This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by Aftershocks.

Go to ontherun.aftershocks.com to save $50 on your wireless headphone endurance bundle.

Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host Allie Feller and every week I talk with

inspiring people who lead interesting lives on the run and beyond. And while running is the thing

that brings us all together on these episodes, we cover more than what happens on the run.

We learn the why's behind the runs. The decisions people have made to get where they are today

and how getting sweaty has factored in. But today in lieu of one of those inspiring,

exciting, interesting people I just talked about, today it's just me. I know I've mentioned this

like 800 times by now, but I was so glad I was able to be in Atlanta two weeks ago for the US

Olympic marathon trials. It was just so much more than I expected. More runners, more fans, yes,

but more camaraderie than I've ever witnessed in the running community. More smiles, more happiness.

I came away from the weekend feeling so deeply fulfilled and inspired. Everyone from the runners

themselves to their families, friends, internet friends at Atlanta locals, total strangers.

Everyone seemed so genuinely thrilled to have descended upon the city to celebrate running

that weekend. So, if only for my own memories, I wanted to finally sit down and talk through the

weekend from my perspective. What it was like being there as a fan of the sport, as a fan of so

many people running in the trials. And as someone who came to running later in life, and after a decade

on the run myself, found more joy watching others chase down their dreams than I've ever felt

in my life. So, I wanted to process this. If you're up for that, let's go.

Now, to go back in time a bit, I booked my trip to Atlanta to be there for the US Olympic

Marathon trials on July 10th, 2019. So, let's eat July, August, September, October, November,

December, January, February. Counted that on my fingers. Seven months, more than seven months

...