Welcome to the RunDot Running Podcast

Andrew Harley: Hey, everyone. Welcome to episode one of the RunDot podcast. The mission of our show is to coach you with every conversation. We have run coaches from all around the world using RunDot to coach their athletes. And so each episode will bring on one or two coaches to teach us all about run training, run racing, nutrition, strength training, run gear, or sometimes even a run lifestyle topic. My name is Andrew Harley and I am the producer for the show. On today's welcome episode, I'll introduce you to our host, Carrie Tollefson. Carrie is an Olympian, she's a broadcaster and she's a podcaster who is super passionate about the sport of running and the run community. For this launch episode, she and I will talk about her professional racing and broadcast career and we'll talk about her podcast, C Tolle Run, and actually, this episode is going to go out to both the RunDot podcast audience and the athletes who listen to C Tolle Run. It's a crossover episode of sorts. So listen in, get to know Carrie, get to know RunDot and hit subscribe so that you catch all the future run coaching from our show. So without further ado, let's get the RunDot podcast officially rolling over to you, Carrie.

Carrie Tollefson: Today on the show I have my new producer and editor, Andrew Harley. Yes, someone new is editing. Hi, Andrew. We don't have Tim Bornholt editing anymore, but he is in our back pocket all the time. I know we love Tim. He has been with me since we started C Tolle Run. Tim has two kiddos at home and his wife and he's busy as an app developer. So we know he's going to take us in his ears every Thursday and maybe every Tuesday with Rondot. So big shout out to Tim. Love you, man. Andrew is now taking over and he is producing and editing C Tolle Run and RunDot. So we want to welcome you to the show. Thanks for coming on the show, Andrew.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, happy to be here. Happy to be podcasting with you, Carrie. It's always, always great talking to you and the work you and Tim have done over the years on C Tolle Run. Just huge shout out to Tim. He's been so helpful for me as I get caught up to speed on editing your show and producing your show. Tim is, Tim is an excellent artist and I'm happy to just being to carry the mantle, carry the torch that much farther with you, Carrie. I'm sure I'm absorbing a lot of the text messages that that use this in the Tim are now going to me. But yeah, Tim was great and the show is great. When I, when I first started learning your show, just, just to kind of take over as producer, and I was going back and listening to old episodes. I mean, the quality of the work, both you as the host and Tim is the producer, editor, just a great show. And I've enjoyed every episode I've listened to, and I'm excited to bring more C Tolle Run to the C Tolle Run audience and excited to start a RunDot podcast. And Carrie, you mentioned today's a crossover episode. So we have our RunDot audience listening. We have our C Tolle Run audience listening. It reminds me I was born in 1988. Carrie. I'm a 90s kid. And when I was a kid, I still remember when the Flintstones and the Jetsons did a crossover cartoon episode. Right. And they were both on this. And as a, as a kid, it blew my mind to have these two cartoons that I watched separately be on the screen together at the same time. And that's kind of what we're doing today. We have our C Tolle Run family and our RunDot family join together to listen to Carrie. So lots of, lots of exciting things today. And Carrie, I'm excited to get after it.

Carrie Tollefson: I know, you said it. Let's get after it. Yeah, I know it's. It's going to be really fun. I mean, I love what you do at TriDot and now at RunDot. And, you know, I think that just the audiences are going to hear two different podcasts hopefully every week. Right. And we're just excited to bring some great content in their ears or on their screen. So thank you for all the hard work you've been doing, even with sort of rebranding and doing things.

Andrew Harley: So, yeah, you say hopefully every week like you doubt. Like you doubt or.

Carrie Tollefson: I don't doubt you. I'm like, oh, okay, here we go. It's going to be wild, but it's going to be fun. So I want to hear a little bit more about you, Andrew, though, like, you are not those that listen to me know I've just been a runner forever, so. So I want to hear a little bit about your background before we get into some other things.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, sure. So I, I was a runner before I was a triathlete, and I'm wearing my Run out my RunDot hat today. But I, I work for. For Predictive Fitness, which is the parent company behind TriDot and RunDot, and. And I am a triathlete that was training with TriDot for years and years and years. And I, I knew the CEO because the CEO lived in the same town as me. We actually coached youth in junior triathlete programs at the same pool in South Lake, Texas. And so anyway, I got hired by the company to produce a podcast and produce some, some videos for TriDot. And TriDot has been on the market for years and years and years, helping triathletes train for anything from sprint triathlons to Ironman triathlons. And so I launched a podcast for TriDot. I'm the host of the TriDot podcast. I ramble on that podcast just like I'm already rambling right now on this podcast. But yeah, so, so I was a television producer. I went to college, got a broadcasting degree and worked in television in the Dallas Fort Worth area for a long time. And to. To marry my profession, which is media, you know. Right. Video production. With the sport of triathlon and running, it's the dream job. Like, I just get to sit at home and make running and triathlon content full time for a living. So it's, it's super exciting to, to be doing that full time. And now with RunDot, we'll be doing that with the Run podcast and with C Tolle Run.

Carrie Tollefson: So I do have a question, though, because I have been like, firing texts and questions and emails at you like crazy.

Andrew Harley: Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: And when you were coming at me, like, let's, you know, let's do this. Let's have both C Tolle Run, keep going, and let's get this RunDot podcast. You know, and just for lack of better term, like, they call us on air hosts or on air talent. You know, the talent. I always think that's such a silly word, but when, now that you aren't on air or doing anything like that, I mean, you're on air for TriDot. But I mean, like, you are sort of behind the scenes with me at C Tolle Run. Like, are you like, oh, this talent is crazy. Like, I, you know, I take, I take my, my running background and bring it to my other work, and it's still as intense and still as passionate. So do you kind of like feel that already? Like, Carrie's a little intense?

Andrew Harley: Not at all. And I can tell you, six years in working in live television, right. We had, we had a live show Monday through Friday for one hour. We were live every day of the week. And that the hosts. We had, the on air talent. We had some talent is more talented than others. And so I have worked with everything from, oh man, this, this on air talent is pretty rough to this on air talent is cream of the crop. I've worked with everything. And Carrie, you are fantastic. You, you are a pleasure to work with. And, and one of the other things with media too, like just in terms of getting texts from your talents and your, your production help at all hours. I mean, production is, it's an, it's an unconventional work schedule, right? Like you, you might have a podcast recording at 9 o' clock at night because the coach you're talking to is in Australia and that's their daytime. And so that's when you're working is, isn't it? And so, yeah, we're firing texts around the clock all through the day. And that's just production life, Carrie. It's production life. But you, you are a wonderful talent to work with. So far.

Carrie Tollefson: Well, it's been new, so you might get a little, you know, you might get a little annoyed after a while. But what do you think is, you know, different about RunDot and C Tolle Run? What can, you know, the audiences like, expect?

Andrew Harley: Yeah, fantastic question. I'm really excited about this. Like this. We launched the tried out podcast six years ago. We're on episode at the time, we're recording this, I think episode 314 just launched. So once a week for six years get you to 314 episodes. And when we launched the TriDot podcast, at that time there wasn't a lot of triathlon podcasts. There was like two or three and most of them were like interviewing professionals and just kind of like you're kind of hearing their perspective on the, in their experience in the sport. No one was out there coaching athletes through a podcast. And so with TriDot, like training athletes for races, having coaches on staff, helping train athletes for races, our core competency is educating athletes and helping them train smarter, be better, show up to race day more prepared. And so when we launched it, that was the goal of the tried out podcast was to get coaches on microphones teaching triathletes how to be better triathletes. And I actually, Carrie, just take a step back. I'm the host of the show.

I, when I first pitched the idea to our CEO to launch this podcast, I did not envision myself hosting. I was just going to produce it and be in the background and do my thing. I plenty comfortable on a microphone, but I, I'm not looking for that spotlight. That, that's not my personality. And I just, I, I, I just envisioned, you know, coaches on microphones talking shop and us as average athletes learning from it. And in the discussions about the show, it, it kind of just turned Into. Well, it needs a host, you and. Okay, well, Andrew can do it because he's comfortable on a microphone, clearly. And so for the RunDot Podcast, that's what we want to replicate now that RunDot is out there and we have thousands of runners already running with RunDot. We, we want to give runners a podcast they can go listen to where they hear coaches coaching them in the sport and, and not, not just coaches sharing their perspective, coaches putting their twist like, like fact based, evidence based, research based, big database. This is what successful runners are doing and how you should do your training. And so that's what we're going to, that's what we'll do through the Run podcast and then with C Tolle Run. What you do on C Tolle Run is you sit down with the personalities of the sport and have meaningful conversations. And Carrie, and I've told you this behind, behind the scenes Carrie, but I'll say it to all of our listeners as well. There's a lot of shows that do that. But what's special to me about C Tolle Run is you're not interviewing these big time runners as like a, a far away interviewer that's getting to know the person. You already know these people because you're their peer. You, you are neck deep in a sport right alongside these, these, these athletes and coaches you bring on. And so when I listen to a C Tolle Run episode, when I, when I am producing it behind the scenes and watching you talk to somebody like you, you're talking to them peer to peer. There's already an established relationship, there's already an established trust between the host and the, a guest. And so you get a lot more meaningful content out of it, a lot more meaning in the conversation that another interviewer might get because of how well you already know the person, how much they trust you and want to open up to you. So anyway, long story short, we want the everybody listening to us, right, which is our C Tolle Run audience and our RunDot athlete audience. We want all of you to listen to C Tolle Run, to, to get meaningful conversations, to connect into the sport, to hear different experiences from different people. Pros, coaches, race producers, with Carrie hosting. And we want you to come to the RunDot podcast to learn how to be a smarter runner, a better runner, to, to grow as an athlete in the sport. And on both shows, you get to have Carrie as your spirit guide, guiding you in your running experience.

Carrie Tollefson: Just what they want.

Andrew Harley: Just what they want. More Carrie.

Carrie Tollefson: I wore my off the shirt today because I know everyone's going to really get a lot of this Minnesota accent if they tune in. Yeah, but I was teasing when I said I like the spotlight, but I guess I kind of do in a way that I think that you're right. Like, we're going to bring two different podcasts, but I think what I've really enjoyed in this new role, and it's been a long time, like, let's. Let's face it, I haven't been racing in a long time, but I think what I love about it is, you're right. Like, I can. I get to talk to these athletes and be more like, even with the guides, I feel like I'm a big sister at times or, you know, somebody that can sort of connect people in a different way and. And maybe even the. I. I loved, you know, studying psychiatry and sociology and things like that. Like, maybe using that part of me and being. Being able to bring people together with their sport in a different way. So, yeah, I mean, I. I joke about liking the spotlight, and. And I. I am. I guess I shouldn't joke about it. I don't mind being on stage or with a camera on, but I really. What I enjoy the most about being a podcast host is being able to have these great conversations with people and learning more about them than just the fact that they can run fast in circles or that they can coach really well. Yeah, you know, at. At Runout, we're going to hear a lot from coaches, but I want to know, like, more about these coaches. Like, who are you? Why do you want to coach people all the time? Like, there's a lot of complaining that goes into coaching. Why do you want to do that? You know, or there's a lot of trying to figure out the best way to motivate someone. That is a hard job. So it's going to be fun. I'm super excited about it.

Andrew Harley: It's funny, Carrie, when. When you're a podcast editor, you know, after you do the interview and you bring the media in, it's all on the timeline. You can see in the audio waveform how much everybody talked. Right. Because you can see the waveform right there. And. And one thing I try to do on the Try it out podcast that you do, frankly, better than I do on C Tolle Run is because you care about the guest and because, okay, you're fine in the spotlight. You like the spotlight, but. But you're not there to talk over the other person. Right. There are definitely hosts of shows out there that when you pull their audio in, they talked way more than Their guest. And it's like, well, who. Who is this podcast for? Like, why was the guest even there if you wanted to talk that much? You do such a great job of. Of lobbying up the question as a host and then getting out of the way for the guest to shine and the guest to be the one that the person the audience member gets to know. And so your. Your audio waveform, it's. It's little blips, right, every couple minutes. And then the guest talks for minutes at a time. And on the Try to podcast, I try to do the same thing. I try to lob up a question to our coaches. They're the ones with the expertise, not me. I'm an average athlete. I am an average Joe athlete asking questions an average Joe athlete would have. And so I want to lob up a question and then get out of the way for the coaches to share their knowledge. And you do that so well on your show.

Not that you don't share your own stories and add in your own anecdotes, because people do care who you are and want to know who you are. But anyway, for RunDot, like, when we were like, okay, it's the. The training is out there. We already have runners using the app. They're already doing races and having a great experience. We need. We need to launch a run podcast for our running audience. And when we. When we started those conversations, it was, okay, well, who hosted Andrew's hosting the TriDot podcast? And I could step in and host the RunDot podcast. I. I was a. I'll be on.

Carrie Tollefson: I'll be.

Andrew Harley: I'll pop on. Yeah, I'll pop on when it's appropriate for me to pop on. But I. It was important to me that the person in that seat just be neck deep in running culture, because there's a lot of similarities between triathletes and runners, but there's a lot of differences between triathletes and runners. And I was like, the run is my favorite part of triathlon. It's my strongest discipline of the three. But I. I am a triathlete first and a runner second. It just. It's just a tennis player third. It's just true. And so we wanted somebody hosting this show, guiding our runners in the sport of running, in the running experience, who is just neck deep in running culture, who has a passion for running more than they have a passion for any other sport. And. And when we got connected with you, Carrie, and you and I started having conversations just. And I started listening to the way you interview People, you're, you're, you're very kind. You are very, you, you put your guests in a great position. Right. Like you are for the guest and, and, and, and your, your passion for the sport shows. Your passion for the people you're talking to shows. And we were like, man, this is definitely somebody that we want to have in this seat. And so we're, we're very excited to work with you. Carrie, when, when you first started talking with us and started learning about RunDot, what made you excited to work with us?

Carrie Tollefson: Well, I think first and foremost, to be honest, I heard that Meb was working with you.

Andrew Harley: Meb K. Yeah, he is. Yeah, he is, yeah, love.

Carrie Tollefson: And he's been a coach with RunDot. And so I was like, oh, if Meb and Howie, his brother, who's his manager and agent, you know, if they trust this company. Well, yeah, I mean, I, I definitely wanted to hear all about it. So I had Jeff, the owner of the company, come on, Jeff Booher and, and Meb, come on C Tolle Run a couple years ago, I think when Meb signed on.

Andrew Harley: Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: And we chatted about it. So if you want to listen to that podcast, go check that out at C Tolle Run. But yeah, it was just, it was cool. I mean, AI to me is still very different. And you know, I am an old school runner, so I think it was just kind of that intrigue of how do you mesh AI and coaching and, and you know, being an athlete and getting training plans and doing all that. I think that was, you know, intriguing, but also just that you have one of the biggest names in, well, US history, if not the running history in itself. And I think that, to me was really cool and exciting to know that I could be a part of something that is, is growing.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. And I know for you too, you, you voice this to me separately, but you just want people to have a good experience in the sport, Right. Whether they are going out and run, walking a 5K and, or whether they're going out and crushing up, you know, 248 marathon and qualifying for Boston. Like, you want people healthy, enjoying the sport from all walks of life, balancing the sport, you know, with their life. And that's what we specialize in at RunDot. So in all of our RunDot podcasts, just, just for our RunDot audience, I want to let you guys know this. We arrange our podcast a little differently from C Tolle Run. So, so today you, you, you heard the C Tolle Run intro music. You're seeing Sitali Run branding on the Screen in some spots. Starting next week, it'll be all run branding, run music, run everything. And the way we do this show is we, you know, Carrie will welcome you very quickly. We'll introduce who the guest is, we'll introduce what the topic is. And we just as our, as our shtick, as our clever little shtick, we like to arrange the show like a workout. And so when you do a proper run workout, you start with a warmup, you got to get warmed up. Then you have your main set where you're really growing and putting in the hard work and you have your cool down. And so our version of that for our podcast is the warmup is just a fun, light hearted, run oriented warmup question. So we might ask something like, of all the running shoes on the market today, what do you think is the best looking shoe? Oh, I mean, always three stripes for me and ours. Yeah, I love the colors on theirs. They've got that like lime green one out right now. Lime green and black stripes. Great looking. I think on, on running shoes always look fantastic. Yeah, they're not my favorite to run in.

Carrie Tollefson: Balance shoe, to be honest too. Like, yeah. My good friend and old Training partner Katie McGregor is a New Balance rep and she's crushing it. But I do, they're, you know, they are like a staple. But then there's pretty Asics and you know, I, I, I'm not a Nike gal, but I do like some of the swoosh stuff. So you know, all kinds of great brands out there. But I, I'm a three stripe gal.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. So, so we'll always start. See, we're already getting sidetracked with this question because the world questions are always so fun and, and that what's, what's difficult. Carrie on the TriDot podcast is coming up with a new funny question every week for 314 episodes. But we've got it down. So, so we'll start with a fun warm up question. We'll move into our main set and, and we, we spend three, four minutes on that. We don't go long. And the bulk of the episode is the main set where we talk about the, the primary topic. Right. And so it might be one of the ones Carrie we've already recorded is how to build a proper shoe rotation. And so you talk to Coach Brady for 45 minutes about, about what to look for in a shoe rotation as a, as a runner to keep your foot healthy. You know, what, what shoes do you pair with different runs? And then we kind of tack On a fun, two, three, four minute cool down. You know, cool down is a quick part of a workout, but an important part of the workout. And in the cooldown of the RunDot podcast, we're going to ask a different question from the audience every single week to our coach so that we're hearing from you guys on what you want to know and what you want to learn about. So a little different from C Tolle Run where, Carrie, you've got. You've got your.

Carrie Tollefson: Your flow all over the place.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, but in it. But in a great way. And then you wrap it up with some rapid fire, which is always fun.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. You know, I feel like at C Tolle Run, you don't know what you're going to get, but that strength just kind of like the run.

Andrew Harley: And so it's so true.

Carrie Tollefson: We were like, we might take you out on a run, actually. We might, you know, be in a city getting post race interviews. We don't know what we're doing, but we're just having fun and getting after it.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. Meaningful conversations every single week. So. So, Carrie, for our RunDot audience, we've talked a little bit about the different shows and what we're trying to do with them. And, and for the record, for. For anybody who's like, my brain is broken, what is happening? Is this. Is this a C Tolle Run podcast or is this a RunDot podcast? 99% of the time, C Tolle Run will be C Tolle Run that will be RunDot That will be TriDot. Like, all three of our podcasts will just be their own podcast, speaking to you about what they do. Every so often, we might do a crossover episode like this 1% of the time if we know there's going to be a certain conversation that would be beneficial to all of our audiences. Right. So we're not going to do this a lot. And we thought today it would be fitting so that we could welcome our Run Podcast audience, have them learn who Carrie is, have them learn what we're trying to do with this new show. But then, Carrie, you wanted the CTR audience to also kind of be aware of, hey, this is a second podcast I'm working on. If you like me here, come listen to me there. Correct?

Carrie Tollefson: Correct. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So this RunDot will come out on Tuesday every week.

Andrew Harley: Correct.

Carrie Tollefson: And then C Tolle Run will come out on Thursday. So this Thursday we're going to air this episode, but we're getting ready for the Twin Cities Marathon and TC 10 miles. So there's a lot happening this weekend. And we have Courtney Dauwalter, who's going to be on the live pod.

Andrew Harley: So excited for that.

Carrie Tollefson: I am so super.

Andrew Harley: Courtney.

Carrie Tollefson: 12 hours after over 350 people are coming, we're going to also do a shakeout run beforehand and I think there's like 500 people that are coming to that. But that episode we will re air next week. So next Thursday right before the Chicago Marathon. But I mean, there's so much happening in the Twin Cities this weekend. We have all kinds of people coming back to race here or else they're, you know, some are debuting here. I mean, it's going to be a really fun weekend as always. But I think the big one is bringing home. I think she's the greatest of all time, ultra runner. I mean, she still has many more.

Andrew Harley: Years in front of her right now. Yes, right now. Where it stands unquestionably. Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. I mean, there's some really, some big legends, you know, but she has just.

Andrew Harley: And she's so cool.

Carrie Tollefson: So good.

Andrew Harley: She's so cool.

Carrie Tollefson: She's so nice. And she's from right here.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, she's so Minnesota cool.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. And her aunt was my PT throughout really professional career. Yep. Tony Dauwalter. Hi. And Shout out. Yeah, like, I know shout out, but it's going to be a really fun weekend and I really want you all to, whether you're a run listener or a sea tally run listener, come back and listen to this. Because the cool thing about Courtney is not only is she coming home, she's having a homecoming along with Ruby next weekend. My daughter, she's going to her homecoming.

Andrew Harley: Shout out Ruby. Shout out to Ruby.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, shout out Ruby. But the, the thing about Courtney is she's coming here to run the road marathon, which she doesn't do very often. So I think the ultra runners are going to really tune in. The marathoners, the road racers are going to tune in. And obviously all of us mint and sultans are just so thrilled to have her home. So make sure you come back to see Talley run next week.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. So crossover episode this week. Thanks for hanging with us through the. What is. What is happening next week. Yep. See, I'm so excited for that C Tolle Run recorded live in person at the Twin Cities Marathon. And for. For Run. On next week's show, which will be episode two of the Run the podcast, we're going to have Jeff Booher, the CEO and founder of Predictive Fitness. So the brains behind RunDot, he's going to come on the show to really just explain the foundations of what makes run training? Run training? I could certainly speak in layman's terms about the AI and what makes the training so special right now, but I'm going to save that for Jeff next week because he does it way better and way smarter than I do. And we're just going to talk about how RunDot is revolutionizing Run training and why we believe you should be training with RunDot on next week's podcast for RunDot. So that's gonna be great, Harry. Before we wrap today, we've got a little bit more time. I, I do want our RunDot audience to get to know you a little bit. And we actually, I am, I'm, I'm sure, I'm sure we, we, we did record a tried out podcast episode with you because, because I did want our triathlete audience, who a lot of our triathlete audience also runs. I wanted them to know that we were going to launch a run podcast. I wanted them to get to know you. And you actually came on the show and gave some of your running tips. You are an Olympian. You, you are, you are a, a retired professional runner. So you do know what you're doing out there. And so you kind of gave our triathlete audience some of your race day tips. And that was so valuable and such a good conversation. But for our run out audience, I just want them to kind of get to know a little bit about your career and kind of know they're in good hands with you as the host of our running show. So just kind of share a little bit for, for them. When did you first discover that you were pretty good at running and what was your progression from young runner to collegiate runner to professional?

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, I mean, I think I knew pretty early on that I liked to be competitive, not necessarily just in running. I mean, I was a big time basketball player and you know, the running.

Andrew Harley: That's like my worst sport. I'm so bad at basketball.

Carrie Tollefson: I loved it. I mean, if I could have been pro at basketball, I totally would have.

Andrew Harley: Okay.

Carrie Tollefson: But yeah, that's where I got started in sport, was just kind of running around. I, I think I held the longest touchdown on my elementary school playground. So, so that was like, oh, if I can run and beat the boys and maybe I'm pretty good at this. So, yeah, I started early and went through all my high school career and ended with the most state championships that anyone has ever acquired. And I still have that, I guess, as an individual. So that was like kind of an aha moment. Like, oh, you know, if you can win. Back to back to back to back to back. You got something here. And I went out to Villanova and ran there and was. Had so much fun. I mean really had a, had a phenomenal learning experience there. Like learned how to kind of claw back to the top and go through injuries and illness and all that fun stuff. Then became pro, ran for Adidas for years, ran for Reebok for a little bit, went to the Olympic Games. I ran the 1500 meters in Athens in 2004. I want to say just like 2024, but I'm, I'm old.

Andrew Harley: That's.

Carrie Tollefson: And yeah, I know. And now I'm a mother of three and I'm a broadcaster and a podcaster and I host and emcee things. I have running retreats. I'm the national fitness director for Moms on the Run. I just do a bunch of stuff in the industry, Andrew and I absolutely love it. Like, it's so cool to be a part of the journey of athletes or just somebody getting into health and wellness. So yeah, it's been a really fun ride here.

Andrew Harley: Obviously from, from all that you, you're just proving why you're the perfect person to be in the host chair of the RunDot podcast with just your passion for the sport, all the different corners of the sport that you've been in over your career. So excited to have you kind of as the spirit guide for our running audience here at RunDot. But from all of that, we, we could, I could ask you a million follow up questions about interesting things that have happened to you through your running career. But the one that I have to ask about in our time today is the Olympics. I've been to Athens. I actually raised half ironman in Greece. That was a pretty cool race cation for my wife and I a couple of years ago. We loved Athens, wonderful city. But yeah, the Olympics there in 2004, you qualified, you got to represent Team USA. You've called that a standout experience from your own professional career. What made the Olympic Games so special and how did your, your racing there go for you?

Carrie Tollefson: You know, it was so special. First of all, I missed the team in the 5,000 meters, which was my premier event, I guess at that time. I don't know if that was actually my event. I probably should have been a 3,000 meter steeplechase just with my basketball background.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, interesting. It's funny that you're able to look back now and see that. Yeah, right.

Carrie Tollefson: Well, I in, in my career because the steeplechase became an official event in 2004. I think in 2000 it was still an exhibition event at the Olympics. And by 2004, I had a pretty big injury that I was running with in Athens. I had done the splits over a snowdrift and tore. It's okay, I'm just gonna say it.

Andrew Harley: Such a Minnesota story.

Carrie Tollefson: We're gonna talk all about anatomy and everything while we're doing these podcasts. So let's just be straight. So I tore my abs off my pubic bone. Okay, we just said it. I'm getting it out of there.

Andrew Harley: Sounds painful.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay, I said pubic bone. It's okay. Anyway, it was terrible. And both adductors, which are your groin muscles, they were shredded as well. So I ran that way at the Olympic Games. Two stress reactions on my pubic synthesis.

Andrew Harley: Unreal.

Carrie Tollefson: Very injured in the 1500, but the 5000 was my main event, and I thought I could muster my way. And by the time the Olympic trials came around, I was getting kind of weak towards the end of these hard sessions, towards the end of my races. I don't think that was why I missed the Games. I think I had a mental lapse, but I was severely injured. So. Also getting to the Olympic Games that way was kind of crazy. But making the Olympic team in the 1500 was sort of like what just happened. I mean, I was good at the 15, but not maybe as good. I had the Olympic standard in the 5000. I had been running really well that year. The 1500 was sort of like my tune up for my 5000 meter race.

Andrew Harley: Interesting. Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: So, yeah. So long story short, that's what I did at in the Olympic Games. So thankful that I tried. A lot of people wouldn't really try their second event, if that's what I can say. It was my second event.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, sure.

Carrie Tollefson: Um, and a lot of people after disappointment of not making a team would have just been like, it's okay, like, I'll come back in four, four years. Well, thankfully I didn't just wait four more years. I had pneumonia three weeks before the Olympic trials in 2008. So just the life of an athlete, right. No matter if you're at the top of the game or you're just starting, like all of these things get into. Get in the way of really competing at your best. So you really have to celebrate the highs because there are so many times when the lows just take over or injuries or like I said, illness, all those things get in the way. And yeah, so I was. I ran the 1500. I was a semifinalist. I missed making the final by two spots. And you know, that haunts me still every now and then in my perimenopause and menopause brain that I'm in right now. I wake up in the middle of.

Andrew Harley: The night as most wake up in the middle of the night. Open up Wikipedia, go look at the splits.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yes, I like what, oh, why did I just run? And Also I've run 1504 for the 5K and it's like, are you kidding me? I was that close to breaking 15 minutes in those old shoes. I'm going to just put that in there.

Andrew Harley: That's a great point. Shoes, people. Yeah, those 2004 shoes. Ancient technology, ancient foam.

Carrie Tollefson: But anyway, it has been a such a fun ride, Andrew. Like even the hard times or the times where you think I could have definitely squeezed out more, that's what makes me who I am today. And I am so thankful for this sport each and every day. Even today I went for a three mile run or four mile run and I was thinking about how happy I am that I can do three to seven miles, four, five, six times a week. And I hope I can do that for the rest of my life. It just lifts me up every single day.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, my, my brother is on staff at a church in Tampa, Florida and he, and whenever he's posting on social media just about his job or work or something happening at the church, he always has the hashtag we get to do this. Because he just, sometimes he's just expressing like, and some other people, you know, guys and gals on his staff, kind of, that's kind of their, their phrase, their motto they've latched onto as a team and it's, you know, when you're passionate about what you do, right. It's like, man, I get to do this, I get to wake up and do this. And you, you're definitely that way about everything in your run career. And I know you get equal joy and get equally passionate about your job as a on air talent, on air broadcaster, I again, coming from a live TV world, I love nerding out with you on just how the logistics of how those broadcasts happen and what your role is. But for our listeners who don't care about the nuances behind the scenes, just care about you and who you are and getting to know you. How did you get into that side of the running world? And when you roll into a, a race weekend as a on air talent, what is your role on the broadcast?

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, so normally I am a race analyst. So my role is always just to kind of analyze the race and tell the stories of the athletes who are competing. But I got into it because I had finished second one year at USA Cross Country National Championships here in, well, it was in the States, obviously it was a national championship. But I went to school to be a broadcaster. They didn't have broadcasting as a major, so I just majored in communications with an emphasis in broadcast.

Andrew Harley: Gotcha.

Carrie Tollefson: So in, yeah, my first race as a pro, my first national meet, I was second. I said to Tony Revis, who is a huge name in the world of distance running and he's a journalist and he's a broadcaster and he's just a brilliant man. He still is writing and doing on air gigs here and there. So I said to him, tony, one day, I want to do your job. And I just said it, you know, just kind of tongue in cheek after my interview with him. And within like, I think two months, he had me on a broadcast of a rock and roll marathon, which was on national television back then.

Andrew Harley: So. Cool. Yeah, yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: So I've been doing it for a long time, but it was always just when it could happen when I was an athlete, like I was trying to be an athlete first. A lot of athletes back when I was racing and making pennies, right. They weren't really allowed to do other things. And now you see all these amazing athletes at the top of the top that have full time jobs or they're coaching with RunDot or TriDot or whatever and they're still able to do it all. It was just kind of frowned upon when we were doing that. So I really didn't do much of it, but I've been loving it ever since. And I'm so thankful there's other females in the role now because there weren't a lot of females when I was starting it. And not, it's not because of me, it's just because I think more people are seeing that we need females on these broadcasts. And that's been a really cool thing to watch.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, and, and you're, you know, our rundown audience will get to know you over time. And your C Tolle Run audience that's listening today already knows you very, very well. Yeah, but, but they, again, when they listen to your podcast, they hear you talk to the guest about the guest more than you're talking about yourself. Right. So yourself isn't the main topic. And so I think it's even fun for the C Tolle Run audience to get to hear a little bit about you. Today. And so for both audiences, right, Just knowing that you're a mom with three kids and knowing that you've got all this going on and that you're working with us and you're podcasting, you're broadcasting, you still go for runs yourself, you still get some training in, right? You're still staying, staying on top of that. How do you manage all of that? I think for all of our athletes listening, that's. That's tricky, right? Managing career with training, with family, with hobbies, with all of this. So how do you do it, Carrie?

Carrie Tollefson: It is so hard, I am telling you. I just, I feel for people that are trying to juggle everything, because I am. I'm definitely in that stage of life where I am juggling a ton of. And in this career, too, you know, when you work sort of freelance, right, you don't want to say no to anything because if you say no to one gig, then it might trickle and you might not get asked to do five other gigs. So that's been a hard part about my career, but I really love that hustle part of it. I think that also kind of relates to being an athlete, is just being daring to try, being okay with. I hate the word failure, but right now it's coming to my mind. But being okay to fail or to not do quite as well and get back out there and try again. And with my kiddos, this is where I've had a lot of people say, just wait until they get into junior high and high school. And I was. I didn't quite understand what they meant. Like, I thought, you know, when they're little, that's really hard. Like, you're up at night, you're changing diapers, you're doing all that. And it is very hard. So I'm not trying to save people, Andrew, you included. With young kids, it is not hard. It is very hard. But there's another stage that's equally as hard and that's getting them to every activity when they can't drive and, you know, trying to get dinner on the table as a family once or twice a week. I'm telling you, like, there are weeks we just don't do it. This weekend we, I think we had, I don't know, six different baseball games, three different football games. We had Ruby. Ruby's easy, easy one right now. She had a long run. She had to work and she had a work meeting. I mean, it was nuts. And for me to be able to sneak out and get a 20 minute run in, that was all I could do, but it was lovely. It was lovely. So I'm just at that stage. My husband is such an awesome team player. Charlie has just been in the role of, you know, carry whatever you need and that selfishly, I feel like he has had to sort of take a backseat at times and let me be that one to go and shine and to go and put my career maybe not first. It's not first because his career as an architect is very much up there and he is very talented at what he does. But because mine is unique. My career, I think is unique in a way that I'm traveling a lot and there's certain things you just can't say no to. Like I can't say no to the New York City Marathon right now when it is Ruby’s state cross country meet. And he makes it work for all of us. Like he, he lifts me up in a way that he knows that I want to be in both places. And so, yeah, this I could go on and on and on about. Being a parent has been awesome, but it is hard. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to sugarcoat that. It's been really hard at times. But having a spouse or a partner or someone that can step in like my, mine has, has been crucial and we just figure it out. And do I fail? You know, again, not liking that word. Heck yeah. But do you have people in your corner to get you back up and going again?

They've always been there through all of it, the running, the kids, the career. So yeah, yeah, it's been good. I think the big thing though, because we are like anyone listening probably is training. I think I'm in that stage where my training is like eighth on the list. And it's on there, it's on there. And I do like to check it off every day or as many times a week I can. But 20 minute runs are so special. Like, don't lose sight of that. Don't just be like, oh, I don't, I don't have time to go today. Like for me, the 20 minute run has saved my life and I do it a lot. And you can go to my Strava and see, especially when this season of crazy, you know, broadcast starts to kick in where I'm traveling all over. You will see, I do a lot of 20, maybe they're 22 minute runs now because I like to get three miles in. But don't neglect those short, intense runs or walks or whatever because that just really has kept me going through life. I Think.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. In my TriDot training twice a week. I have a 20 minute run.

Carrie Tollefson: Isn't it lovely?

Andrew Harley: By TriDot. Yeah. And one of them my trying to think of the days. My Tuesday run is usually a 20 minute zone two. So it's just easy 20 minutes get out the door. Easy 20 minutes. I usually have a bike session later in the day and then Saturday is a 20 minute off the bike run. As triathletes we have to do that, right? You have to train your bike and then train your legs to run off the bike. Yeah. It's funny, Carrie, as a triathlete I do like doing standalone running events as well. The first ever race I ever did was a 5k. Like a lot of people, I really like the half marathon distance personally. But when I go do a run only event, it is wonderful. It's like, what do you mean? I don't have to take a wetsuit and goggles and a bike and a helmet and bags and bags and bags of gear and nutrition. I can just show up with two gels, a, a handful of electrolyte capsules and a handheld water bottle and running shoes and that's, that's all I need. It's wonderful to just do a run only event as a triathlete. So just throw that out.

Carrie Tollefson: It's the little things. It's kind, it's kind of why I don't go and do marathons in other cities right now. Because it's. I, I mean I, first of all, I love the Twin Cities Marathon. It's the only one I've done. I've done it three times. But that's why, like, oh, I don't know about the logistics of traveling and having to go and do all this right now in this time that I'm in, I think it's more fun to just do my local events. There'll be a time I think, well, I want to do other things. But yeah, I get it. That triathlon stuff, there's a lot of gear.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. And for my wife and I, we, we have a two and a half year old at the time we're recording this. She's two and a half. Little Ellie. And we were married nine years before we had her and just kind of took our time and every year we would take a good trip and we would, we traveled and I did Half IRONMAN New Zealand, I did Half IRONMAN Greece.

I did, I did Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco. Like we, we would see the world and travel the country based on where I could Also kind of tack on a race in a. In a different city. Right. And that was kind of our. Our way of doing it. And once she was born. Okay. She's the priority. Like, there's going to be other seasons to get back to that. So what am I doing? I'm doing my local events. My next race is a sprint triathlon next April, six minutes down the road. And I'm. I'm excited about it. Right. I'm excited about that. So, yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: Coast on down. Maybe on your bike or. Can't you do that?

Andrew Harley: I could. I could ride to. Yeah. I could throw my gear in the backpack and ride down there. Could absolutely do that. I. I might not. I don't know. I might. I don't know. I got. I got time to think about it. I got time to plan.

Carrie Tollefson: You need me because I give you these ideas of how to logistically get out of it.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. It's a good idea.

Carrie Tollefson: I wish I could. I say I should have been a professional concierge for people. That and I don't know. Some people say concierge, some people say concierge. I say it both ways.

Andrew Harley: I don't know which is right.

Carrie Tollefson: I should do that. Like, I can plan out people's lives. I can't plan my own, but I can plan others.

Andrew Harley: It's funny how that works. It's really funny how it works.

Carrie Tollefson: You need to know how to cut time off your commute. I got ideas.

Andrew Harley: I appreciate that. That's okay.

Carrie Tollefson: It's another episode.

Andrew Harley: That's good. Yeah. Well, Carrie, to. To close us out today again, big thank you to all of our C Tolle Run audience for kind of tuning in for this unconventional C Tolle Run episode. Really hope that you check Carrie out on the Run podcast and see what you can learn from our coaches on how to be just. Just a stronger runner moving forward. And to our RunDotters listening today. Really hope you get excited for the knowledge you're going to gain. Just kind of plugging more in with RunDot. Learning RunDot so much more. I. And I do want to say this, Carrie. I'm. We're. We're very free flowy today. We. We normally.

We have a very specific podcast plan in front of us, and today we're just kind of like, let's get on a microphone and talk about these shows. So I'm. I'm thinking about something else I did want to say about our shows. We have a lot of triathletes listen to the TriDot podcast that don't train with TriDot. Right. And, and we, I, I, I hope we'll have a lot of runners listen to the RunDot podcast that don't train with RunDot, our, our training app. You, you can, we would love for you to obviously, but we try to make sure that a majority of the content is applicable to any runner listening to the show, any triathlete listening to try it out. We try to make sure they're able to learn from what we're talking about. And once in a while we'll have an episode that, that I call Extra TriDotty or Extra RunDotty for the TriDot podcast. Today. We're recording this on Monday. Full disclosure. Monday, September 29, the TriDot podcast that came out today, we had my cohost Vanessa talk to one of our TriDot coaches and we specifically went through six workouts that are in the TriDot app. And that coach taught us, okay, why is this interval pattern the way that it is? What are these interval patterns trying to stress in our bodies and improve our bodies for race day? And what, what are just our, the coaching tips on how to execute these workouts better? Okay, that that episode is a little extra TriDotty and, and we do that from time to time. But, but just for I, I want to kind of say to all the runners listening today, you can train however you want to train and still tune in and hear Carrie talk to our coaches at RunDot and learn about the sport and learn about how to train for the sport and be a better runner. And if you decide to try training with RunDot along the way, obviously we'd love to have you. Well, we'll talk more about what RunDot is on other episodes, but in short, we are the most advanced form of AI generated training on the market. And I'll let Jeff kind of unpack more on why that's the case next week.

Carrie Tollefson: Week.

Andrew Harley: Carrie, there is good AI out there and there is bad AI out there. I think we all know that. I myself as a video creator, I see a lot of AI tools coming out and I kind of roll my eyes. Oh my gosh, this is just kind of junk, junk AI companies trying to hop on the bandwagon and make some money off of saying we're generating an AI service. Some of it's real, some of it is genuinely fantastic stuff that is based on data that is very, very helpful. And we are that. And I'll let Jeff talk more about that next week. But for all of our listeners, we hope you tune in to both shows moving forward. Meaningful conversations with Gary on Seattle. They Run, learning the sport, being coached in the sport through the RunDot podcast. But, Carrie, just to shut us down today and end me rambling, when I look back at the audio files later, I'll see long audio chunks of audio with me talking and shorter chunks of audio with you talking. You. You have a catchphrase, a motto of sorts, for. For C Tolle Run. Get after it! Yeah, your longtime listeners hear you say that at least twice an episode. Get after it. You tell your listeners to get after it. Just to close us today and end me talking. And for our run, our. Our runners from RunDot and C Tolle Run to know what's the origin story of that? Why is that your catchphrase that you brought over to your podcasting?

Carrie Tollefson: Well, my sister kind of picked it out. She'd heard me say it for years as I was racing and just kind of under my breath or whatever. You can't really say let's get after it or get after it without getting excited about life. And so I've used it in my podcasts. I've used it in life in general. I use it when I'm speaking. Speaking. And so it just was natural. It was natural to have my. My podcast. We used it as the tagline or the. On our shirts for my youth camps that I started in 2007. So, yeah, so get after it is. And, you know, you can't, I mean, really, as you're running, listening to us, or if you're watching us, like, if you just say it after you, you know, close us down, you can't say get after it. You gotta be. And even if you do whisper it, it's like, kidding. Get after it. You know, so when you're standing on the line like I did at the Olympic Games, I close my eyes, I'd say a little prayer. I'd, you know, just be so excited, and I. I'd end it with, let's get after it. So let's go. Let's get after it, Pete!