470. Calum Neff, Pacer for Keira D'Amato's American Record at the Houston Marathon

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Run, Health & Fitness, Women, Inspiration, Runner, Entrepreneur, Sports, Fitness, Health, Running

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 20 January 2022

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"We hit that first split bang on the money, and I told her, 'We’re good. It’s happening. It’s on.'"

It was a record-breaking, history-making weekend at the Houston Marathon! Keira D'Amato won the race and ran a new American record in the marathon, finishing in 2:19:12 and breaking Deena Kastor's former record by 24 seconds. And Keira had some company along the way: two pacers, one of whom was Texas-based ultra-runner and four-time Guinness World Record Holder Calum Neff. (You may also remember Calum as the "green shorts guy" who paced Sara Hall at the Marathon Project in 2020.) And while Calum is an incredibly accomplished runner, he — like Keira — had never broken 2:20 in the marathon. So this task would require running a personal best of his own en route to that American record goal. (Spoiler: He did it, finishing in 2:19:33.) On this episode, Calum talks about how he got the role as Keira's pacer, what it was like previewing the course together the day before the race, and what that 5:18 pace actually felt like. Plus, all the details and dad jokes from the day, hashing out the realities of pandemic marriage and parenting (Calum and his wife have three daughters), and what's next for Calum.

SPONSOR: Shokz — Visit shokz.com/ontherun for 15% off wireless headphones.

What you’ll get on this episode:

How Calum’s feeling post-race (4:00)
How Calum got the job as Keira D’Amato’s Houston Marathon pacer (5:55)
What Calum’s training was like leading up to Houston (16:20)
All about Calum’s experience at the 2021 Chicago Marathon (21:00)
How Calum balances pacing duties with his own running goals, and what it was like previewing the course with Keira (27:15)
The plan for race day (36:00)
All about the race (46:15)
That finish line moment (1:04:05)
Calum’s top moment from the day (1:13:00)
What’s next for Calum? (1:16:00)

Check out:

Calum Neff on Episode 318 of the Ali on the Run Show

Keira D’Amato on Episode 414 of the Ali on the Run Show

Keira D’Amato on Episode 305 of the Ali on the Run Show

Follow Calum:

Instagram @calneff

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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 Shocks.
0:04.1	Go to Shocks.com slash on the run to save 15% on all wireless headphones.
0:14.8	Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show.
0:16.9	I'm your host, Allie Feller, and every week I talk with people who are doing exciting things
0:22.1	on the run and beyond. We all share that love for running, and that's what brings us all together.
0:27.9	But of course, there's more to life than what happens on the run itself.
0:32.4	And this show is about the in-betweens.
0:34.8	We're talking about the moments and decisions that have shaped who we are today and the wise.
0:40.4	Why do we do what we do? And how does getting sweaty factor in?
0:45.2	Hey, how about this past weekend in Houston? What a record-breaking
0:51.0	history-making time for women on the run.
0:54.2	Sarah Hall broke the American record in the half marathon, and then Kira Demado broke the
1:00.9	American record in the marathon, which she also won. Kira won that Houston marathon in two
1:07.2	hours, 19 minutes and 12 seconds, breaking Dina Caster's former American record by 24 seconds.
1:15.3	And she had some company along the way. You know we love a Pacer story here on The Alley
1:20.4	on the Run Show, and I am thrilled to welcome Callum Neff back to the show today.
1:25.7	Callum was last on the Alley on the Run Show in December 2020, after he pays Sarah Hall to
1:31.5	her American record attempt at the marathon project. And this weekend, he had the very important
1:37.7	task of being one of two Pacers to help Kira go for the record. The catch? There's always a catch,
1:44.2	right? While Callum is an incredibly accomplished runner with four Guinness World Records to his name,
1:50.3	even he had never broken 220 in the marathon. So while he was up for the task, this would mean
1:56.5	running a personal best of his own along the way. On this episode, Callum talks all about the
	...

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