648. Mary Kate Shea, Director of Professional Athletes and Technical Support/Events at the B.A.A.

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

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

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 13 June 2023

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"The marathon is so humbling. Anything can happen, and it usually does — even for the best in the world."

We're going back to Boston today, with returning Ali on the Run Show guest Mary Kate Shea. The fastest runners in the world call her "MK," and she's the director of professional athletes and technical support/events at the Boston Athletic Association. Every year, MK is responsible for bringing more than 300 professional athletes to Boston for races including the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, and more. And the big question everyone was asking this year: How did she get Eliud Kipchoge to finally come and run the Boston Marathon? In this conversation, MK answers that, and shares her favorite stories and memories from Boston 2023. Plus, she talks about what it was like reading good friend Des Linden's book, Choosing to Run, and about who's still on her Boston Marathon wish list. (Listen all the way to the end for a cute Annie cameo!)

SPONSORS:

UCAN: Click here to get a FREE Edge sample pack (you’ll just pay the cost of shipping), and use code ALI23 for 20% off your next UCAN order.
Tracksmith: New customers, use code ALINEW for $15 off your first Tracksmith order over $75. Returning customers, use code ALIGIVE for free shipping, plus a portion of the proceeds from your order will be donated to Moms Demand Action.

What you’ll get on this episode:

MK explains what her job entails, and how she’s learned to be so good at it (3:00)
How MK got Eliud Kipchoge to come and run the 2023 Boston Marathon (8:35)
What it was actually like having Kipchoge in the city of Boston (17:00)
How MK made sure every pro athlete felt supported in Boston this year (20:10)
What it’s like being at the Boston Marathon finish line with MK (22:50)
How MK was able to get eventual winner Hellen Obiri into the 2023 Boston field (26:45)
Who’s still on MK’s Boston Marathon wish list? (33:00)
MK’s stories from the 2023 start line — including a worm or two (35:40)
Life after 25 consecutive Boston Marathons (41:30)
MK’s most memorable moment from Boston 2023 (43:35)
MK talks about her — and Boston’s — special relationship with Des Linden (48:30)
What to expect at the 2023 B.A.A. 10K next weekend (58:15)

Follow Ali:

SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Alley on the Run Show.
0:06.4	I'm your host Alley Feller and it is so great to have you here.
0:11.2	So what's new with you?
0:15.6	I do not know how to properly, adequately, and appropriately thank you for the
0:20.1	overwhelming outpouring of support and response to my bit of personal news last week.
0:26.0	If you're like, what are you talking about Alley?
0:28.0	Well, last week's life update episode will fill you right in.
0:33.1	Seriously, I'm so grateful for you and I'm sure I'll be saying that for the rest of my whole
0:37.2	life and it still will not feel like enough. So thank you, thank you for being here for me and
0:42.6	supporting me and of course for listening to the Alley on the Run Show. Today, business as usual,
0:48.6	I'm not sure I know what that means, but business as usual, okay? Great. My guest today is
0:53.3	returning Alley on the Run Show guest, Mary Kate Shea, or as she's known in the running industry,
0:59.5	Mk. Director of Professional Athletes and Technical Support Slash events at the Boston Athletic
1:05.8	Association or a shorter version of that title. She's the pro-athlete recruiter for events including
1:11.3	the Boston Marathon, the BAA 5K, the BAA 10K, and more. Today's conversation is taking us back
1:18.0	to revisit April 2023. We're talking a lot here about this year's Boston Marathon and Mk's
1:24.6	role in all of it. Namely, the big question I've been dying to ask her, how did you get Elliot
1:30.8	Kipchogay to finally come and run the Boston Marathon? It's always really fun getting to chat with
1:36.7	Mk. She has the best stories, this episode's stories include Worms at the Startline, a run-in with
1:43.1	a certain special someone on public transit in London, and...collusion. That was me though. I learned
1:50.8	about...collusion. My bad. Let's have some fun, okay? I'm in the mood for some fun. Please join
1:57.2	me in welcoming Mary Kate Shea back to the Alley on the Run Show.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ali Feller, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ali Feller and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.