172. Amanda Nurse, Elite Marathoner for adidas
Ali on the Run Show
Ali Feller
4.9 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 September 2019
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"We decided, 'OK, I’m gonna run in the Trials and then we’ll hopefully get pregnant right away, and then I’ll maybe even be able to run a fall marathon the next year!' And…it didn’t happen like that."
You probably know Amanda Nurse by her Instagram moniker: Amanda Runs Boston. And she sure does. Amanda is a 20-time marathoner and two-time Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon. She's a clinical social worker turned adidas-sponsored runner and coach who has taken her marathon time from 3:26 to a very impressive 2:40. On this episode, Amanda talks about her road to elite distance running, her decision to make a major career change, and her adventures in motherhood. She opens up about her "plans" to get pregnant and what that means for a professional runner, and shares what actually happened on her road to having Riley, her now two-year-old son. It's an honest, real-talk-filled conversation about the realities of new motherhood. (And fun fact: Amanda is coached by former Ali on the Run Show guest Kaitlin Goodman!
Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your Aeropex wireless headphone endurance bundle!
What you’ll get on this episode:
- Did Amanda always want to be a runner? Plus, the time Joan Benoit Samuelson called Amanda a sandbagger (2:50)
- How Amanda met her husband at a local 5K (13:00)
- Amanda reflects on the first time she qualified for the Olympic Trials in the marathon, and what running the Trials was like (22:00)
- How Amanda has improved her mental strength (30:30)
- On deciding to have a baby, and the surprising amount of time it took to get pregnant (34:40)
- How Amanda felt throughout her pregnancy, and her adventures in postpartum running (45:00)
- On postpartum emotions, depression, and more (54:10)
- What Amanda wishes she had known as a new runner (1:02:35)
What we mention on this episode:
How Bad Do You Want It by Matt Fitzgerald
Kara Goucher on Episode 43 of the Ali on the Run Show
Molly Millwood on Episode 155 of the Ali on the Run Show
To Have and To Hold by Dr. Molly Millwood
Follow Amanda:
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Listen & Subscribe:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by Aftershocks. |
| 0:08.3 | Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host Allie Feller and every week on this show, |
| 0:13.2 | I talk with inspiring people who lead interesting lives on the run and beyond. |
| 0:18.3 | Running is what brings us all together, but any runner knows there is so much more to those |
| 0:22.7 | daily runs than splits, stats, and sweaty socks. We're here to talk about the other stuff. |
| 0:28.5 | The water stops, if you will. I want to know about the decisions people have made to get where |
| 0:33.4 | they are today and how getting sweaty has factored in. My guest today is Amanda Nurse, |
| 0:38.6 | though if you're like me, you call her Amanda Runs Boston. That's her Instagram name and as |
| 0:44.0 | a long time Amanda follower, that's probably how I'll always know her. But Amanda, of course, |
| 0:50.0 | is so much more than her Instagram name. She's a 20-time marathoner, two-time Olympic trials |
| 0:56.2 | qualifier and a dearest sponsored runner who lives in Boston with her husband Ian and their |
| 1:01.1 | two-year-old son Riley. Amanda is a clinical social worker turned elite runner and coach who |
| 1:07.0 | Joan Bonoitte Samuelson once called a sandbagger affectionately. That story ends so much more on this |
| 1:13.3 | episode of The Alley on the Run Show with Amanda Nurse. |
| 1:17.0 | Amanda, welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I feel like I have been an Amanda super fan for like |
| 1:30.5 | a million years now. So it's an honor to get to have you here. Thanks for being on The Alley |
| 1:35.6 | on the Run Show today. Oh, Allie. Thank you so much for having me. I swear, I've probably listened |
| 1:40.0 | to most of your episodes and I am psyched to be on it now. So thanks for having me. |
| 1:43.7 | All right, well, it's about time we did this. We have a lot of ground to cover today. First, |
| 1:48.0 | you know how the show works. We start nice and easy. We start with a warm-up. Tell everyone who you are |
| 1:53.6 | where you're from and what it is that you do. I'm Amanda Nurse and I'm also known as Amanda Runs |
| 1:59.4 | Boston on Instagram. I'm originally from Portland, Maine, but I lived in Boston for the last 10 years. |
... |
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