Carrie interviews Olympian Mechelle Lewis Freeman! Mechelle discusses participating in the 2008 Olympic Games, the rewards of coaching, parenting, and her company Track Girlz.
Show notes for this episode can be found at ctollerun.com.
Mechelle Lewis Freeman
A Maryland native, Mechelle Lewis Freeman is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where she obtained both her Bachelors and Master Degrees in Mass Communications. She was a member of the 2002 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field team who brought the first National Championship in any sport to the university. Mechelle is a Track & Field 2007 Pan American Double Silver Medalist, 2007 World Champion, and 2008 Olympian. Her events included the 100 meters and the 4×100 meter relay. She currently coaches sprints and relays for the Wayzata High School Girls Track Team and is the Assistant Relays Coach for USA Track & Field’s National Teams. Off the track, Mechelle turns her focus to TrackGirlz, her company she founded to empower women and girls through track and field inspired apparel, camps, and fitness events. As a marketing professional, she has managed global brands including Coca-Cola, IBM, and the Xerox. Mechelle is passionate about sharing her personal journey to inspire others. She currently lives in Maple Grove, Minnesota with her husband, David, and two children, Bayne and Harley.
Carrie interviews Twin Cities in Motion Executive Director, Virginia Brophy Achman! Virginia shares the most rewarding aspects of her job, her favorite parts of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon course, and offers words of encouragement for first time participants.
Show notes for this episode can be found at ctollerun.com.
Virginia Brophy Achman
Virginia Brophy Achman is executive director of Twin Cities in Motion (TCM), the organizer of the region’s premier running events, including the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, a Top 10 U.S. Marathon and a year-round calendar of events. She joined TCM in 2000 as Race Operations Manager and served as Race Director before becoming Executive Director in 2004. During her leadership, TCM has evolved into a mission-driven organization that promotes healthy lifestyles through running events and community outreach and contributes a portion of every race dollar to local youth and professional athletes, raising more than $1.4 million annually with its charity partners. Virginia is active in the running industry and served as Chair of Women's Long Distance Running for USA Track & Field (2008-2012) and President of Running USA (2009-2012). Currently Virginia is a 25 year volunteer, serving as Chair of Registration for Race for the Cure--Susan G. Komen Twin Cities. Virginia is also serving a two year term on the Running USA Board of Directors and is a founding member and serving on the Marathon Safety and Security Summit Steering committee at the National Center for Spectators Sports Safety and Security (NCS4). A runner herself, Virginia has completed ten marathons. Virginia’s passion for getting the Twin Cities moving is reflected through the many programs TCM offers including corporate wellness and youth running. Through its year round running events, TCM is able to inspire and support individuals and families efforts to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
Carrie interviews 17-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden! Tatyana discusses her advocacy work, bringing people together through the sport, and her career as a Child Life Specialist.
Show notes for this episode can be found at ctollerun.com.
Tatyana McFadden
There are very few athletes in history who have come from so little to accomplish so much. Born with a hole in her spine caused by spina bifida, Tatyana McFadden spent the first six years of her life in a Russian orphanage with virtually nothing, not even a wheelchair. Paralyzed from the waist down, and with no other way to move, she learned to walk on her hands simply to keep up with the other children. Little did she know that the powerful arms and hands she began to develop as a small child would someday carry her around the globe as one of the world’s greatest athletes.
In 1994, Deborah McFadden, then Commissioner of Disabilities for the U.S. Department of Health, came upon Tatyana while visiting her orphanage on an otherwise routine business trip. She felt a connection, an inexplicable feeling that they were meant to be together. Deborah adopted Tatyana, brought her to the United States and gave her both a wheelchair and a new start on life.
The transition was difficult and Tatyana’s health worsened so she was enrolled into various sports groups in hopes that it would build her strength. It did, and then some, and so began Tatyana’s extraordinary life as an athlete. Tatyana tried every sport she could find; wheelchair basketball, swimming, ice hockey, and even scuba diving. From the start she fell in love with wheelchair racing—a sport through which her powerful arms immediately brought success.
At 15, Tatyana made her Paralympic debut in Athens in 2004. She was the youngest member of Team USA. She returned from Greece with her first two medals and a hunger to become the best. Two years later she was winning gold at the World Championships and setting a new world record in the 100–meter event. At the 2008 In London, in 2012, she added another four medals, three of which were gold. One year later, at the 2013 World Championships, she became the first athlete in history to win six gold medals at the same event. Her dominance was in full swing and she was still only 24.
In 2016, at the Rio Paralympics, Tatyana continued her dominance in wheelchair racing by winning four gold and two silver medals, bringing her total count of Paralympic medals to 17. She was awarded several prestigious awards in 2016 including:
• Best Female Athlete of the 2016 Paralympic Games, United States Olympic Committee
• Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro for athlete who has performed at an outstanding level and overcome adversity and best exemplifies sportsmanship
• ESPY Best Female Athlete with a Disability, 2016
Tatyana concluded 2016 by holding world records in the 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m. Tatyana challenged herself with the professional marathon circuit in 2009, and with her win at the Chicago Marathon, she set off an extraordinary string of first place finishes that is still going strong. In 2013 she won the Chicago, London, Chicago and New York marathons, becoming the first man or woman, able-bodied or disabled, to win the Grand Slam (four World Major Marathons in the same year) and then repeated her Grand Slam victory in 2014, 2015 and again in 2016.
Always looking for a new challenge, and intrigued by the idea of returning to Russia to race, in 2013 Tatyana decided to give cross country ski racing a try in hopes of earning a spot on the Sochi Paralympic Team. With less than a year of on snow experience in her life, Tatyana made her winter Paralympic debut in Sochi and in a dramatic sprint to the finish line she narrowly missed yet another gold medal, settling for silver.
In 2014 Tatyana graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, and is returning to U. of I. to pursue graduate work in Education. When she isn’t racing or studying, she works as a national advocate for equal access for people with disabilities, is a lifetime member of the Girls Scouts, is on the Board of Directors of Spina Bifida of Illinois, and speaks to children and adults about healthy living.
Carrie interviews Olympian Courtney Frerichs! Courtney discusses her new American record, training with the Bowerman Track Club, her relationship with her husband, and her future racing goals.
Show notes for this episode can be found at ctollerun.com.
Courtney Frerichs
Courtney grew up in Nixa, MO. She attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City for undergrad where she was a 5-time All American. She transferred to the University of New Mexico for graduate school and competed her fifth year of eligibility for the Lobos where she would lead the team to a NCAA Cross Country Championship title with a fourth place finish and win the NCAA title in the 3k steeplechaise in a collegiate record. She currently trains in Portland, OR with the Nike Bowerman Track Club, coach by Jerry Schumacher. She was a member of the 2016 Olympic team, silver medalist in the 3k steeplechase at the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships, and holds the American Record in the 3k steeplechase.
Carrie interviews coach, nutritionist, and author Matt Fitzgerald! Matt talks about running after 40, speed work, and his experience of running eight marathons in eight weeks.
Show notes for this episode can be found at ctollerun.com.
Matt Fitzgerald
Matt is an acclaimed endurance sports coach, nutritionist, and author. His many books include The Endurance Diet, 80/20 Running, and How Bad Do You Want It? Matt’s writing also appears regularly in national magazines and on major websites including Women’s Running and competitor.com. His online training plans have helped thousands of athletes of all experience and ability levels achieve their goals. Certified by the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Matt has consulted for numerous sports nutrition companies and he is the creator of the Diet Quality Score (DQS) smartphone app. A lifelong athlete, he speaks frequently at events throughout the United States and internationally.