Today on the podcast, I have Sierra DeGroff on the show, introducing you to another ultra runner. I’m excited to share her story with you. This is an exciting time for Sierra as she’s racing Badwater next week!! Sierra is a 100 mile USATF champion as well as a 24 hour USA champion. She started running ultras in 2015 and she’s really excelled at the…

I’m so excited to have Steph Garcia joining us on the podcast. Stephanie is a retired steeplechaser for New Balance. She competed in the 2011 and 2015 World Championships for Team USA. In 2016, she placed fifth at the US Olympic trials. She was part of Furman Elite after college and then went on to run with Kim Conley and drew Wartenberg and traine…

Kendall Ellis won the 400m at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field becoming a National Champion and securing her spot to run the open 400 at the Paris Olympics. She PR’d in both the semi final and the final at the trials running a time of 49.46 in the final. This was her first PR in 6 years…. and you’ll hear in this episode she wasn’t so hung up o…

Is there anything better than watching someone become an Olympian?! Marisa Howard ran the race of her life at the Olympic Trials Steeplechase final last week. She ran 9:07 which was a 15 second PR for the Steeple veteran and first time mom. She placed third running a strong race from start to finish and if you haven’t seen the video yet of her fami…

In this episode, we take you behind the scenes into our monthly planning meeting. We talk about reasons why we host Illuminate, some of the future guests we have lined up, and what is going on in our lives, as well as stray off on several tangents as good friends do. So happy to have you along as we “illuminate” the randomness that is a friendship …

Today, I’m joined by the wonderful Briana Boehmer. I had the incredible opportunity to interview Bri in Boston, she was part of a live panel that I hosted. She ran her first marathon at the age of 42 in a time of 2:33. That was her first standalone marathon. She has done several Ironmans. She has a 9:22 Ironman PR and a 4:21 Half Ironman PR. She ha…

I am excited to bring you an episode today with Camille Herron. Camille is one of the greatest ultrarunners of all time. She’s a scientist, a coach, and an ambassador for the sport. She’s a four-time IAU International Runner of the Year and six-time USATF Ultrarunner of the Year. She is the only athlete who has won all of the IAU ultra road world c…

With the 77th Tonys airing last night, we couldn’t be more stoked for recent Illuminate guest, Cristina Vivenzio, a producer whose show just won the Tony for Best Musical (and Best Director and Best Lighting Design)! Not just any show, this one is based off of the well loved and still taught book, “The Outsiders.” If you haven’t downloaded the cast…

I am so excited to bring you an episode with Emma Kertesz! This is her second time on the podcast. Emma was first on the show back in 2019 for episode 215 (listen here!). Emma and I got to see each other at the Bayshore Marathon weekend which was amazing. Emma won the marathon and she had a big PR of three minutes and ran 2:37! Funny side story: I …

This is a super exciting episode because I have wanted to have Michael Johnson on the podcast since I launched I’ll Have Another! Michael Johnson is a legend in the entire sports world. He is a sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals in the span of his career. He held the world record and Olympic records i…

Kenna Valdez is joining me on the podcast today! Kenna is the creator behind the account @thefliphubb on Instagram. She is your resource for all things DIY, home flips, and furniture flips. So many cool things that she is doing over there including her new home that they had flipped, a house in the woods that is just too cute! Kenna is the mom of t…

This episode is my conversation with the one and only Des Linden. We recorded this live at the Bayshore Marathon Weekend in Traverse City, Michigan at the historic City Opera House. This was such a fun event and I was so grateful to sit down with Des for this live show! Des does not really need an introduction here, I don’t think, but in case you d…

I am excited to share my conversation with Hailey Magee. This is a conversation all about communication and setting boundaries and how to stop people pleasing. Big conversation, right? Hailey made it fun and manageable, though! Hailey has a new book out called Stop People Pleasing and Find Your Power! I think there are so many good takeaways from t…

In honor of SCAD graduation, this week we bring you senior and soon to be grad, Ayden Behn! In this conversation, we talk through how Ayden approaches new albums (like the Arianna Grande album from earlier this year) and then we dive into playlists, music, and more! This episode makes me fall even more in love with music – we hope you enjoy! Just S…

Today, we’ve got Laura Green on the show. If you are part of the running community, you probably follow her on Instagram, @lauramcgreen over there. I first learned about Laura when she did a funny skit on Instagram making fun of a bunch of us podcast hosts. And from then on, she has just continued to make some really solid content over on Instagram…

Elise Loehnen is on the podcast today! She is the author of On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good. This book weaves together history, memoir, and cultural criticism to explore the ways patriarchy lands in the bodies of women and embeds itself in our consciousness. Elise also hosts the podcast Pulling the Thr…

Amy Yoder Begley is a 2008 Olympian where she ran the 10,000m in Beijing. She now works for USATF as the Associate Director of Long Distance Running Programs. She moved to Indiana to work for USATF after coaching for the Atlanta Track Club since 2014. Along with her position at USATF she is also a mentor for the Heartland Track Club which is a new …

Today, I am thrilled to present an episode that was recorded live in Chicago, in collaboration with Fleet Feet Chicago and Altra. In this episode, I had the privilege of interviewing one of my favorites, Alysia Montaño. Alysia, as you may have recently heard, has been rightfully upgraded to a Bronze Medalist from the 2012 London Olympics in the 800…

Julie Bogart is back on the show today! Julie Bogart has a book called Raising Critical Thinkers. Julie is the creator and owner of Brave Writer, an online writing and language arts program. In this episode, we talk about what happens when our hopes and dreams for our kids do not align with their hopes and dreams for themselves. We also talk about …

Today on the podcast, my guest is Jenny Simpson, who just ran the Boston Marathon. She ran 2:31 and was the fourth American and 18th place over all. And this was just 10 weeks after a disappointing Olympic marathon trials where she made the decision to step out of the race at mile 18. We cover that at the end of the podcast. Jenny is a world-class …

Julie Bogart has a book called Raising Critical Thinkers which is mainly what we talked about in this episode. We chat not only about raising critical thinkers but also how to be critical thinkers ourselves. Julie provides passionate & compassionate exploration of what critical thinking is and how to hone this vital skill set in our children. Julie…

I’m exited to share my conversation from one of the live events I hosted at the Boston Marathon! This event as supported by Oiselle and proceeds from book sales at the event benefitted Girls on the Run Boston! In this conversation we learn about Elvin Kibets life and the book that Johanna Garton wrote called “All in Stride” that highlights her and …