28:58)
Kara's not running or winning marathons today or placing, she's having fun doing the 5Ks with the fans and then meeting them at bakeries after in Boston like us.
Ptara (1:29:07)
Fangirling hard.
Eric (1:29:10)
I mean, if Kara had, like I bought Brooks last year off Relay Goods because Kara and Des run with Brooks. They're, they're retired professional runners. Yeah.
Erika (1:29:20)
Yeah, Des was a long time sponsor, or
Ptara (1:29:22)
Yeah.
Erika (1:29:22)
sponsored by them, yeah.
Ptara (1:29:24)
I've bought products because certain athletes wore them and I'm like, oh, well, if they use this or that, I'm going to use this. So I totally agree with that.
Erika (1:29:30)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:29:32)
And
Erika (1:29:32)
Yeah.
Eric (1:29:33)
it's not just the top athletes. It's just the ones who have like the following, likeness, the image, So before the Allie episode, I thought like there's three sides of a story, their side, her side, and the truth, and it's somewhere in the middle. I believed everything Emma said except one thing. I don't think she posted that real.
to pump the tires of these other energy goose. I think she knew exactly what she was doing. And to her credit, like, I don't blame her for doing it. Not one bit at all. I thought originally like, bold move, Cotton. We'll see how this plays out. But.
Erika (1:30:11)
Well, you
know what though, it's funny that that like she does have the reach of the fans and if you can't go down for this It could have gone the other way if they would have just supported her during her pregnancy and like just made it up like made the deal either like the same or just drop those performance clauses or something Emma still would have been pumping their tires and they still would have been getting like good press, but now that
Eric (1:30:26)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Erika (1:30:40)
that it's gone. Like you could just see how far her reach goes and sorry you can, I don't know.
Eric (1:30:44)
Yeah,
I don't think they saw her making that post and kudos to her for doing it. I originally thought like, we'll see. I don't know, brave move, but Tara, any final thoughts on that?
Erika (1:30:52)
Yeah.
Ptara (1:30:59)
I just, don't know. I feel like social media is such like a powerful platform. And I'm very glad that it was not like that when I was a child, because I'd probably be in jail right now. But ⁓ if I was posting all the things I was doing, it's it's good if you use it the right way and stuff. And I just wish that there was more transparency with it, because obviously, like you said, there's three sides. ⁓ And then you saw a lot of the comments that you can made coming back. And I just really would love to see
Eric (1:31:09)
my god. Well. Yeah.
Ptara (1:31:29)
the contract, the first contract in December, and then the second one. Because I bet you it had a lot to do with like, they probably expected her to do a ton more. And then now that you're pregnant, like, yes, you can still run through pregnancy, but anything can happen during pregnancy. You could be sick for eight months and not want to do one race. Exactly. So.
Erika (1:31:33)
Uh-huh.
That was MSK's.
Eric (1:31:45)
and you don't know what's gonna happen, and you don't
know what's gonna happen post-pregnancy. So that's again, why I think just name image likeness plays a huge role in this. I think it trumps race results.
Ptara (1:31:58)
Yeah, and I will give you a perfect example. So I know you guys this tying into the golf thing. So have you have you guys heard of Ricky Fowler? OK, so Ricky Fowler has not won a golf tournament in probably like eight years, but the guy rocks Puma like you wouldn't believe. the kids love him and he literally is Puma golf, but he hasn't won a tournament. But they still sponsor him. He rocks the Puma stuff. And you see all these little kids following him around at golf tournaments dressed head to toe in Puma.
Erika (1:32:06)
Yes.
Eric (1:32:07)
Yeah.
Erika (1:32:19)
Mm-hmm.
That's so cute.
Ptara (1:32:29)
That right there is
a good brand deal.
Erika (1:32:32)
Absolutely.
Eric (1:32:32)
And
he's not a bad golfer by any means, he just hasn't won one big. Similar story, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would his dad seven championships, 76 cup series wins. Dale Jr. I think had 26 wins, never won a championship. He went three to four seasons without a win. He was the most popular driver of the year. He had the biggest sponsor deals. The brands went to him because the fans loved him. Name, image, likeness.
Ptara (1:32:37)
Right, exactly.
Eric (1:33:00)
Didn't matter that he was struggling and having a really hard time, a lot to do with concussions. Name, image, likeness, performance results did not matter. He got the deals and the people bought the products.
Ptara (1:33:11)
He's cute too, that helps. Yeah, for a race car driver.
Erika (1:33:12)
Mm-hmm.
Eric (1:33:13)
Is he?
Erika (1:33:17)
You don't notice that kind of thing, Eric?
Eric (1:33:17)
Okay.
I'd never thought of him as the cute race car driver. Okay, all right. He's 50 something now. He's got the salt and pepper hair and beard. Yeah, yeah. He is married though, with two kids. Yeah, yeah. I don't think he has one of those. I don't think he needs one.
Ptara (1:33:24)
Yeah, he's attractive. Yeah.
It's my age range right there. Yeah. I'm going for the 401k.
Erika (1:33:39)
See, that's where you get me, you gotta get me in with like
Daniel Ricardo who was an F1 driver. Like that's more my speed. Sorry, Eric.
Ptara (1:33:46)
Pun intended.
Eric (1:33:49)
Yep. Nope.
Nope. Well, cool. I enjoyed that talk. I would like to do more. One last post, ⁓ one last comment. You mentioned social media. I said a couple of weeks ago, guys, you gotta chill out. Also, you guys gotta like watch what you read. There's so much fake post out there. Did you see about Matt Choi this week?
Ptara (1:34:11)
much.
Erika (1:34:11)
⁓
Eric (1:34:12)
Matt Choi got DQ'd
Erika (1:34:12)
yes, yes.
Eric (1:34:14)
from his Ironman, his first ever Ironman, because he didn't know a rule. Scott Black got penalized for the same thing Matt Choi did. And the only thing is, you get a penalty, you have to go serve a penalty in a penalty box. Well, the penalty boxes are in like two or three different parts of the course, and Matt missed it. It was the one at the end of the bike. He thought, and I could understand this, because everyone says, the rules,
The rule package is like 70 pages long. He thought that you just add the penalty time to your final time. So if you finished in seven hours, your official time is seven hours and two minutes. So he didn't know that he got DQ'd. The fake news went out there saying he got DQ'd for drafting behind his video crew on a moped.
Ptara (1:35:00)
God.
Eric (1:35:01)
And you have people, including people who've been on this podcast, reposting it and sharing it and talking about it and spreading the fake news. And you got the same thing with the, the you can thing. You got the same thing with whatever was a couple of weeks ago with that lady who made the bad hot take guys, guys, chill out on what you read and see on the internet. Do your research. Yeah.
Ptara (1:35:24)
Do your research. Do your research.
Eric (1:35:28)
Tara though, I hope you did some research on Tiger Woods.
Ptara (1:35:31)
Oh, my boy. Yeah, I know. I love that guy. I'm never not going to love him. He's made some really bad choices in life, but don't we all? He's just under a big microscope. Big, big microscoped, unfortunately. But then again, that was another fake news, like not fake news, but they came out and they're like Tiger Woods arrested for DUI. So then the Internet just blew up. But it's like he took it. Yeah. And like and then it was like, oh, yeah.
Erika (1:35:33)
Poor, poor tiger.
That's like me with Justin Timberlake.
Eric (1:35:54)
Mm-hmm. Said he was drunk.
Erika (1:35:57)
That's what you assume, but that could be
under any influence of whatever, right? So yeah.
Ptara (1:36:01)
Right. Yeah.
And then they came back. he blew a point zero zero zero on a breathalyzer. So obviously he's taking meds. The guy's gone through so much. I'm not promoting driving while under the influence, but he's on some type of medication that makes him. Yes, which you should not be operating heavy machinery while taking that. Like, that's just dumb. But he also he probably can't not take it because he's in so much pain. And it's just
Eric (1:36:17)
It was hydrocodone.
Right.
Ptara (1:36:31)
a part of his daily life. But again, like you have millions and millions of dollars. Why would you not hire somebody to drive you? But he did say that he doesn't want people knowing every little thing about his personal life.
Eric (1:36:40)
Erica,
send your application. heard that job pays 300K a year, but you have to be available 24 seven, know, but in case you're looking for a job, I don't know.
Ptara (1:36:45)
Yeah.
Erika (1:36:45)
to drive Tiger around. I'm in.
Ptara (1:36:50)
Yeah.
You gotta be down to party, apparently. We're gonna go play 18 holes of golf and then we're gonna do some pills.
Erika (1:36:53)
you
Well. ⁓
Eric (1:37:00)
I he hangs out with your boy Justin Timberlake.
Erika (1:37:01)
⁓ I can't think.
Ptara (1:37:04)
god, you know what's funny though is ⁓ the shirt that he was wearing. Did you see this when he got pulled over? It's sold out online
Eric (1:37:10)
Yes, I saw the video, yeah. And I would have assumed,
no way.
Ptara (1:37:15)
Yeah, this is how much people love Tiger Woods. Everyone they yeah, they went at that sold out online the next day. So and so and one more thing with that, I'd be interested because I was watching the ⁓ the ⁓ amateur women are playing at Augusta right now. Stanford is sponsored by Sunday Red, which is Tiger's company. So they have his logo all over their college uniforms. And I'm wondering if there's going to be anything
Erika (1:37:18)
Wow. Wow.
Eric (1:37:18)
Name image likeness.
No way.
Erika (1:37:24)
That's insane.
⁓ huh.
Ptara (1:37:44)
with that if they're I doubt it. I mean, he he gives it. Yeah, he.
Eric (1:37:45)
No. No.
Erika (1:37:48)
You can keep us posted.
Eric (1:37:50)
tell you why,
because he already made a statement. He's already going out to seek help. Obviously he needs to get, you know, off painkillers. Obviously he's taken too many because his body's mangled. He's been absolutely mangled. Like a couple accidents. And I guess what I heard is if you look at him in shorts, like one of his legs is not at all what it ever looked like before. Just absolutely mangled. So.
Ptara (1:38:03)
Yeah.
He needs to hang it up.
Yeah, they almost
had to amputate from the accident, the two accidents prior, because how bad he messed up his leg. Yeah, yeah. But I'm a huge, huge Tiger fan. We have the same initials, similar golf skills.
Eric (1:38:20)
Yeah.
Erika (1:38:22)
my god.
That's that's wild, that is wild.
Eric (1:38:28)
Absolutely wild, but you know
I playing Tiger Woods Golf on N64 or whatever.
Ptara (1:38:40)
Whoa, how old are you? Were you born? You were born in the 1900s, weren't you? ⁓ my God.
Erika (1:38:42)
Hey, we...
Eric (1:38:42)
Whatever was out during freshman year or college, what system was out?
I had a PlayStation 2, but we playing on a different console, I feel. It might have been, you're older than me.
Ptara (1:38:53)
Was that Atari?
I am, okay?
Eric (1:39:00)
You
Erika (1:39:00)
It probably was
a Nintendo of some sort. Probably N64, that sounds right.
Eric (1:39:05)
We were talking to someone the other day and I did not mention this, but we were talking about how I had three or four TV channels and we had an antenna on a roof in this dial. We would have to turn the dial. If we wanted to watch channel four, you just turn the dial and the antenna moves and you get channel four. And then you got to turn the dial somewhere else for the UPN 38 and you turn it for like channel seven. It was a dial. What's an
Ptara (1:39:05)
Gameboy.
Yes.
Erika (1:39:28)
People are like, antenna, what's that?
Ptara (1:39:29)
Were these the antennas? Were they the antennas
with the tin foil on the end?
Eric (1:39:36)
This I think was a better version of those. This was a big antenna from what I remember. Yeah
Erika (1:39:40)
man.
Ptara (1:39:41)
because
mine had a tin foil on the end.
Eric (1:39:44)
But Tara, weren't you born in the 70s?
Ptara (1:39:47)
Whoa, shots fired. What do you think I am, 50? I'll be 43 in May, all right, 83.
Erika (1:39:49)
Where'd you get that from? 70s.
Eric (1:39:56)
Well, you're
something, whatever he is, is over 50.
Ptara (1:39:59)
My boyfriend.
Yes, he'll be 53 at the end of April. 10 years older. Listen, I'm just trying to retire earlier. OK? Yeah, I got a plan. I got a plan.
Erika (1:40:05)
What's wrong with that?
Eric (1:40:06)
my God, wow.
There you go. There you go. But you're going
to have to take care of him sooner.
Ptara (1:40:16)
No, I'll just use money to pay somebody to do that.
Eric (1:40:18)
He's, he's,
why didn't you do that last summer?
Ptara (1:40:23)
Did!
Whoa. Okay, this is another episode. Okay.
Erika (1:40:27)
I didn't do it, Tara. I'm staying on your good side.
Ptara (1:40:29)
My
goodness. ⁓ That's a wrap.
Erika (1:40:33)
And we're done. Erica
saved this podcast.
Eric (1:40:40)
Erica, you can save in a second. Hey guys, don't forget, cheap marathon on Saturday. We'll talk about March Madness there because it's the final four. Congratulations to Ketchup to Cancer. And I think he has a lot of friends in his court because he beat Myrtle Beach and the Boston Marathon.
The train spike from ghost town has moved on the horseshoe beat the beach bum 51 to 49 percent the cowboy hat on past the New York City Marathon. So we have catch up to cancer train spike horseshoe cowboy hat What a unique set of medals in the final four. We'll talk about the winner on Saturday This has been a lot of fun Erica. You can now save this podcast and take us home
Erika (1:40:56)
Whoa!
What? Some upsets.
Ptara (1:41:08)
Yee-haw!
Wait.
Erika (1:41:22)
Thank you, it's Ghost Train, not Ghost Town. And thank you, thank you one more time. Exactly, see? So thank you one more time to my race tats for being an amazing partner. We love you Dawn, and good things are coming. Thank you all for listening as always. You know we love you.
Eric (1:41:28)
It's just like it's Carolina, not Carolina.
Ptara (1:41:44)
Never trust a fart.
Eric (1:41:45)
Don't fear the code brown!
Erika (1:41:48)
And don't forget to stretch.
Eric (1:42:39)
you, My Race Attached, Cheap Marathon, You Go Jason, and then I'll follow my list. Cool.
Erika (1:42:44)
Sure, sure, All right. All right, so are we coming back?
Ptara (1:42:49)
I have to burp. No, I'm internally.
Erika (1:42:50)
Jordan oh you want to go You're good. Okay.
All right ready you want to bump up bump again? She's being respectful. We're good
Eric (1:42:56)
This isn't the re-crap.
Ptara (1:42:58)
No,
raining it in.
Eric (1:43:02)
Bum bum bum bum.
Ptara (1:43:06)
pew pew.
I could have saved you money on a soundboard.
