Defying Limits: Keri Mandell

In this powerful episode, Keri Mandell shares how her lifelong dream of having children was crushed. Yet, she rose from this dark place and on to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days (She What?!?). Don't miss this story of strength and hope, and discover why Keri always pushes herself beyond her comfort zone. 

Follow Keri's Instagram and visit her website, Empower Training and Retreats and Empower Yoga studio in New Jersey.

For more, visit She What? on Instagram.

Brought to you by Capital Health

Credits:

Producer and Host: Jess Downey

Producer and Host: Maureen Petrosky

Producer and Editor: Leigh Iacobucci

Artwork: Peter Yates Design

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Transcript

Keri Mandell (00:03):

Instead of thinking about what my body couldn't do, I started thinking about what my body could do.

Jess (00:18):

I'm Jess Downey. You might know me as Editor-in-Chief of Real Woman and Thriving Magazines for Capital Health.

Maureen (00:24):

And I'm Maureen Petrosky. You might have seen me on the Today Show or CBS mornings as an entertaining expert or know some of my books like Wine Club and Zero Proof Drinks,

Jess (00:33):

And we're two friends who created She What?

Maureen (00:36):

<laugh> a podcast that digs into the personal and often surprising stories of women who inspire us

Jess (00:42):

And they get real about the wins, the fails and everything in between.

Maureen (00:47):

Here we invite her to tell the whole story, the pain she endured, the triumph she celebrated, the friend she made along the way, and maybe even how she reinvented herself.

Jess (00:58):

These are the kinds of stories that make us think. They make us laugh, they keep us going.

Maureen (01:04):

Need a dose of inspiration. It's here. Need a fresh perspective. We got that too.

Jess (01:18):

Hi Maureen.

Maureen (01:19):

Hi Jess.

Jess (01:20):

When you think of an ultra marathoner or an Ironman athlete, there are a few words that come to mind. Driven, slightly deranged, <laugh>,

Maureen (01:30):

But not yogi, not imposter syndrome, not someone who questions whether she's even an athlete.

Jess (01:36):

There are so many She Whats in this episode? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Our guest, Keri Mandell is all those things. For starters, this woman ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. And that's really just a warmup to all the wild things she's accomplished.

Maureen (01:53):

Totally insane, but it wasn't all smooth sailing. She hit a few bumps along the way, but she continues to prove her strength and how brave she is.

Jess (02:03):

She is so brave. Oh my God. Her dreams have really changed pretty dramatically. But they are just, as big listeners just take care of, there are some tough conversations regarding suicide in the episode ahead.

Maureen (02:14):

She's full of energy though, and she'll definitely squash any limiting beliefs you may have holding you back. So stick around. Keri Mandell, welcome to She What?

Jess (02:33):

Hello. Thank you so much for having me <laugh>. It's so great to have you here. And Maureen and I who are very competitive people and we're even competitive dragon boaters, we both describe ourselves as, you know, pretty driven even when it comes to working out.

Maureen (02:48):

But you're in a completely different hemisphere. So <laugh>, I read some of the highlights of your athletic journey and I was like, she what? <laugh>. So

Jess (02:57):

Seriously, every time I see a post or a story about you, you're running 10,000 miles through a desert <laugh> or finishing an Ironman. So before we get into some of those highlights, will you just kind of catch us up on what you've been up to these days?

Keri Mandell (03:10):

So I'm currently training for Ultraman Australia. Ultraman is a three day ultra triathlon, a staged race. And day one is a 10 K swim, followed by a 91 mile bike ride. And then day two is 171 mile bike ride. And then day three is a double marathon. So each day you have 12 hours. Simply play each stage.

Jess (03:28):

<laugh> a double

Keri Mandell (03:29):

Marathon. Yeah. Come on. It's like stop it <laugh>. Why race one day when you can race three? Because

Jess (03:34):

One's not enough. Yeah. Oh,

Maureen (03:36):

I'm literally tired listening to the litany of things you just listed there, but have you always been a diehard athlete or like did you come out of the womb on the run

Keri Mandell (03:46):

<laugh>? You know, I wish, I always say I work really hard to be like mediocre <laugh>. It's funny 'cause like I sometimes don't always consider myself an athlete. It took me much later in life that I actually started working out. No, I wasn't like that. And I didn't really become athletic until I was in my thirties and currently 44. So I kind of started a little bit later in life. How

Jess (04:04):

Did that happen for you? So

Keri Mandell (04:07):

It's something that's actually coming up in my book that I will be releasing in the fall. Okay. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert <laugh>. My husband and I got engaged in 2008. I decided that I wanted to get in shape for the wedding and started up bootcamp NTRX, got a personal trainer, started doing some different things, eh, but it wasn't until 2009 when actually we had been, we just got married in July and then in that fall I had discovered that I had cervical cancer. It was early stages with surgery. We were able to take care of it. But as a result of the procedure, I ended up getting pelvic inflammatory disease, PID, and I got really sick and I was sick for about six months. And it's one of those things where it affects your reproductive organs. Right? So at that time, you know, my husband and I had planning on having children. I always envisioned this, you know, four kids and a white picket fence kind of thing. And um, I had found out that I wasn't able to have kids

Jess (05:03):

Obviously. Like finding out you can't have kids must have been an a massive blow to, to you and your husband. What was that like? I know for you that was pretty intense.

Keri Mandell (05:12):

When the doctors told me that I became really depressed, it was really hard pill to swallow. I always say yoga saved my life because I had actually had a plan to commit suicide. What was so upsetting is, you know, I said to my husband as when we had met, we had always talked about having kids and that was really important to the both of us. And then me not being able to, I had tried to tell him, you should really divorce me and you should find somebody else that you can have kids with and you know, have this life that I can no longer provide you. And he's like, no, we'll figure it out. You know, whether we adopt or you know, we'll work on this. I, you know, I love you, I'm here with you and you know, we're in this together. But in my mind I was like, well if I'm not here anymore, then it kind of forces him to move on and just have that family.

Keri Mandell (05:53):

So that's where I was coming from a place of he will make the decision, I'll make it for him and I'll just, you know, end my life. So when my friend suggested yoga, I kind of was like, okay. Like it was like the worst, best thing after that class immediately was like, I need more of that in my life. Whatever that was. I remember crying in half pigeon. I was like, I need that. So what I started to focus on is instead of thinking about what my body couldn't do, I started thinking about what my body could do. And that's when I started really running. And then from there it was like, okay, half marathon marathon, I'm gonna run all the world major marathons and then I'm gonna do the World Marathon Challenge, which was seven marathons and seven continents in seven days. And I didn't know how to swim. So I'm like, I'm gonna take swimming lessons and I'm gonna do a triathlon. I'm gonna do a half Iron Man and Iron man. And now Ultras.

Maureen (06:38):

Okay, take a breath. Holy cow, <laugh>. I'm like, whoa. I'm just like, I can't even keep track of all the things you just rattled off. Like wow.

Jess (06:49):

So from the time that you took that yoga class mm-hmm <affirmative> was that the last time you ever thought of taking your life that day? Yes. That's so wild. What do you think, was it like being back in your body? Was it learning how to breathe? Like what was it about that experience do you think? They,

Keri Mandell (07:05):

They say that, you know, we hold so much stress and trauma in our body and when you do yoga you're opening up different chakras and you're just releasing a lot of this stuck energy. And I think that, I just remember crying and everything. It was like this weight that I'd been carrying just washed away. And I, you know, started breathing for the first time. I started seeing things in a different light, experiencing things in a different light. And my whole world just kind of changed.

Jess (07:30):

It's remarkable.

Keri Mandell (07:31):

Almost like a switch was flipped. Yeah. Where I just kind of was like, no, I'm not, I'm not doing this anymore. And now you know, this is now what I'm doing and where I'm moving and what I'm, you know, working towards.

Maureen (07:43):

I'm so grateful that you found yoga. Same. I feel lucky that I've been doing yoga since I was a teenager. It was just like something where I lived. Like there's lots of yoga studios. Jess and I live kind of in the same area now, but that was like a normal thing people did was yoga. Mm-hmm <affirmative> And I've done it my whole life. And for me it is like a spiritual experience. Like it's kind of my religion. Like it's that space. Like I have definitely cried in Shavasana. Jess, I'm sure you have like

Jess (08:10):

<laugh> usually child's pose for me, but

Maureen (08:12):

Yeah. Child's pose for you. Yeah. So there is like this metabolic release that happens in yoga that I think, or maybe it's a rebalancing that lets you get to that space. I just feel like you said a hundred things I don't wanna gloss over so I do wanna go back though 'cause you just, yeah. You know, slid in there that you had cervical cancer, like just no big deal on that list of gigantic things that you accomplished, how old were you when that happened?

Keri Mandell (08:38):

I gotta do the math. I'm 44 now. It was in 2009. So how many, I don't even know what year we're in

Maureen (08:45):

<laugh>. Don't ask me to do public math.

Jess (08:46):

We're in 26. That was 17 years ago. Yes.

Keri Mandell (08:50):

So it was like 20, 27. Yeah.

Maureen (08:52):

So you were young. Yeah. Wow. And so like what were your symptoms? Like how did you get to that finding?

Keri Mandell (08:59):

None,

Maureen (09:00):

No symptoms.

Keri Mandell (09:01):

Um, it was just a pap smear.

Maureen (09:03):

Wow. Wow. So it's just like your annual and mm-hmm <affirmative>. You did a pap and they can't called you and said, they're

Keri Mandell (09:09):

Like, okay, there's abnormal cells, let's remove some and let's get it tested. And then it got tested and they're like, wow, do you have this stage one? You know, super early on we just gotta remove a chunk of your cervix. And I was worried at the time like, am I gonna be able to have children? And they're like, yeah, you should still be able to have kids. This is an easy procedure. This happens. Like whatever. They made it sound like it was no big deal too. And I just remember going in and the procedure should have taken like 30 minutes and it took like over two hours. So right there something was wrong. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I feel like it was like a botched procedure. Oh. Afterwards I just left and I was really crampy and in a ton of pain and um, I had a low grade fever and I wouldn't go away. Wow. And then finally I went to a different doctor's and specialist. So I went back to him and he was just like, well, you know, just takes time and you'll feel better and everything will be okay. And he kind of just brushed over the whole thing.

Maureen (09:58):

Was it like a DNC? Is that what they did?

Keri Mandell (10:01):

I got DNCs later on, but um, almost like a melon ball scooper. Okay. They kind of go in in there and cut it out. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Okay. And then it got infected. I ended up with pelvic inflammatory disease. It just got a bacteria infection and just kind of grew from there. They didn't totally know what was wrong with me for a while. I was outta work over six months I was tired and I couldn't really function and cope and I just was in constant kind of chronic pain. And then when I finally went to another doctor, she had kind of diagnosed me. They gave you medicine to kind of treat it, but once it affects your, you know, reproductive organs, there's nothing you can do. There's no like going back and fixing it. Yeah. So we actually tried a couple rounds of IVF and then, you know, different hormones and that never worked.

Keri Mandell (10:42):

So basically, essentially what happened was I had no uterine lining, so there was nothing for the egg to attach to. Okay. So I wasn't able to bear children. And she was like, this isn't, you know, you know, we tried all these steps, we tried all this medicine to try to help and nothing worked. Yeah. So I was just like, what do you mean? And like, what do you mean I can't have kids? Like that's like crazy. Like, you know, and my mind and growing up, you know, my mom was a stay at home mom. She had three kids and I always, you know, was very family oriented and just kind of thought like, oh I was just gonna have kids too. I, you know, became a school teacher. I love children, I was gonna have my own and that was what I expected. And then it was just like, whoa.

Keri Mandell (11:17):

But I always kind of say, you know, it was a really difficult traumatic time in my life, but I think my life is so much bigger than it would've been and I've been able to help so many more people and do some really incredible things. So it's kind of been a blessing in disguise. Yeah. It doesn't affect me like it used to. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I thought my options were so limited about what my life could be and now I realize there's so many other things. You know, people who choose to not have kids or have kids and you know, there, there's so much out there that I wasn't even necessarily aware of or thinking about at the time.

Jess (11:48):

It's crazy because there's this one big thing that you expected of your body from the time you were little that wasn't gonna happen for you. And instead your body became capable of all these other things that most people can't do. Yeah. So what was the athletic endeavor that made you realize, oh I could do some pretty cool things. An ultra marathon, you know, when did you have that aha moment?

Keri Mandell (12:10):

There was no necessarily big aha moment. I mean the yoga certainly taught me about strength and what I love about it, it's a practice every day's different and you show up and you're different and you know, some days you can do certain things and some days you can't. And that's the beauty of it. It's just kind of like, it's just meeting you where you're at, start doing handstands and arm balances and doing all these things that I was like, wow. I never even, yeah. You know, when I thought about yoga, I thought everyone just sat around and like chanted and you know, I didn't understand the different types of yoga, you know? Mm-hmm <affirmative> So when I went into this power yoga studio and I was like, whoa, what is this? Like this is totally different. I remember it felt very cleansing and detoxifying and I was just like, what is this?

Keri Mandell (12:46):

And there's just so much strength and power in there. So I just kind of started questioning my other limiting beliefs I guess. I never thought I could run. I was, you know, at the time I was probably a size 14, 16 weighed uh, over 185 pounds. I definitely enjoyed drinking and eating and hanging out with friends. I was a little bit of the party girl and I never thought I had a runner's body. So once kind of yoga happened and all those things started changing, it was like, well well wait a second. Maybe I can run. You know, I always kind of thought I couldn't run and have a body for it. Well maybe I can. What does that look like? And obviously it started off slow, run a block, walk a block and you know, you kind of built from there. And then it was like, okay, I was deathly afraid of the water, thought I could never swim. I'm not a swimmer. And then I was like, well wait a second,

Maureen (13:30):

Right? You just like mentioned you were gonna do a triathlon and you're like, but I didn't know how to swim. I'm like, who thinks that way?

Keri Mandell (13:36):

I took swimming lessons and I remember like crying and I had to put my face in the water. I was like, this is not gonna get the best of me. So my whole mindset really just shifted and I wasn't gonna allow myself to kind of get in my own way. And I started questioning everything. And when things were really hard and I wanted to give up, that's when I was like, no, we have to keep going. You have to keep persevering.

Maureen (13:58):

So do you think that mindset and like continuing to grow that mm-hmm <affirmative>. Is supported by your yoga practice?

Keri Mandell (14:04):

A hundred percent. I mean I also think like physically and mentally, emotionally, because I do a lot of really high endurance things and I think I wouldn't be able to do a lot of the things that I do without yoga. I think the mobility, flexibility, you know, super important. And I think it's helped me stay healthy so I can continue to do all this stuff. Your body adapts too. So I remember when I first started running, I didn't necessarily understand nutrition and fueling properly and I didn't understand the importance of stretching or warming up. So I definitely was injured a bunch. You know, you start to learn things and then your body starts to adapt and it's like, okay, well you can run 20 miles, you can run 26 now. It's like, well what about a 50 k? What about a 50 miler? So now, you know, I'm able to do some really incredible things, but I've also built up last like decade has been built, you know, doing it.

Keri Mandell (14:54):

And now like my recovery is much better. I understand more about fueling, I understand the importance of the yoga and the stretching. And so I do a lot of things to set myself up for success versus, you know, hurting myself. Because I think a lot of times that happens a lot, especially with women, you know, we have this idea we wanna be skinny so we start working out 'cause we wanna lose weight. But when you're in the endurance world, you need to eat and you need carbohydrates. So oftentimes, you know, work with athletes now and runners and triathletes, it's like, well I wanna be in a calorie deficit 'cause that's how you lose weight. So I'm gonna go run an hour or two hours, but I'm not gonna eat and drink anything. And then that just, it has the opposite effect

Jess (15:27):

Depletes you. Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

Maureen (15:29):

Yeah. It is fascinating to think about, like when I first was reading your story, the balance of yoga and endurance sports. Like Jess and I were saying they could not be more opposite. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. You know, people are usually into yoga or they're usually a runner. Like you're, you don't usually find someone like you who has found the way that they compliment each other. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Like how these different things fulfill different parts of your life. So what does like your normal day look like now? Like are you doing yoga every day? Are you running every day? I mean, you're training now for another race.

Keri Mandell (16:02):

I work out every day. You know, I, I probably train four to five hours every, every morning. Wow. A weekend is a little bit more and some days are easier than others. I have like recovery workouts, like Monday is a recovery day for me 'cause I come off a a pretty long intense weekend. So it's an easy swim and easy run. I like to say that in my previous life I was a school teacher, school administrator, quit my job to open up a yoga studio. That's been one of the biggest, you know, blessings also gave me a lot of freedom because of that. I've kind of set myself up where I joke, I'm like, I live and kind of train like a pro triathlete, but I'm not really a pro. I'm built for endurance. I can go really long and really far, but not super fast. I mean I'm not, I'm not winning Kona. Okay.

Maureen (16:41):

What people can see is that Jess just rolled her eyes at the same time I shook my head because you're like, I'm not really impressive. I think we're completely in awe of you <laugh>. We think you are completely impressive. Yes,

Jess (16:53):

We're impressed. I think

Maureen (16:55):

Just like for the listeners right now to understand this woman did the World Marathon challenge. She ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

Jess (17:06):

Yes. Actually, I think before we go any further, you have to explain what this is because for anyone who doesn't know you, it'll change whether or not they feel that you're impressive. So just can you, because also this was an event, your event happened in 2020 Yes.

Keri Mandell (17:19):

Right before the world shut down.

Jess (17:20):

And I remember that when you talked about it, there were specific challenges that had nothing to do with the fact that you're running seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. So can you just tell us that amazing story?

Keri Mandell (17:32):

So seven marathons in Seven Continents in seven days. It was created in 2015 by Richard Donovan and he kind of created this crazy idea and at the time only 39 women had ever done it. And I started looking into it and I was like, oh that does sound really cool. So in 2018 I had decided that I was gonna do it. I remember like going on to Facebook Live or like YouTube or something and saying like, I'm gonna do this. I dunno how I'm gonna do it because it comes with a pretty hefty price tag and I certainly can't afford myself. But I was like, I'm gonna figure out a way and I'm gonna work towards it. So I partnered with the American Cancer Society, so oftentimes larger charities we'll give out bibs for, you know, races, New York City Marathon, Boston Marathon. And I said, Hey, I wanna raise a ton of money for you for cancer research and in return I want you to kinda, you know, send me on this wild adventure.

Keri Mandell (18:18):

Let's work together. So they were really great and we actually came up with a partnership and collaboration with, uh, myself and one other gentleman who, who was running for a CS and did this. So yeah, so the World Marathon Challenge, we all met in South Africa. That's where we did the race debriefing. And then from there, typically you start in Antarctica. 'cause Antarctica is the most, I guess, unstable environment to run in. You know, we have to kinda make sure with, with the snow and the weather, it can be a little tricky to kind of navigate. And then once you start the first marathon, you have seven days. So it's 168 hours to complete it. So we went to South Africa, we kind of learned a little bit about what to expect, what, what the week was gonna look like. And then from there it typically, uh, took place in February of 2020. It's usually summer in Antarctica and the weather is typically about 30, 32 degrees. So kind of like, you know, live up in New Jersey in the northeast, very typical, you know, winter used to running in. And then this year they were actually having a warm front come in. So people were sending me messages like, oh, Antarctica's like 50, 60, it's gonna be like hot. Not when we went there, a cold front came in and it ended up getting to be negative 20 with like 50, 60 mile per hour gale forest winds. Oh

Maureen (19:24):

Oh, no thank you <laugh>.

Keri Mandell (19:26):

So we tried to go a couple times and the plane that we had wasn't able to land safely. So the race director, who I guess has a lot of friends in a lot of different places, ended up finding a Russian military plane that took us over to Antarctica. 

Maureen (19:42):

Okay. So like you guys weren't put off by the fact that a plane couldn’t land? 

Jess (19:45):

Yeah, I was just gonna say a plane couldn't land there 'cause of the gale force wins, but you guys are like, we'll be fine, let's do it.

Keri Mandell (19:50):

<laugh>, I mean you signed a waiver...

Maureen (19:53):

Oh, okay. Oh, the waiver. The waiver, the waiver trumps all like…

Keri Mandell (19:56):

You could die, you sign your life away here literally, you know? Sure. So it was kind of like one of those things. He's like, well we got the plane, we're gonna take you there and it's up to you. Here we are in Antarctica. So, you know, we kind of ended up there. I ended up with frostbite and two of my toes and my finger, which like the tip just, you know, it's fine now. Just like it's numb. Oh

Jess (20:14):

God, don't even. Just the tip. Stop it.

Keri Mandell (20:17):

<laugh>. But you know, it just kind of fell off and regenerated. There's no nerve feeling there, but it's fine.

Maureen (20:25):

<laugh>. Oh my god, I have nine others. Okay.

Keri Mandell (20:26):

It's like a reminder of, you know, Antarctica.

Maureen (20:28):

Okay. And so you almost like die in Antarctica. And then where did go to next ?

Keri Mandell (20:33):

Antarctica. Well, yeah. And the, and the plane almost didn't land right. I remember one of the, and I talked about this in the book too, we're flying in and the wind's so bad and, and they're kind of figuring out where the icy blue runway is and the plane's kind of coming down and then the last minute he decides to pull it back up 'cause he wasn't, I guess he was gonna overshoot the runway. So we all kind of like jolted and you know, we ended like flying back. My head flew back and we had to like circle around again and try to try to land again. So there were these moments of like, oh, like what, what's gonna happen? You know, once we finally landed, it was like eerily silent. Like we were all like, are we really here? Like is this, are we, are we okay?

Keri Mandell (21:10):

Are we alive? And then they opened the door and you walk out and you're in this, it's an icy desert. It's amazing. And it never gets dark there. The sun's kind of always up. Unbelievable. So the start of the run wasn't too bad, but as we were out there, the snow drifts kind of got up above my knee. So you weren't really running. Some of the faster athletes were able to run more steadily and kind of finish. Um, but us more, you know, calmers more normal person, you know, I took me six hours and I think 52, 

Maureen (21:37):

There'sothing normal about this. 

Keri Mandell (21:39):

No, that's right. I forget. Yeah. 

Jess (21:40):

Let's, let's just not use that word for the rest of this interview.

Maureen (21:44):

Okay. <laugh>. Okay. The, the normal The Normies. The Normies. Yeah. Yeah. <laugh>,

Keri Mandell (21:50):

I will preface it. What I always say is like, so there's a very small group of us, right? Who do these things or even ultras. I know that compared to maybe the normal population, I'm, I'm definitely an outlier and different, but compared to the group of people, like I'm kind of in the middle of the road, you know? Yeah. That's, I'm not, I'm not super fast and not, you know, the slowest, but I'm kind of the middle of the road. So does that help clarify things a little bit? <laugh>?

Maureen (22:11):

Yeah. I thought it was fascinating when you said you didn't consider yourself an athlete because like I was an athlete and I didn't consider myself an athlete. I remember Jess said to me like, what are you talking about? You are an athlete. You compete, you compete internationally. Like I felt maybe that same way that you're describing, like, I'm not good enough to be calling myself that, but like, at what point did you accept, was it after the World Marathon? I mean, I don't, I don't know. Like

Keri Mandell (22:37):

She's

Jess (22:37):

Still working on it.

Keri Mandell (22:38):

Maureen, she that doesn't accept it. <laugh>

Maureen (22:40):

Are you still like not accepting of that term?

Keri Mandell (22:43):

You know, I know I'm an athlete and it's funny 'cause I had a writing coach, uh, help me with the book. So after the World Marathon Challenge, I set it as a goal, you know, very super goal oriented, super driven, super type A. And I was like, I'm gonna do it, but with a pandemic hit and life happened and I didn't ever think I was like, worth it. Like I was like, well it doesn't bring me any financial gain, you know? And I kind of, I associated things with like how much money I can make that just was like in my head what I needed. I was like, well this isn't going to do this and I have to work really hard in doing other things. I'm also a Capricorn. So that kind of, that helps explain things a little bit. You know, I take like hobbies and try to make money out of them.

Keri Mandell (23:17):

It's like, oh, I love yoga, I'm gonna monetize it. Or you know, I love triathlon, I'm gonna coach. When I hired a writing coach, I was like, if I don't hire somebody that's gonna hold me accountable, this book will never get done. And I wanted to take it done. So in 23 I hired this author and she was calling me like an international professional athlete. And I was like, no, I'm not. And she's like, yes you are. You do all these things, you travel around the world, you're like one in, you know, 0.00, zero 1% of the population. And I still sit with that sometimes because for me, I'm a normal person, but high achiever, I don't see myself. I'm like, well, you know, it's hard. And I think we grow up in a society where we're constantly comparing ourselves to other people and what they're doing. And I'm like, well, I'm not fast, but I can go forever. And I always feel like I have to preface it. I guess that's a problem with, is it women? It also

Jess (24:02):

Probably has a lot to do with that. It that you came into it later in your life. Yeah. 'cause you know, so many of these athletes, you know, I watched all the Winter Olympics and they, they were kids when they started going down mountains or whatever they're doing.

Maureen (24:14):

Yeah. It's ingrained in them

Jess (24:15):

And that, and that's all they see themselves as an athlete. They're not, they almost can't conceive of themselves as something else besides an athlete. Right. They stopped doing the Olympics and they're like, Ugh, now what do I do? Yeah, but you, you're sort of the opposite, right? You li lived a whole life before you Yeah. Took on these endeavors. So maybe that's why it's, you're still figuring it out.

Keri Mandell (24:34):

It's just weird. It's

Maureen (24:35):

So validating for me, I feel like, you know, the girl who runs a 5K and pats herself on the back, I'm like, okay to hear you. Who's someone who's so unbelievably accomplished in all of these endurance sports to also be questioning it. I think a lot of listeners can well really resonate with that too. I don't know why we do that to ourselves girls, but No, we do in our eyes. Carrie, you are an amazing athlete.

Keri Mandell (24:59):

Thank you. I appreciate that. Just,

Maureen (25:01):

It is really interesting to hear. I know one of your recent posts you wrote Struggle can be transformative. Mm-hmm <affirmative> And I think that like for me that means something. But what does that mean to you?

Keri Mandell (25:12):

Well, it's the same kind of goes in line with like, life begins at the end of your comfort zone, which is my favorite quote. You know, if you know you can do something and you get it done, like okay, well you did it, but when you're not sure you can do something and you do it, that's a whole other ballgame. Like, you have to push yourself beyond what you think is possible into the impossible. And then that becomes possible. And struggle is where you find the growth. Like if you just aren't struggling and you're just going through life and you're just doing everything that you know you can do is you're never growing. You're just staying the same. So growth really only happens in those difficult moments. Those moments of uncertainty, the moments of struggle, that's when we really start to grow.

Jess (25:49):

I couldn't agree more. Yeah, it's so true. Same <laugh>. Yeah.

Keri Mandell (25:54):

So back to the World Marathon challenge, <laugh>.

Maureen (25:57):

Well, once you've done seven marathons in seven days, iron Man races a hundred miles in the desert. Like what's left on your bucket list to

Keri Mandell (26:06):

Do next year? I'm going to the North Pole because Antarctica wasn't cold enough. So, um,

Maureen (26:12):

That didn't scare you. Losing a fingertip didn't scare her. Nope. So she signed back up.

Keri Mandell (26:16):

I wanna get the Grand Slam medal. So after you run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, you know, you ran the South Pole, now you have to run the North Pole and then you get a grand slam medal. So I'm gonna do the North Pole next year. I'm also working on these thingss called F kts, fastest known time. So if you wanted to run from, I don't know, I'm in Florida right now for the winter. If I wanted to run from one point of Florida to the northernmost point of Florida to the, you know, the keys and I did it in three days and that'd be like the FKT and then someone else would try to come and beat me and try to do it in two and a half days, whatever it is. So there's never been a female to run the state of New Jersey. Men have done it from, you know, north to south and south to north, but no female has ever done it. So my plan is I'm going to fall of 27, be the first woman to ever run the state of New Jersey.

Maureen (27:02):

Oh Jess, let's go route her on.

Jess (27:04):

Oh, I'm ready. I'm ready.

Maureen (27:05):

Jess and I will be there. Yay. This, this is

Jess (27:08):

Up my alley.

Keri Mandell (27:09):

You come walk with me. You could pace me. Yeah,

Jess (27:11):

I'll ride my scooter. Yeah,

Maureen (27:13):

We'll we'll be on scooters. That'll be a great look for a She What <laugh>.

Keri Mandell (27:17):

There you go.

Maureen (27:17):

Perfect. That is so cool though.

Jess (27:19):

That is so cool.

Maureen (27:20):

I feel so honored that we know her before she does it. You know, like

Jess (27:24):

I know. Oh,

Keri Mandell (27:24):

Thank you. That's the plan. I mean, I don't know if anybody really cares. We care. They're like, good for you. Go run New Jersey. It's 208 miles <laugh>.

Maureen (27:31):

We care. It's so inspiring. I mean, it's so inspiring that you were not like just said a child athlete and that you took all these insane hits and then got up and literally ran with it and are doing such amazing things. It's so inspiring. Thank

Keri Mandell (27:47):

You. I appreciate it. And also, one of the things know about me too is I was born three months premature. Aw.

Maureen (27:51):

I had preemies,

Keri Mandell (27:52):

So I was three pounds and lived in an incubator and they weren't even sure I was gonna live. So my mom, they didn't even name me for a few days because wasn't sure I was gonna make it. Now I'm like literally the biggest one in my family. <laugh>, you know, I'm like five eight, you know, I'm, I'm pretty hearty. <laugh> <laugh>.

Maureen (28:09):

I would say you are thriving.

Jess (28:11):

If it wasn't for that fingertip, you'd be in perfect shape. Yeah. Oh

Keri Mandell (28:14):

My gosh, that'd be great In my toe. Right? But it's fine.

Maureen (28:17):

No one needs a finger or a toe. No <laugh>. Look, don't let anything hold you back. If that's one thing you can learn from Carrie Mandell, you don't need fingers

Keri Mandell (28:23):

Or toes.

Jess (28:24):

It's nothing. It's no big deal.

Maureen (28:26):

Keep going.

Jess (28:27):

And when does your book come out?

Keri Mandell (28:28):

I don't have an exact date yet, but it's called Limitless, what I Learned from Running the World in seventies. And it's about my life too. So it kind of, each part is talks about the race itself and each, you know, in Tica in South Africa. But it also kinda goes back in my life and kind of how I got to be this person that I am. Because as you've mentioned and as we said, you know, it came about much later in life. I'm self-publishing, so the book is done. So it'll be available on Amazon and you can get it on my website. You can pre-order it now. So yeah,

Maureen (28:57):

It's pretty cool. And where can people follow you and find out more about you, like in your yoga studio? Because

Jess (29:02):

You, you do retreats too, right? Keri? People can join you on, on retreats?

Keri Mandell (29:05):

Absolutely. I host two retreats a year. I usually have a women's only one. We go to a different national park chair. And then I have a yoga and fitness one, which is co-ed. Um, my husband and I run it. He does a lot of the fitness portion of it. I do, you know, the yoga and then it's very, you know, very active. We hike and we bike and everyone can kinda do as much or as little as they want. But great, great group of people that come and, and we definitely have a good time. So you can find my studio is Empower Yoga to have empower training and retreats

Maureen (29:33):

Before we let our guests go we always like to ask. And you sprinkled in a couple of good ones throughout our interview already, but is there any mantra or bit of advice that you live by every day or maybe that someone's given you along the way that just stays with you that you can share?

Keri Mandell (29:48):

One of the things I say to myself every morning is a great day to be alive and I try to just find the joy in everything and my work each day to challenge myself. Doesn't have to be physically, but do something every day that challenges me that's hard. And kind of just always kind of pushing the envelope a little bit too and just appreciating it because there was a point where I didn't appreciate it and you know, I might not have been here and I'm super grateful that I am. So it's a great day to be alive, <laugh>. Well,

Jess (30:15):

We're grateful you're here too. And we're grateful that you came on. She what? Because yeah, I'm still completely blown away. So thank you. Thanks Carrie.

Maureen (30:24):

Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much, Keri Mandell. And we cannot wait to see what you do next.

Jess (30:29):

True Dad.

Keri Mandell (30:30):

<laugh>. Thank you ladies, I appreciate it.

Maureen (30:33):

Whew. I feel like I ran a marathon after that interview. <laugh>

Jess (30:37):

Ultra Marathon. Seven marathons in seven minutes.

Maureen (30:40):

I'm tired thinking about it. <laugh>.

Jess (30:43):

Right? But you know, the, the word inspiring is overused and overplayed. But what is the word for someone like her?

Maureen (30:51):

I don't know. I mean, I know we use it all the time, but like, whatever that is, that's like bigger and better than inspiring is her.

Jess (30:58):

It's her. She's so motivating. She's the quintessential coach. She just makes you wanna be better and try more things.

Maureen (31:06):

I know it made me feel a little lazy, but I'm gonna get back after it.

Jess (31:10):

All right.I'm gonna push you and you're gonna push me and we're gonna be the carry of it

Maureen (31:14):

All. Okay, let's do it.

Jess (31:15):

Okay. She what comes to you from Real Woman Magazine, A product of Capital Health. This episode was produced by Leigh Iacobucci with Music by Epidemic Sound.

Maureen (31:27):

Please, please leave us a rating and review. We want this show to be so great and we need you to help us do that. So follow, subscribe, and next time bring your friends too. Until then, I'm Maureen Petroski.

Jess (31:40):

And I'm Jess Downey.