73. Erin Strout, Runner's World Contributing Editor
Ali on the Run Show
Ali Feller
4.9 • 4.2K Ratings
🗓️ 17 May 2018
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"If you want to give yourself a fair shot, you have to be willing to take a leap and take a risk." —Erin Strout
Erin Strout was at the Boston Marathon finish line when Meb Keflezighi won the race in 2014. She was there when Shalane Flanagan won the New York City Marathon in 2017, and she was one of the first people to chat with Desiree Linden after her historic 2018 Boston Marathon victory. As a freelance writer and contributor to Runner's World and Outside Magazine, Erin has made a career out of covering elite athletes at major marathons, small-town races, and the Rio Olympic Games. On this episode, she talks about how she got her start in journalism (she used to be on the front lines at crime scenes!), what it's really like being a member of the media at high-profile sporting events, and whether she reads the comments on her stories.
Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $30 off your wireless headphone purchase!
What you'll get on this episode:
- An inside look at the making of Erin's "Behind the Scenes of Desiree Linden's Incredible Boston Marathon Win" story for Runner's World (2:00)
- Erin's take on the 2018 Boston Marathon, and what it's like being a member of the media during major race weekends (6:35)
- What it was like being at the finish when Meb Keflezighi won the 2014 Boston Marathon — and what it was like the year before, covering the Boston Marathon bombings (15:45)
- How Erin got her start in journalism in rural Pennsylvania, and how she ended up as a freelancer in Flagstaff, AZ (24:00)
- Why Erin loves covering the running industry (34:00)
- What Erin says is the biggest challenge in her career right now (41:30)
- Whether Erin reads the comments on her stories for Runner's World (44:20)
- Erin's best advice for aspiring writers, reporters, editors, and freelancers (53:10)
What we mention on this episode:
"Behind the Scenes of Desiree Linden's Incredible Boston Marathon Win" via Runner's World
Desiree Linden on Episode 64 of the Ali on the Run Show
Molly Huddle on Episode 66 of the Ali on the Run Show
Sarah Sellers on Episode 69 of the Ali on the Run Show
"This is a Huge Moment for American Women Marathoners" via Outside Magazine
"Running Home: Inside Shalane Flanagan's Journey to Win Boston" via Runner's World
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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. |
| 0:08.6 | Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host, Allie Feller, and today I'm talking to one |
| 0:13.2 | of my favorite writers, Erin Strout. Erin is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to |
| 0:19.1 | Runners World and outside magazine, so we've got two of my favorite things here, writing and running. |
| 0:24.5 | Or actually three of my favorite things because Erin also has not just one, but two rescue dogs. |
| 0:31.3 | Erin has covered so many major running events from the Olympic Games in Rio to the Boston Marathon |
| 0:36.8 | and New York City Marathon. So on this episode she shares so many great stories of being on the |
| 0:42.4 | front lines or finish lines at some really historic events, including watching Meb Kaplazgi win |
| 0:49.0 | the Boston Marathon in 2014, watching Shalaine Flanagan win the New York City Marathon in 2017, |
| 0:55.6 | and most recently witnessing Desi Lindens incredible 2018 Boston Marathon win. |
| 1:02.6 | Erin has a lot of really amazing stories and so much great advice about building your career, |
| 1:08.4 | networking, and always being open to learning opportunities. Take it away, Erin. |
| 1:14.1 | Erin, welcome to the Allie on the Run Show. Thank you. Yay! So what we do, we start with a warm-up |
| 1:23.8 | because we're runners. So warm us up right from the start here. Tell everyone who you are, |
| 1:28.5 | where you're from, and what it is that you do. I am Erin Strout and I live in Flagstaff, Arizona, |
| 1:35.4 | and I cover elite running for numerous publications now, but mostly Runners World and Outside |
| 1:43.2 | Magazine. Yay, and I have been such a fan of your career for so long, so I'm excited to get like |
| 1:48.5 | the behind the scenes look at you right now. You're always writing about everyone else. Now we get to |
| 1:53.5 | know you a little better. So, oh, scary. No, it's exciting, but okay, we need to start off by talking |
| 1:59.8 | about the piece you just wrote, you mentioned you write for Runners World, so you just wrote this |
| 2:03.9 | piece about Desi Lindens win. It was called Behind the Scenes of Desi Lindens incredible Boston |
| 2:09.8 | marathon win, and it's a play-by-play of how the race went down from a bunch of different |
... |
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