Randi Zuckerberg's Journey to Main Character Energy: From Silicon Valley Sidekick to 250-Mile Finisher

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 I told myself I was like, Randy, if you have even one ounce of doubt in yourself that you're

spk_0 going to do this, like you cannot get on that start line.

spk_0 Like you have to believe with 400% certainty in yourself that you're going to finish that

spk_0 race.

spk_0 And I feel like that's also the kind of unhinged enthusiasm, one entrepreneur needs because

spk_0 like if you're trying to raise money and do things that have never been built before,

spk_0 like you also need that just kind of like wild belief and optimism in yourself.

spk_0 Welcome to For the Long Run.

spk_0 We explore the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong and motivated, and how

spk_0 they've been able to achieve sustainable excellence.

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spk_0 And welcome back.

spk_0 We have Randy Zuckerberg joining from...

spk_0 Are you in New York today?

spk_0 I am in New York City.

spk_0 We have Randy joining from New York City.

spk_0 Randy, thanks for taking some time to chat today.

spk_0 Thanks so much. I've been super excited for our conversation.

spk_0 Of course, that is awesome to hear.

spk_0 The first question of this podcast is always a challenging one, and that question is,

spk_0 who is Randy?

spk_0 Randy has a lot of different chapters.

spk_0 Whenever people ask me what I do, I'm always like, hey, got an hour?

spk_0 About, yes.

spk_0 I've never really been, like, oh, you know, sit down in one, nine to five job type person.

spk_0 I've always kind of had a portfolio approach to life.

spk_0 So at the current moment, I am a radio host, an investor, an entrepreneur, a runner, an author,

spk_0 and the most important job of all, a mom.

spk_0 Well, we are going to dive into a handful of those topics today.

spk_0 Like I was saying before, maybe there's a longer-enlabs episode in our future as well.

spk_0 We can talk about the business of the outdoor industry and some of that stuff.

spk_0 But for today, we're going to talk running and life and how those two things intersect.

spk_0 It's interesting the way you describe having like a portfolio of things you're working on.

spk_0 I recently left my nine to five in favor of doing a portfolio worth of things.

spk_0 And thank you. It's so fun to be able to, like, dip your toes in here and dip your hand in over there.

spk_0 And push different things down the road.

spk_0 So let's start on the running side.

spk_0 When did running enter your life?

spk_0 And it was relatively recently, right?

spk_0 Yeah. You know, I had a stint with running in my life when I was much younger.

spk_0 I ran on my high school cross-country team.

spk_0 I was not good at all.

spk_0 I was there for vibes.

spk_0 And like, because I liked the girls on the team.

spk_0 When I graduated college, I ran the Chicago marathon.

spk_0 That was a really long time ago.

spk_0 It wasn't a world major then.

spk_0 Like, I think I signed up the week before and everyone started together in one heat in a field.

spk_0 I crossed that finish line and I was like, never again.

spk_0 Like, cool.

spk_0 Check that off the bucket list.

spk_0 And then 20 years went by.

spk_0 And in that time, I got really busy with my career working in technology.

spk_0 I had three children.

spk_0 I was always into fitness, but running just sort of never entered the equation again.

spk_0 After COVID, I was just, I think like everyone else has just very lonely,

spk_0 like almost so lonely.

spk_0 I didn't know how lonely I was.

spk_0 And I spotted a running group in this coffee shop near my home.

spk_0 And they were like, you know, come run with us.

spk_0 We go run and then we get brunch after.

spk_0 And I was like, I think I hate running, but I love brunch.

spk_0 I really love coffee and pastries.

spk_0 And brunch in New York is good stuff.

spk_0 brunch in New York is awesome.

spk_0 And I was like, I really just like need something else going on in my life right now.

spk_0 Fast forward about two and a half years from that moment.

spk_0 I've now done something like 16 marathons and 13 ultra marathons in this new chapter of my life.

spk_0 So it's been kind of a wild plot twist that I did not see coming.

spk_0 Why did you think that you would never do it again?

spk_0 You know, the science and the technology was so different back then.

spk_0 So it was in 2003 that I ran the Chicago marathon.

spk_0 And I think I had a disc man that I ran with or nothing or like the first generation,

spk_0 like iPod.

spk_0 So and no Garmin watch, like nothing to track anything,

spk_0 like turns out you can run without tracking it and still exist as a human.

spk_0 Like it turns out that's a thing.

spk_0 So I don't even know how far I was running.

spk_0 Like I would just get dropped off by my dad at a trail head,

spk_0 run for a certain amount of time.

spk_0 And then like wait for him to come pick me up.

spk_0 And I'd be like, I think I ran, you know, 15 miles or whatever.

spk_0 No one was talking about things like electrolytes and carbs.

spk_0 So I think I drank just only water through the marathon and then bonked so hard at aisle 20

spk_0 and just hit the wall so hard because like I probably lost all my carbs and sodium.

spk_0 So I just think, you know, now that we know so much more about the body and science and tech,

spk_0 it's just such a more enjoyable experience to train and push through those things.

spk_0 I do, you know, a little bit miss the good old days when like not everything was

spk_0 trackable and data and you could kind of like just run for vibes.

spk_0 I was talking to the friend on a run the other day about how we both spent like our mid-20s

spk_0 focused on marathons. And this was like before the high-carb revolution.

spk_0 And I probably was doing like 20 to 40 grams of carbs an hour if that.

spk_0 And like you drinking water. And I would bonk every time I hit mile 18 or 20.

spk_0 I was like, damn, I run 10 marathons and one of them was a good one.

spk_0 And I was just like, what if we knew then what we know now is wild?

spk_0 Yeah, I might not have quit running if I knew then.

spk_0 If it felt better, yeah.

spk_0 You just such a terrible experience. Like, why would it even do it again?

spk_0 But I remember I think it was like mile 20. I hit the wall so hard and a nice

spk_0 ballad here came up to me and like gave me some orange juice or a cookie or something.

spk_0 And then like immediately I felt better and I should have

spk_0 I did not put two and two together.

spk_0 Yeah, I think a direct correlation with like sugar.

spk_0 Carbs and sugar, let's go. Yeah.

spk_0 But no, my correlation when I crossed the finish line was like,

spk_0 no fun, this is not for me.

spk_0 So you find it again a couple of years ago in a way that many people found running recently.

spk_0 I had a fun conversation with someone who got into running recently because he was looking for

spk_0 community and as a CTO, he's all about efficiency.

spk_0 And so he realized that this is a conversation I had with again,

spk_0 Victor Makarski and CTO goes health and he was like, I realized that I could go for run,

spk_0 do my exercise and then eat a meal all in like one evening activity.

spk_0 This is very efficient and like meet people and it's just fun to hear about the different

spk_0 entry points for people as runners, particularly in the last couple of years because of exactly

spk_0 what you're saying. We're so connected now more than ever before yet at the same time.

spk_0 Like we spend all our time on our phones, but we're not really connected.

spk_0 And so it's like how do you do it in a way that there is that real connection?

spk_0 And right, you go for a 10 mile run with someone and all of a sudden you know they're

spk_0 deep as darkest secrets and the things that are bothering them and everything there is to know

spk_0 about them and you've just met them like an hour or two ago.

spk_0 It is pretty wild. I host a radio show on Circus XM and one of my guests,

spk_0 we were talking about kind of the loneliness epidemic and they said you know people today have more

spk_0 friends than ever before. I put that in quotation marks, but no one who will feed your cat.

spk_0 And it's like we're connected to so many people like you said, but like so few people who you would

spk_0 like call it 3am if you needed something. The kind of friends and community that I have met

spk_0 through running in the past two years are just like some of the most real like almost family.

spk_0 Like you said, I think you just when you're in a race with someone, when you're in a tough,

spk_0 dark moment and you pull each other through, there's like a soul connection that I've never

spk_0 quite had through any other activity. And I think the friends I've met in the last two years

spk_0 are just like closer than some of the friends that I've known my entire life.

spk_0 I totally agree and I feel the same way. Like I went on a run with someone and we spent six and

spk_0 a half hours together going up a mountain. And I was like, I feel like we know each other really

spk_0 well now. Like I don't need to do a podcast to get to know you like we have that interaction

spk_0 for you know, six and a half hours of this adventure. And it's such a cool way because there

spk_0 isn't really any time for putting on a fake face or like you have to show up as the real version

spk_0 of yourself because there are so many other priorities in that moment, right? Like it's just like

spk_0 raw, particularly in a race. It is. It's so cool. And I also find you know when I was working in

spk_0 Silicon Valley, all the friends that I met tended to work in tech also. So they thought about the

spk_0 world in the same way or they were kind of a similar life stage. And with running, I mean I have

spk_0 friends, I'm my 40s. I have friends who are 20 years old. I have friends who are like almost

spk_0 60. I have friends who are nurses and teachers and just so many different professions. And it is

spk_0 beautiful. Like you said, you just you know, these are people who have seen me like on all fours

spk_0 vomiting. Yeah. Lying. Like you just see people at their

spk_0 rost and their soul. And yeah, you can't hide. So you fell off the deep end fairly quickly. Why do you

spk_0 think that is? Yeah, you know, I think it was the perfect blend of everything that I needed

spk_0 in my life at that moment. You know, I've been out on the lecture circuit a lot recently. And I

spk_0 talk a lot about kind of women in business. And in putting some of my recent remarks together,

spk_0 I thought about my own life. And I thought, you know, I've been a really awesome sidekick for

spk_0 like most of my life. I've always been, you know, the advisor or the investor to entrepreneurs.

spk_0 I like worked alongside my brother. I've just, you know, I've always been the person next to the

spk_0 person doing great things. And that's a really important job. We all need that right hand person

spk_0 and that great coach and the world wouldn't turn without side kicks. But I remember, you know,

spk_0 that first 10k race that I entered with the run club, who's all you. I was like, I feel like

spk_0 I am having a main character moment right now. Not a sidekick moment because no one can attribute

spk_0 this run to anyone else except my own hard work and grit and strength. And I think it was just

spk_0 the perfect combination of like stepping into that power and that main character era while

spk_0 finding an activity that I really enjoyed and that I, you know, was going up the learning curve

spk_0 of improving quickly as a beginner. And all of those things just really made me fall in love with

spk_0 the sport. I love that. I love the power that it can give. There are so many examples of people

spk_0 who find running having experiences with trauma or like on the other end of the spectrum where

spk_0 they're experiencing something that's not a choice. And you're able to like choose pain and choose

spk_0 discomfort or in your situation like be proud of something you've built the fitness on your own.

spk_0 And it's a thing that is uniquely you. And it's so cool how this like optionally uncomfortable

spk_0 thing gives us power. How much have you thought about the fact that it's uncomfortable and that's

spk_0 what makes it awesome? Yeah, I think, you know, I think a lot of that I also learned in Silicon Valley

spk_0 because when you're on the front lines of cutting edge technology, you're kind of writing a playbook

spk_0 that's never existed before. So so much of my career, I've been just thrown into the deep end and

spk_0 kind of forced to get out. And I've been uncomfortable and I've done hard things over and over again.

spk_0 And I feel like maybe all of that was a great practice for where I find myself now. But yeah,

spk_0 I kind of I talked to myself, especially during these long altres and in dark moments, I'm like,

spk_0 no, this is like part of the hero's journey. Like if it was easy, like it wouldn't be a great story.

spk_0 Like this is going to be a great story at the end when the hero pulls themselves out of this. So,

spk_0 you know, I think it's an important part of any journey. I think it's fun because like you have

spk_0 a platform and you can kind of be an ambassador to running and an ambassador to tech and business and

spk_0 all these other places where maybe health and fitness is not the main focus. And people are working

spk_0 crazy hours and they're not taking care of themselves. And here you are kind of doing both,

spk_0 right? Like working hard and also doing hard things that to a point, it's good for you physically.

spk_0 And like do you think about it in that way? And that like people are watching your story and it's

spk_0 kind of cool to see you just bite off bigger and bigger challenges. Thanks. You know, I really started

spk_0 thinking about that recently because I think I didn't even realize that people were paying attention

spk_0 and then maybe in the last six months more and more when I've like been just in like local coffee shops

spk_0 and my neighborhood or things like that, people have come up to me and they've been like, I follow

spk_0 you on Instagram and it's so amazing, you know, the ultra is that you're doing. And so I started to

spk_0 think about that a lot more and trying to be more purposeful and a few things like, hey, you know,

spk_0 I always try to race and like fun outfits and I have like glitter in my hair and different things

spk_0 because I also want to show that it can be fun to do hard things and like, you know, you don't have

spk_0 to take yourself so seriously. You don't have to be like, gunning for the podium. Like you can have fun.

spk_0 And I think, you know, the other thing I've been really conscious of is when I did get back into

spk_0 running, I heard so many knows and so much negativity like so many people in my life were like,

spk_0 it's not healthy for a woman in her 40s to be running these kind of distil. Still people are saying that.

spk_0 Yeah, people are like, you're going to get injured. You're going to like, your body isn't going to hold up.

spk_0 You're not going to be able to do this. You know, for me, also, I'm just very conscious of like

spk_0 wanting to show people in the world that like we're actually not limited by our age. Like, you're not

spk_0 limited by being a mom. You're allowed to go for big dreams and hard things that even if you have

spk_0 children, I'm definitely been much more conscious of trying to put some of those messages out into the

spk_0 world. It's awesome. And they're in this moment, like we all can use more movement and, you know,

spk_0 everyone's always saying touch grass. Like we need to get out there and touch grass and touch dirt and

spk_0 I especially, you know, I've been doing a lot of work with AI recently, which I love, but I feel

spk_0 like the more and more I dig into AI and tech and screens, like the more all of us are just seeking

spk_0 these real human experiences. And I think that's why there's such a surge in popularity of music

spk_0 festivals and concerts and ultra endurance events and things like that because it's like we're just

spk_0 looking for things that are uniquely human. I've been doing this podcast for six years. The first

spk_0 50 episodes were all in person. And then the pandemic hit. And I was forced to like figure out

spk_0 video and figure out virtual episodes. And in the first week, I recorded 14 episodes.

spk_0 Because I was like craving the human connection. And like what other time do you sit down with

spk_0 somebody for an hour, put your phone on silent. And like you're just like totally dialed into whatever

spk_0 that person saying, right? It doesn't happen very much in today's world to your point. So I want to

spk_0 go back to the falling into the deep end of running and velocity at which you did it, which I love.

spk_0 Talk to me about that next or that second starting line of let's say a marathon. I know you

spk_0 mentioned that first 10k, but let's go to that first marathon back. What were you feeling on that

spk_0 starting line? Yeah, I mean, you know, I didn't expect to get back into marathoning so quickly.

spk_0 But actually pretty soon after that 10k, I got a call from a guest who had been on my radio show.

spk_0 And she was like, we're putting together an all moms team for the New York City marathon.

spk_0 Do you want to run it? And it was Alicia Montagno, the Olympian track athlete. And I was like, I

spk_0 cannot say no, like I've been a limpian calling and asking me on this marathon team. So I just said,

spk_0 yes. And I'm not sure I would have gotten back into distance running so quickly if it hadn't been for

spk_0 her. So kind of immediately hit the ground running. And I am such a date a nerd and a geek from my

spk_0 Silicon Valley time that I started doing all this research on women, especially 40 year old women

spk_0 and distance running. I got really interested in all the research I was seeing that the longer the

spk_0 distance, the later in life, you peak at it. And like women start to actually kind of surpass men

spk_0 in some of the longer distances. And that peaked my interest so much that I actually asked a friend

spk_0 of mine if he might be interested in running the perimeter of Manhattan with me, which is about

spk_0 33 miles around. And so I actually did that before I ran the New York City marathon.

spk_0 And I just remember it was like summer, like mile 2324. He's like, I'm dead. I'm dying.

spk_0 And you're just getting going. What was like really? Because like I'm sort of feeling sad that we

spk_0 have like less than 10 miles to go. And he's like, you're a freak, like an actual

spk_0 one-inch. And I got home from that. And by that evening, I had signed up for a 50 mile race.

spk_0 I love that. Yeah, the data is fascinating. Pretty good once you get beyond the 100 mile distance,

spk_0 that sort of intersection occurs. And you look at athletes like Courtney DeWalter and the like. And

spk_0 they're out there pushing boundaries of human performance, let alone female performance. And

spk_0 it's really cool to see. And Lou Lemmon did some fascinating research around that with the six

spk_0 day event and to see Camila Heron and some of the Devon Yanco and those athletes really just

spk_0 accelerate and push through limits that we thought were, you know, absolute limits.

spk_0 Where how are you going to run for that long? And they just kept going. Yeah, it's so inspiring to

spk_0 see. I think back to that Chicago marathon 20 plus years ago. And I actually, I asked my mom

spk_0 if she would be interested in running with me at that time. And I remember distinctly

spk_0 her saying, you know, no, I'm too old to run a marathon. She was younger than I am today when

spk_0 she said that to me. And so, you know, I think that we put so many like arbitrary limits on ourselves

spk_0 from what we've heard or what we internalize in the media. And I just truly believe that we're

spk_0 so much more limitless than we think we are. And the more people say no to me or the more they're

spk_0 like, really, want to try that distance? Like it just lights a fight. Like I feel like almost I

spk_0 have to do it. Like once someone is doubting me. So you did that 50 mileer. The raced

spk_0 relations continue going up. You've done hundreds. You've done coca-cadona now a couple of times.

spk_0 We shared a starting line at Black Canyon this year. But you did two races that we've been. So like

spk_0 talked and I was trashed from the 50 K. So talk to me about that intersection of the mental

spk_0 and physical challenge. How are you pushing through those limits? How do you get on that

spk_0 start line on, you know, you ran the 100 K on Saturday of Black Canyon and then you ran a 50 K

spk_0 on Sunday. And like I was more sore from that race at mile 19 from that all that downhill than I

spk_0 was from any marathon I've ever done. I could not imagine doing two of those events. Like how do

spk_0 you push through when things are physically and mentally challenging? It's such a good question.

spk_0 And I think about that a lot. And, you know, I think about a lot of the things in my life that I've

spk_0 been drawn to that have required just like mental steel in those early days in Silicon Valley.

spk_0 Like in the early web 2.0 social media days, like it was tough. I mean, I was often the only

spk_0 woman in every single room that I was in. It was a really tough like sleep when you're dead hustle.

spk_0 This is like 2000s and 2010s. Yeah, like 2000s tech and Silicon Valley. And you know, you have to

spk_0 be made of like a bit of mental steel to kind of thrive and succeed in that environment. And so

spk_0 I think, you know, that's not something any was born with. But I think I was able to kind of

spk_0 develop that toughness. And then, you know, I train that a lot. I live in New York City, which is not,

spk_0 you know, kind of the standard place that you would expect someone to be training for like a trail

spk_0 250 mile race. But, you know, so I had to do a lot of crazy stuff because I didn't have access to

spk_0 trails like going on a treadmill in the dark for hours with like no music or no stimulus to kind

spk_0 of like train some of that stuff or running back and forth over the 59th street bridge with like

spk_0 a full weighted vest for like six hours back and forth over the same bridge. Like just stuff that

spk_0 like sounds insane as I'm talking about it. But like really trains that kind of mental toughness

spk_0 to be able to push through. I will say that, you know, when it came to Cokodona and signing up for

spk_0 250 mile race, I told myself I was like, Randy, if you have even one ounce of doubt in yourself that

spk_0 you're going to do this, like you cannot get on that start line. Like you have to believe with 400

spk_0 percent certainty in yourself that you're going to finish that race. And I feel like that's also

spk_0 the kind of unhinged enthusiasm. Well, I'm sure Perner needs because like if you're trying to

spk_0 raise money and do things that have never been built before, like you also need that just kind of like

spk_0 wild belief and optimism in yourself. Yeah, the suspension of belief a little bit of like, yeah,

spk_0 I'll figure it out. Like I don't know the path to get there. I'll figure it out.

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spk_0 I want to hear more about your relationship with the concept of an expanded pain cave,

spk_0 the more we do hard things, the more we're able to handle hard things. It's this theory of

spk_0 relativity. The first time you set foot in Manhattan, I'm sure you could not have imagined running

spk_0 on the perimeter of it. The first time you did the 10K, I'm sure you couldn't have imagined

spk_0 running around the perimeter of Manhattan. But as time goes on, you're able to just do more

spk_0 and more hard things. I ran a 40 mile race two weeks ago, which is my longest race so far.

spk_0 When I signed up for it, I was like, there's like how the hell am I going to do this?

spk_0 You know, you break by brick. You build a business. You don't know how you're going to get there

spk_0 on day one, but you do the essentials day to day, week to week, month to month.

spk_0 And so I very vividly remember some of the bricks, as I was running that race,

spk_0 I remember the bricks that I built along the way to get there. And I played the same playlist.

spk_0 I pictured myself running up that hill, that five minute long hill over and over and over again.

spk_0 And so I'm curious your relationship with that concept of the expanding pain cave and

spk_0 the intentionality at which you choose to do difficult things.

spk_0 I love the term expanding pain cave. I've never heard it before, but it's awesome. I think of it as

spk_0 like... Courtney DeWalter gets credit for that one. I love it and I'm going to start using that also.

spk_0 But for me, it's about like thinking about having more and more data points to show that you

spk_0 can be successful. So, you know, like you, when I started taking on these longer and longer distances,

spk_0 I had no data points. That would show that I would be successful at them. I just had like

spk_0 my own wild belief in myself and that kind of had to be enough in the beginning. But now,

spk_0 you know, two years later, it's interesting. I actually just did my first ever 100 mile race,

spk_0 just about a month ago. And I remember the night before, turning to my friend who is there to

spk_0 crew me and saying, you know, wow, like I feel so calm. Like this is such a daunting distance,

spk_0 but I feel so calm about it because I have so many data points now that like show me that I should

spk_0 feel calm. And I used to like the night before long races be a bundle of chaos and energy and

spk_0 nerves. But I had, I guess, expanded that pain cave and showed myself time and time again that I

spk_0 could get through it. And then I showed up at the race. And I think I came in second place of all

spk_0 the women and both first place and I broke the course record for the race. And it was just so cool

spk_0 to see it all click like that. It was so cool to go into a race so calm, so confident in my training

spk_0 and all the work leading up to it. And then to just like crush the race like that. And I think

spk_0 the more you have experiences like that, the more you just like really learn to believe in yourself.

spk_0 It's so interesting because I had such a similar experience the Friday night of that race. I was like

spk_0 every time I've signed up, I've raised a marathon. I've like you like been a bundle of nerves. And

spk_0 like in a marathon, you can't make any mistakes. But in an outro, you can make a handful of mistakes.

spk_0 You can hide. It's like a 100 mile race. You can hide a little bit in a marathon. You can't hide.

spk_0 I read an article that was like in a marathon, the low points are a few minutes to a few miles.

spk_0 And a 100 mile race, it's you know, a few hours and then 200 days, a few days.

spk_0 Tuesday was brutal. Yeah. Yeah. Like I think the final day of Cocodona, I cried for nine

spk_0 straight hours going up the final climb. And my poor friend Joe who was with me, he's like, yeah,

spk_0 you know, I'm so glad that I flew across the country and like left my family to be with you,

spk_0 just literally sobbing for nine straight hours of a mountain. So yeah, it turns out like you can

spk_0 have a pain cave that lasts for like three marathons. So you persevered through that. How do you

spk_0 take that experience and apply it to life? How does that make you a better human? Oh my gosh,

spk_0 I could, I mean, I could talk about Cocodona for hours alone, just that race. That was such a

spk_0 meaningful experience for me because a, for me, that was almost the pinnacle of this main character,

spk_0 journey that I've been going on. I felt like for the first time in my life, like I had something

spk_0 that was all mine, you know, I think my whole life, I'm so used to, I've walked into rooms and

spk_0 people want to know about my brother and they want to know about like my husband, Peloton, and they

spk_0 want to know about my kids. And like, I feel like going through Cocodona, like I would walk into a room

spk_0 and people would be like, wow, you ran 250 miles. And like suddenly, they wanted to hear about something

spk_0 that I did that was all mine. And I remember crossing that finish line and I was like, this might

spk_0 actually be the first thing in my entire life after 40 years, that is like truly all mine. And it

spk_0 was just such an incredible moment. And I feel like the journey of believing in myself enough to

spk_0 take that on. And then showing myself I could, I'm a completely different person than I was a

spk_0 year ago when I signed up for that race. You can't take on something that hard and be the same

spk_0 on the other side. How does it make you feel and how do you carry that for her positive change

spk_0 in other areas or positive vibes in other areas? I think the coolest thing that I've seen is how

spk_0 my family has reacted to it. I have three children. My youngest, she's pretty young, she's just

spk_0 in kindergarten, but I have two teenage boys. And it has also just completely changed them. My 14-year-old

spk_0 son signed up for a marathon after watching me do that. So he and I are going to run the Honolulu

spk_0 Marathon together. I think the way that I see my sons carry themselves in the world and how they

spk_0 take on hard things has changed like watching. It was like almost our whole family went through

spk_0 Cocodona together. And I feel like even the way I carry myself in a room now, you know, I sit on

spk_0 a lot of boards. I still am in a lot of situations where I'm the only woman, you know, in a room and

spk_0 tech and business. And I almost have this new attitude of now of like really like you think you

spk_0 can break me like I ran for four. I'll break myself. I ran for four and a half straight days. Like

spk_0 try me. I'm unbreakable. Yeah. Like you might think that I'm like going to go down easy, but like

spk_0 I'm 10 times tougher than you'll ever be, you know. So I think it's like when you know you have

spk_0 that in yourself, you just kind of like carry yourself through the world a little different.

spk_0 So one of the brands that you're involved in is John G, which is a brand that I've known for

spk_0 more than a decade now. How did you get connected with John G initially? Yeah. It's such a great

spk_0 company. First of all, incredible products. Great team. For me, when I get interested in something,

spk_0 I'm like 400% invested in that world. And so like not only did I want to be a runner,

spk_0 but I wanted to like dive into the business of running and I wanted to understand the ecosystem

spk_0 and the products. And so for me, like having full mastery and something means kind of being

spk_0 involved in every aspect of it. And I had a few, I noticed that like everyone was wearing John G,

spk_0 whenever I went to trail races. And so I just kind of I started, you know, asking a lot of

spk_0 questions about why people liked it. And then I was like, okay, I want to get an introduction to

spk_0 this company. I want to understand. And then, you know, I became one of the early investors in

spk_0 the company. And that's been so cool to be part of the trail community in kind of a business way

spk_0 also. Yeah, it's been super cool. So I met Mike and Dave and the team in like 2013 and the early

spk_0 days of John G and we were all doing November project in Boston together. And so John G was like

spk_0 a November project brand and everyone who did November project would just buy and wear

spk_0 John G stuff. And it was like truly the first example of community supporting a brand that I saw

spk_0 because it was just so real. And it was like what everyone's craving and trying to replicate now

spk_0 with how peril brands are, you know, community first or we're all about, it's like, no,

spk_0 these guys were doing it before. It was like marketing tactic. It's just like who they are.

spk_0 Absolutely. Yeah, you can feel it. And they're like, Mike's training for 100K and they're just

spk_0 like so embedded in the community. I guess now is a good time to say like this podcast is sponsored

spk_0 by John G and they were actually my first sponsor in 2020 back five, wow, five years ago. And

spk_0 what's been cool is like some of the products that I have from 2013 and 2014 like I still own.

spk_0 And so I was like, I don't know if it's more impressive that the material still works or that

spk_0 it still fits, but both are true. Some of the patterns are so cool that I like almost I have like

spk_0 FOMO for when I didn't get. And my favorite thing is on the weekends. My husband is also a

spk_0 distance runner too and a great athlete and we'll go out together and like matching John G like

spk_0 the wildest prints that we have in our closet. And like I can't tell you how many times we get

spk_0 stopped or get like thumbs up from people and like people telling us how much joy it brought

spk_0 them to see us and like our matching kind of crazy prints out in Central Park. So it's an

spk_0 awesome brand and like really cool what they do with supporting artists and the community.

spk_0 So where does Randy go from here? What are some of the big goals that you're chasing down?

spk_0 Spaces you want to explore? What does the future look like from a running perspective?

spk_0 You know it's funny you say that because I feel like I have like almost two personalities when

spk_0 it comes to running. I have like a vibes side of me that's like really drawn to experiences and

spk_0 adventure. And then I have like a performance and data side of me. I think from like the Silicon

spk_0 Valley ages so similar. I feel the exact same thing. So I feel like each side of my personality

spk_0 has different goals. The like vibes part of me is like always looking at like destination races

spk_0 and cool adventures and like not caring about time. And I have a part of me that's like I want a

spk_0 PR the marathon. Like I want to now do a sub 22 hour 100 mileer. You know I've all of these

spk_0 things. So I'm trying to figure out how those two sides of me can live in harmony. And if you

spk_0 have any advice I would love to hear it. I do. So I have ADHD and I bounce between like

spk_0 goal and thing that I like doing. And I've had this conversation with a lot of people and a lot of

spk_0 really strong runners. Professional ultra runners amateur ultra runners who have been doing it for

spk_0 a long time have basically just said like follow what's fun. And if running a fast marathon is fun

spk_0 in this moment go for it. If running a fast 100 mile race is fun in this moment go for it. If you

spk_0 want to go adventure in Hawaii or Colorado or California like do it right. And I've bounced

spk_0 between different distances a couple years ago I trained for a mile and then I did a 55 K six weeks

spk_0 later. And I performed so well in the 55 K because of this like crazy aerobic base that I had.

spk_0 But also like I wasn't burned out from doing an ounce hailing here. So that's if you can hear that

spk_0 that's what's going on in the background. So just yeah the bouncing between like following fun

spk_0 I think it was Sally McGray told me something along these lines. And we don't have to put ourselves

spk_0 in boxes right like I love running on the road I love running fast but I live in Colorado and I love

spk_0 running trails and doing adventures in California. And there's just so much to explore.

spk_0 That makes me feel a lot better because I feel like I'm you know you could look at me and be like

spk_0 what is this woman doing from month to month but like after Cokodona I needed a little bit of a

spk_0 break from long distances. And so I set my sights I was like I want a PR my road half marathon

spk_0 you know and like I kind of just like hit that really hard for two months. And then I was like you

spk_0 know what I really missed the long distances. And that was when I kind of went and signed up for

spk_0 another hundred mileer and did that. So and now I'm like super focused on running this marathon

spk_0 with my son and training with him and having that shared experience together. I also recently joined

spk_0 the board of directors for New York Roadrunners that puts on the New York City marathon and all of

spk_0 the big races in New York. You know that's given me a lot of joy too of kind of diving into the

spk_0 behind the scenes of putting on some of these huge races and learning about that. So yeah I feel like

spk_0 I love all distances and all terrains and types of running and I I'm a lot of joy bouncing between

spk_0 them. Yeah I think there's a lot of value in doing that right it's like there's no need to stay

spk_0 squarely in one lane right. And even there are great examples of professional runners who are

spk_0 paid to compete and paid to win. And many people are still bouncing between road racing and track

spk_0 racing and ultra. And I think it's like if I've learned anything from all the professional athletes

spk_0 I've talked to over the years it's like it still has to be fun. And even if you're getting paid

spk_0 to compete and win like these people are still their North Star is still fun because if it's not

spk_0 fun like right why do it. There are plenty of other things you can be doing. Yeah but like we're all

spk_0 so busy you know why would you be spending that many hours and dedicating that much time and money

spk_0 and love into something. So for sure for me that joy is always my guiding North Star and you know

spk_0 having an activity that makes you like feel confident about your body and your fitness and your

spk_0 health and your community is a huge added bonus on that too. What's the most surprising thing if

spk_0 the version of you that finished the Chicago marathon 20 years ago saw you today. What would she be

spk_0 most surprised by. Oh my gosh I think so much of what I've done was never on my life bingo card.

spk_0 That is that's such a great question. I'm gonna kind of sit with it for one second but

spk_0 within the lens of running. Yeah I think she would be just most surprised by like

spk_0 or maybe like the most proud could be another way to answer it. I think A the distances. I think

spk_0 you know for sure I don't think anyone like you know when I was performing at a mid-level on my

spk_0 cross-country team like I don't think anyone would have been like. She's gonna run 250 miles one day.

spk_0 Girl that's gonna be like the ultra marathoner but yeah I think what has surprised me and what

spk_0 was surprised her is like the grit that I have found in my life. I don't think that I was like

spk_0 necessarily the grittiest kid or like the kid that would like push through and succeed at all costs

spk_0 but I think life and life miles and life experience brought running back into my life at exactly

spk_0 the right time when I kind of amassed that like grit and resilience and mental toughness. I think

spk_0 how much joy and sparkle and fun I've still held on to from those youthful days. Yeah I think

spk_0 she'd be surprised to see that I kind of kept that balance. That's awesome and that's definitely

spk_0 something that you can strive for going forward right and it's like a road map for how to be joyous

spk_0 and set a good example going forward too. Totally but like still like have that killer instinct

spk_0 in you a little too and you can have both of those. What's a crazy goal you have in running

spk_0 coming up in the next six to 12 months? Oh great one. Okay I've been thinking about this a lot so

spk_0 I'm running it back with Coca-Cola so I'm doing that again next year. I couldn't stop thinking about

spk_0 like all the things I would do differently now that I know the course but I'm hoping you know to have

spk_0 a big summer next summer because I'm hoping that I'll either also be running bad water or UTMV

spk_0 in the same summer also so you know definitely adding another kind of like very challenging

spk_0 hundred plus mile race in. I'm doing a lot of like kind of like back-to-back races like

spk_0 in preparation for that so like you mentioned like I'm going to do kind of the back-to-back black

spk_0 canyon again with a hundred K and the 50 A and there's an awesome new race that Joe Corseon

spk_0 from everyday ultra just announced in April that also has like a back-to-back hundred K and 50 K so

spk_0 I think I'll probably be doing that also so if you're at any of those races please come say hi

spk_0 just look for the glitter hair and the person like smiling and somehow being excited about doing

spk_0 like a hundred miles back-to-back in one weekend. Joe's awesome that race is going to be awesome. I've

spk_0 got to know him a little bit I did a podcast with him a couple years ago at Western States and

spk_0 yeah it's just really fun when people who are so passionate about something create in the space and

spk_0 so yeah he has that 1500K and it's the Phoenix area right in April. Yeah it's like I love seeing

spk_0 people be entrepreneurial in this world and I even quite frankly I think that's what draws me to

spk_0 some of these long distances is that you have to think like an entrepreneur in training for them

spk_0 and even in the middle of the race like you can go in with the best plan and you have to pivot and

spk_0 you have to solve challenges along the way and so I love seeing new races like that pop up I love

spk_0 seeing people think about the space and I love like geeking out about a race plan in an entrepreneurial

spk_0 way myself so I'm super excited I think the last thing in my training is that in the fall this fall

spk_0 I'm focusing on road marathon so I'm running Chicago and New York City and then Honolulu with my son

spk_0 so I'm hoping to have a fun season of road marathoning and then we'll do a hard pivot in January

spk_0 to be focused on trails and distance. Got to get you out here to Boulder for Boulder

spk_0 It's a great prep for New York. Yes that is so high on my list of races that I want to do.

spk_0 It's a fun one. Phil and Alexa the organizers like anything they touch turns to gold. Phil is an

spk_0 accomplished entrepreneur himself from his time in New York and Alexa is an incredible sponsorship

spk_0 salesperson and event organizer and they just like put on this incredible community race and it's

spk_0 a non-profit so they end up giving back tons of money to the city as well which is super cool but

spk_0 the races are blast. That's awesome. I mean why are there so many races and so long time and then like

spk_0 you know I like to say that I can like sort of still run like a 20-year-old but it turns out I am

spk_0 actually a 40-year-old and like need time to recover and that's very frustrating to me.

spk_0 I want to do all these like even right now I have like a little bit of like a hip situation

spk_0 and like it's only been four days like I shouldn't feel that frustrated by four days but I'm like

spk_0 you know wallowing in self-pity like it's the end of the world and I'm like no Randy like you

spk_0 literally just did a 100 mile race off of Pokedona like of course you're gonna have like a hip

spk_0 situation for a few days like let's just you be all so you know there's too many races to run

spk_0 and it's a great problem. It is a great problem. I guess I have one other question and it's more

spk_0 along the lines of like you have a lot of responsibilities throughout the day and the week how do

spk_0 you make time for yourself how do you prioritize the thing that helps you be the best version of

spk_0 yourself. I love that question and it's actually something I've been thinking and I actually wrote a

spk_0 whole book about work-life balance like several years ago before I even got back into running this

spk_0 is kind of a topic I've been thinking about. Second edition. Yeah I do need a second edition. I kind

spk_0 of have a life philosophy in general which is that it's better to be well-lopsided than to be

spk_0 well-balanced and I kind of like lean into it's green or I say that because I think in order to

spk_0 feel successful or have mastery or do anything you're proud of like you kind of need to go all in

spk_0 and when I talk to people who are doing things that have so much meaning in their lives they're not

spk_0 trying to be balanced. They are really like giving themselves permission to go all in and so for me

spk_0 like most of my friends and social life revolve around running you know so I kind of like hit two

spk_0 birds with one stone I live in New York City but I go to bed at like 8 p.m. like I probably don't take

spk_0 advantage of all of the great things the city has to offer because I'm often up at four o'clock or

spk_0 five o'clock in the morning so I can get my training in before I have to take multiple

spk_0 turns to school and kind of and beyond. I saw a quote that I love that said you either sacrifice

spk_0 for your goal or you sacrifice your goal and for me that is like something I've just kind of always

spk_0 believed in like if you care about something enough like you make the sacrifices you make the time

spk_0 you do what's necessary and it's been cool to see I've been able to like bring my family along as

spk_0 part of this I have an incredible community of friends that are like part of my running world and

spk_0 business opportunities that I'm now involved in that really has become like my whole life.

spk_0 I love it. I have one more question that I have super curious your answer on I ask this to a lot of

spk_0 people who have conventional success and whether that's athletic or in business or whatnot.

spk_0 I'm super curious how you define success what is success to Randy? I mean there's so many facets

spk_0 to success but when I think about it I think about like is this the kind of thing that I'm going to

spk_0 like want to tell like my great great great grandchildren about am I dedicating myself to something that

spk_0 is like filling me with so much purpose and meaning and like legacy and I think if it is if you have

spk_0 that sense of meaning purpose that drives you out of bed like that to me is the most successful

spk_0 that you can be wildly more than anything to do with financial or being successful to other people.

spk_0 I also think like the other part of it is I have chased a lot of things in my life to like get

spk_0 other people's approval and by far the most successful I've ever felt was when I was doing things

spk_0 for myself like when the goal truly came from within and I felt so driven from within and I didn't

spk_0 really care what other people thought or what they were looking at and that has really changed my

spk_0 definition of success also I think the most successful things you can do are for yourself.

spk_0 I love that. Randy this has been a blast like I said we may have to go another round on long-run

spk_0 labs and talk the business side of the outdoor industry but for today this was awesome it was

spk_0 cool hearing your story and how running has made such an impact on your life and how cool to

spk_0 think about the ripple effect that that can have on so many others so appreciate you and your time

spk_0 and we'll see you out there. And I get to meet you as part of running so really super cool part of

spk_0 the journey thanks so much. Of course thank you. That's it for today's episode like many long runs

spk_0 with friends it's sad when it has to end join us next time as we continue to share and

spk_0 sponsoring stories from the running community. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with

spk_0 a friend or family member who you think would love it too. This podcast and accompanying music

spk_0 has been produced by Brian Walters of Single Track Sound for the long-run logo was created by Vanessa

spk_0 Wolfe of Sterling Wolfe this show is produced by Emily Holland and Angie Marie of Wild Poppy creative

spk_0 consulting thank you for your support and we'll see you out there.

Randi Zuckerberg's Journey to Main Character Energy: From Silicon Valley Sidekick to 250-Mile Finisher

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