Jill Certisomo - Chicago, Achilles International

Automated Transcription

Interview

Jill Certisomo: [00:00:00]  The biggest challenge for me is learning to run in the body that I have. Right? I would see all these people in line who would be training and they'd be like, I am six seconds faster today because I've been doing all this training. And, ,  you know, I would look at my training plan and I'd be following it to the best of my ability.

 but. I'd either be still the same or I'd be like 45 seconds slower. it's kind of like playing the cards.

You're dealt like, I can't change this. So I have to be grateful for the fact that I can run it all. 

Christine Borchard: [00:00:35] welcome to the, I run because podcast, we will have a reason why we run. Each person has a unique purpose to answer their why. Your why moves you your why get you across the finish line. Your why can motivate others. I run because seeks to inspire others by exploring the why of athletes who run for charitable organizations. I'm your host Joba Chardan and I have my lovely guide for life. My wife Christine. Hello. This season of Iram because we highlight the running club Achilles international.  The running club that partners guides with runners have different abilities to compete in mainstream running events. While Achilles focus is on running.

The truth is running is simply the tool for accomplishing their main objective. To bring hope, inspiration, and the joy of achievements for all. Tonight, we're really excited to have Jill with us from Chicago. , Jill. Hi, how are you today? Hi, Jill.

Jill Certisomo: [00:01:27] Hi.  Nice chatting with you guys.

Christine Borchard: [00:01:29] . So, Jill, , you're from Chicago. And how long have you been been running with. Achilles.

Jill Certisomo: [00:01:35] I've been running with Achilles for about two years. I found them in the smer of 2018

 Christine Borchard: [00:01:39] And, so tell us, how did you find Achilles.

Jill Certisomo: [00:01:42] absolutely, completely by accident, actually. I was, , just playing around on the internet, looking for races and I came across this race. . But brought about by Achilles, and I was kind of intrigued because my disability has a lot to do with my Achilles tendon. So I was like, well, cool, what is this and where is it?

And I clicked on it and I was like, well, it's a really cool 5k, but it's in New York, which is a little bit far for me to go for a three mile run. , so I kinda just started looking online and I was like, I wonder if they have a chapter in Chicago and. I kind of started looking through things and that's where I found out they did have a Chicago chapter, and that's how I met.

Ashley Robin, who is , our chapter leader here. I sent her, I mean, I still had no idea what it was. So I sent her an email and you know, I was like, I found this online. I'm not sure if I can even. Like, I don't know if I'd qualify as an athlete or a guide. And I kind of gave her some background information and she got back to me and she was like, well, you can be either, you can be an athlete or a guide or both.

And you know, we meet at a local track on Wednesday night, come on out and see what we're about and see if you like it. And so that's, I met her at a track one night and that's how I found them.

Christine Borchard: [00:02:54] Jill, do you guide as well as, being an athlete?

Jill Certisomo: [00:02:57] I have not yet. I know that I'm more than welcome to. I just felt like I wanted to become a better runner before I brought my skills to other people. Like I wanted to be stronger in my running techniques and know more about running before I volunteered to help somebody else. But it's definitely something I'd like to try in the future.

Christine Borchard: [00:03:16] Yeah, we have a, , a guide slash athlete in our organization as well. , , when there's, , athletes that need walking guidance, she guides them. But when it comes to running races, she is now the athlete and then we guide her. So she definitely has both roles.

Jill Certisomo: [00:03:31] Yeah. It's definitely something that I would love to do. I just felt like when I first started, cause I haven't been running for that long, I just was kinda like, well. And some of these athletes are really fast, and I was like, well, I'm not there yet, so let's just slow that down.

Christine Borchard: [00:03:46] how have the guides helped you? Like what, like, what about, , like Achilles and, , the guides, like what do they bring to help you run.

Jill Certisomo: [00:03:52] , you know, they bring for me, , as a runner with a physical disability, they bring an added sense of for like large aerations and stuff, a better sense of security because there are a lot of people, and I'm a very slow runner. So my fear is kind of, for lack of a better way to describe it, getting run over, not because they don't see me, but because I'm moving.

Slower and they don't always, they can't always stop. So it kind of gives me that sense of security and just. Added support if I should fall. They're able to kind of help me up if I should lose my balance. Sometimes they can kind of catch me before I hit the ground. They also come with just sometimes advice and, , just things that I don't know about running that they can kind of share with me.

And sometimes when we run, they're also like a distraction so that, I forget that I'm actually running. Because, you know, maybe they're telling me about their day or they're pointing out things while we run or telling me about a race that they have run. So that's kind of cool in a way.

Christine Borchard: [00:04:50] Yeah, definitely. Great partnerships help when you're running it. Like. Definitely helps with the wind, especially in the marathon. We have somebody to talk to and somebody to, , you know, keep your mind off of some of the aches and pains and, , yeah, as a guide, I could tell you when I ran the Chicago marathon, I was more of a bouncer than I was a, , a guiding coach.

Cause I, I ran with a young lady who was visually impaired and just to keep her safe and it was very crowded. I, . You know, but I had my body, , as I was running, I had my body out, like I was flying to keep people away from her. So it's, we definitely become bodyguards out there.

Jill Certisomo: [00:05:25] It's really interesting cause like when I first started with the guide running, I never thought of them as a bodyguard, but they kind of are. In a way, and that they do keep people kind of away from you, which is kind of nice.

Christine Borchard: [00:05:39] So, Jill, you, you talked about, . Your,  your disability ability. So w what exactly do you have that, I guess qualifies you as, as an athlete, if you

don't mind me asking?

Jill Certisomo: [00:05:51] Sure. I was diagnosed at birth with, at birth with, , diplegic cerebral palsy.  , so basically what that means is it affects all four of my limbs and, but my right side, more than my left for me and the cerebral palsy cerebral palsy is, , characterized by tightening of the muscles. So like my calf muscles and my hamstring muscles, all of that is just really, really tight.

Christine Borchard: [00:06:12] And is it normally, more than the other?

Jill Certisomo: [00:06:15] , it absolutely depends on what type of CPU have and on what part of your brain it actually affected. So for me, it mostly affects my balance 

Christine Borchard: [00:06:27] So Jill, do you normally have two guides, one on each side or are you okay with just one guide.

Jill Certisomo: [00:06:32] I've been doing okay with just one so far. far. . I haven't had to yet, but I'm not opposed to it. I'm, we haven't seen a need for it.  , but yeah, so mostly they try to stay on whichever side of me is most crowded, and sometimes they'll stay like a little bit behind me if it's really crowded. Just to kind of keep like the general circle around me 

Christine Borchard: [00:06:54] Now I, I know, . You if you want to tell us a little bit about, I think it was in 2017 you ran the Shamrock shuffle

Jill Certisomo: [00:07:03] Yes, the race will give me nightmares until the end of prime.

Christine Borchard: [00:07:07] no, I'm sorry to have brought that up. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:07:11] No. , I, you know, it was a great learning experience. The Shamrock shuffle in 2017 was my very first eight K. I'd never run that far. I'd never run that race. Like I had no idea what to expect. And this was before I knew organizations like Achilles existed. So it was just basically me and a really good friend of mine who actually got me into running, who runs as well, but she's, well, but she's, , much faster than me, so we don't run together.

Like we, we start together and then she's patient and she waits for me at the finish line.  ,  so I had no idea what to expect and I didn't realize that, you know, 40,000 people actually run this race, but, you know, okay. Whatever. 

Christine Borchard: [00:07:48] Wow. 40,000 people run the Shamrock shuffle.

Jill Certisomo: [00:07:51] it might be a little less than that. It's a lot of 

Christine Borchard: [00:07:53] smokes. I didn't realize it was that big. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:07:55] and you know, I didn't either. And so I started off and I usually try, like when I was buying myself and it was just me, I tried to start as far back as I possibly could because I just thought like, if I'm in the last corral and I am as far back as I possibly can get, I won't get run over. Right. And so.

 I was good for a while and we hit the five K Mark and I still to this day, and I mean, I was thankful it was literally right in front of the first aid stop. , and I still don't exactly know what happened because all I remember is hitting the ground and then go into get up and realizing I couldn't stand up because somebody was on 

top of

me. And so, once he stood up and I stood up, he turned around and he looked at his friend and he's like, I didn't see her at all. And his friend's like, well, it's a little light for that now, when we watched all the people at the first aid stand kind of jp, because I think they were waiting for me not to be able to move.

And so we got up and I mean, he was, and I don't know, like he was partly intoxicated, so that might've had something to do 

with it. I might have been moving really slow, so I don't know if it was like a combination of me moving too slow and him not being able to stop a combination of him being intoxicated and not being able to stop, 

Christine Borchard: [00:09:12] I'm impressed that this guy ran intoxicated. Just a side note, I have a hard time doing it sober, but 

Jill Certisomo: [00:09:20] Each their own. I wouldn't do it either, but you know, and you know, he apologized and it was great and I kind of stood up and for a second I was like, okay, cause I can feel like that. My knees were scraped up and my elbows were scraped up and I was like, alright, I have two choices. It's two miles to the finish line or three miles back to the start line.

So either way, like I have to get up and it's a question of whether I'm going to finish it or. Stop it where it stands. And I did end up finishing. But, , the whole experience just kind of really, that was, has been my fear since I started running was getting trampled. And so the whole experience just kind of like, it was like my worst fear came to reality.

So the following year, I love my friend to death cause she convinces me to do crazy things every year. So the following year she convinced me it was a good idea to sign up again.  

Christine Borchard: [00:10:09] Hey, you got to get back on that horse.

Jill Certisomo: [00:10:11] Yeah. And I did, but okay, well, here's what happened with that. 

Christine Borchard: [00:10:14] Did you drink this time?

Jill Certisomo: [00:10:17] the morning of, I had so much anxiety of like everything in 2017 having to me again, that I, I will openly admit, I completely mailed, like I texted her about two hours before and she's like, am I picking you up or not?

And I was like, Nope. I am staying home and she's like, for real, you're not going to try again. And I was like, absolutely not.  all the joy that was in it for me was gone. And I was convinced that  if I did it again, something was going to happen to me again. And I totally bailed in 2018. On that race.

I did redeem myself a couple of weeks later, but that race was just done for me and I had vowed that I was, I wasn't trying to get in,  there were too many people. It was too busy of a race and I just, it, it's going to be my least favorite race  

Christine Borchard: [00:11:01] Now with Achilles, have you tried it again, like in 2000, were you able

to, 

Jill Certisomo: [00:11:04] 

I did it in 2019 with, a guide and it was an amazing experience.

Christine Borchard: [00:11:10] Yay. I love happy endings.

Jill Certisomo: [00:11:12] Yeah. It does have a happy ending. I got talked into doing it again, , through Achilles and having the idea of having a guide, cause I'd never had a guide before, so I was like, I don't even know what, like what changes. Like I didn't realize you could have a guide.

You could start early, like all these things can happen for you. Right. And so when they convinced me to do it again in 2019, I was like, well, if I have someone with me, maybe it won't. Be as bad. And I ended up with a really great person as my guide, and he was great fun. And he, , really kept me safe, and I had a great time enough to want to do it again in 2020, but then that got canceled.

Christine Borchard: [00:11:49] Sad face. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:11:50] Yeah. It's happening all over right now. So

Christine Borchard: [00:11:53] I'm glad you were able to do it. You know, I just know as a guide, like, , one time I had somebody that didn't fall but wasn't feeling that well and was contemplating leaving the course and it was nice for her to know that I was there 

to help her get home. You know, just that extra like, I can't do it. My legs aren't working.

All that great. And it, it, it was, it was comforting for her to know that there was somebody there that wasn't going to leave her on the sidewalk and just keep running. You know, like if you're there with your, your friends, your friend paid for the race, she wants to run it and then you always say, go ahead.

But your guides there to stay. So that's like one of the, , most important things for us to do is to keep our athletes safe.

Jill Certisomo: [00:12:30] It's an amazing difference. I mean, I never thought, like, I never thought any of this was possible. Never once. So I always just kinda thought any race I did was always going to be just me. You know, at the very back and. As slow as hanly possible because a lot of times it was legit. Me and a police escort and God bless my friend cause her smiling face with her two kids at the end going, you did it.

But I mean, there was one shit like nobody else.

Christine Borchard: [00:12:55] Jill. You're still faster than that. That person that's on the couch, that doesn't matter. That's it, you know? , 

so do me a favor, if you could tell me, , in 2019 when you came back to do the Shamrock shuffle, , what, what was your feeling? How were you feeling that morning on the  starting line, you know, knowing that the year before the anxiety.

Got you. So talk me through that morning. How were you feeling getting ready to start that 

race?

Jill Certisomo: [00:13:19] I typically have raised anxiety to begin with before any race because I am just that sort of person to like the night before in the morning of the race, I process everything that could go wrong and I don't know why. It's just one of those things where I sit there and I'm like, it could rain, I could fall, we could fall into the Lake that we're nowhere near.

But you know, like all of these things that could go wrong and I just have to process them all. So I want to say like that morning, I know I was super nervous because. I was just, I had no idea what to expect cause it had been since 2017 since I had attempted it. I bailed in 2018 and so I was kind of like, you know, in the back of your mind there's always like, well this could happen.

Like I could fall down and make somebody else fall. Like there's all that panic, right? So I get really quiet before races start because I just, I have to process everything. And the ongoing, you know, joke between my friend and I is I am a wreck until somebody says, go. And then as soon as I, I'm not one of those, like all these people stand around and they're happy and they're full of energy and I stand there and it's like dead silent and I'm like, can I still bail?

Like what's left? Like, what's going to happen? Like are we going to say go, how long have I been standing here? Has it really only been five minutes? Like I just can't, I'm not great at standing around. So everything for that day, like even though I had a guide and we'd met before, so he'd run with me a couple times before that.

Yeah. Which really helped. I was really grateful. Like they paired me with them and they gave me his email and he's like, you know, I'm putting you guys together, reach out to each other. And so I kind of reached out and I told them, I said, you know, I have race anxiety. I don't like this race. I'll be honest, you know, this is what I'm afraid of when I get nervous.

I talk a lot. I'm sorry, like, and I had asked him, you know, can you meet with me once or twice? Just cause I wanted to get him to, for him to get a feel of how fast I could run. Like how many times I needed to stop and just like what running with me would be like.

Christine Borchard: [00:15:21] And just to see if it's a good fit to personality wise. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:15:24] Right. And so we ended up meeting a few times before the Shamrock shuffle and we actually, we still run to this day together, so we hit it off really well and became really good friends. So that helped a lot because I think it helped me to be able to trust him. 

Christine Borchard: [00:15:38] Oh, that's great. You know, I'll tell you, even as a guide, you know, some of those same feelings that you have as an athlete on the starting line. I know as a guide, I have those same, 

. 

So those same feelings times too, cause I'm worried about myself running and then I'm like, Oh my God, am I going to be a good guy to this person?

So I don't want to say anxiety is there. I don't want to let my athlete down and I want to make sure that they finish and I hope I don't cramp up and I start going through these puzzles in my head I'm like, did I do this right? Did I do that right? How was my training? Can I keep up on a, you are not alone.

Yeah.

Jill Certisomo: [00:16:11] I'm over all the things like as an athlete that go through your head and for me, having a guide to, one of the things that even still now two years later that goes through my head is, am I too slow for this poor person trying to guide me? Right? Like, because this guide is giving you one of the most important things to me that they have and that's their time.

  Christine Borchard: [00:16:29] we have the same thing. I'm just, I always think to myself, am I holding them back? Are they running slow because they think I can't do it, or am I, am I going too fast and am I dragging them? Like we have all the same anxieties. Says guides as well.

Jill Certisomo: [00:16:41] it's always like  this person I know, like this guy I know can run an eight minute mile. Here I am with my 15 minute mile. Like, is this even enjoyable for you? And that's. You know, one of the things that I, I really struggle with, with asking for help and asking for this person to, you know, come spend your morning with me.

I know you could run this in an hour, but it's going to take me to, you know.

Christine Borchard: [00:17:03] And I think that's, that's one of the things I know, me personally as a guide, I have no problem running races, walking races. I do it because I, I really enjoy being out there watching other people accomplish and helping other people accomplish their goals. And that's, that's what I get the satisfaction of.

You know, it's not. Whether or not I, how fast I ran the race, or, you know, it's not your race that, you know, it's not your race.  , how long was my ma a New York city marathon? The one year 11. I did a, we did an 11 hour. I, you know, I did, , a walk with a, , with a runner. And, for me, my, my marathon might be six hours, five and a half hours.

I didn't matter. It didn't matter to me. It wasn't my race, you know, so when don't think that your guy, if your guide wouldn't be there, if they didn't want to do it. , , so Jill, what so far has been, , your biggest challenge, whether in, in running, has it been the training? Has it been signing up for different races? What's, what's been some of your big, one of your biggest challenges so far?

Jill Certisomo: [00:18:01] The biggest challenge for me is learning to run in the body that I have. Right? Like, I would see all these people in line who would be training and they'd be like, I am six seconds faster today because I've been doing all this training. And, ,  you know, I would look at my training plan and I'd be following it to the best of my ability.

And I would look and I'd be like, but. I'd either be still the same or I'd be like 45 seconds slower. And I'd be like, well, if they're training and I'm training, why? You know, why am I not getting fast? Or why is this not getting better? And so for me, it's the grasp of just remembering that you know, my body is what it is and I have to kind of, it's kind of like playing the cards.

You're dealt like, I can't change this. So I have to be grateful for the fact that I can run it all. 

Christine Borchard: [00:18:54] Amen. Yeah. 

Do you have  good running days in that? And that's so great. Running days, , with the SCP 

Jill Certisomo: [00:18:59] all the time. And it amazes me sometimes cause I'll be like, sometimes it'll be like, you know, Saturday was so great, I went three miles without stopping. And I'll wake up the next day and it'll be like, do a two mile easy run and I can't last a mile. And I'm like, what is going? I'm like, how could it be so great one day?

And it just, it all depends on, you know, how much. How much is left in my legs when I go to do things. And like sometimes things hurt that don't hurt every day. So that's kind of different too. So it's learning to work with the body that I have and being grateful for what it is capable of doing.

Christine Borchard: [00:19:39] But you know, Jill, and in many ways you're no different than anybody else. I know there are times when I go out for a run and I'm like, you know, just recently I went out for a run and I came back and I said to my wife, I go, wow, that was a great run. I felt awesome. And then the next day I go, I go to try to recreate it, and I ended up walking.

I got, what? What the heck happened to me? Is it something I ate? 

What's going on? 

Yeah. 

, so, so Jill, let me ask you this question. , 

Jill Certisomo: [00:20:07] why do I run the simple answer? And. More more recently and lately it with the more people I meet is because I can,  ,  I was someone for a long time who was told they would never be able to run. So it's because I can, and when I look at the brella that encompasses the disability that I have and how there are people with the exact same disability of me who can't walk and who can't track and have no control over their muscles and their bodily functions, and they would be grateful to be able to stand up, right and take six steps to the door.

So I run for everyone who can't, and because I can.

Christine Borchard: [00:20:51] Jill. That's awesome. That'd be inspiration. It really is. Do you know, as we're talking, as we're doing this podcast and we're talking to a lot of different athletes, I think we're starting to see a common thread among athletes that they run because. Because they can, and because there are other people who have different abilities or more severe abilities that can't do it and they run for them.

And that's just, that's just awesome. Such an awesome feeling. And so, so amazing to hear. Refreshing. Yes. 

, so Jill, I wanna I want to turn gears for a second here. . So right now we're our country. Our world is in the middle of a health crisis. And you know, here in New Jersey, we are in what's called a shelter in place where we're really not allowed to.

We're encouraged to stay 

home.

Jill Certisomo: [00:21:39] We are the same right now in Chicago.

Christine Borchard: [00:21:41] You are. So how is that impacting your ability to train and are you still able to get out and get some runs  

runs or walks in. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:21:49] , I can get out. It's very hard to run right now cause most of our running paths and trails and things that would be close to my house  house that I could watch you, , we're not allowed to touch. not allowed to , so I can walk right now right now and I do, , some strength training just in my house. So the running has kind of been put on the back burner.

Like I could go around the block if I wanted to, but I'm not going to get like a good solid five or six mile run. 

Christine Borchard: [00:22:11] Right? Right. That's basically what we've been doing here, just walking around our neighborhood. just walking around our . I have a treadmill. The most I'll ever do on that is three miles. So I'm not really, I'm not doing what I should be doing. what I should be doing. , just do the best we can during this. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:22:23] I mean that's all you can do. And it's, it's, I reached out to my trainer when all of this first started happening cause I was, my training was going great and I was so excited and I reached out to her and I said, Oh my gosh. And she's like, you'll get it all back. She's like, I promise you when this is all said and done and this is Ashley who runs Achilles, she's like, I promise when this is all said and done, I will help you get it all back.

Christine Borchard: [00:22:47] I keep thinking when this, you know, finally comes to rest, that everybody out there is going to be in the same boat that I'm in. So I feel like, like, although I'm going to be worried and you know, I, I might not be as trained as I should be. I feel like when I look around, everybody else that's around me is going to be thinking and doing the same thing. So Jill, my wife's, , one of her anxieties right now, but she's supposed to be running a, coincidentally the Chicago marathon again this year, and she's going to be, , guiding a blind runner. So Christine keeps saying to me, I'm so worried I have to start train and I have to start train. I sit to my wife, I've got Christine, I go, the, the athlete that you run with, she's not trained in the right now either.

So you guys are in the same

boat. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:23:30] Everybody is, I think, but it's still just disheartening to just have to let it all go. Like that was really, and for me, partly I felt like I was letting, you know, Ashley had created this training plan for me and it was going so well, and I was, you know, totally ready for this race in may. And. I, and it just all of a sudden just all crbled.

And it is, it's a little disheartening and you have to take a step back and realize, Hey, you can't control it, and B, it'll be there again. So like, I will get to try this race again. 

 , soldier field 10 mile again, round two.

Christine Borchard: [00:24:05] So the soldier field 10 miler, now I'm guessing that's all around. Is that a near millennial park 

park in that area down

Jill Certisomo: [00:24:12] , it starts and ends on soldier field. , you start on the 50 yard line, you run five miles out, and then it loops back and you, and you cross the finish line on the 50 yard line again.

Christine Borchard: [00:24:22] that's so cool.

That's really cool.  

 Jill Certisomo: [00:24:26] , right now it's just in a holding pattern. It's May 23rd. So I'm assing we are in a shelter in place until at least April 30th.

I do not see them letting us gather with a crowd of 7,000 people 23 days later.  So, , right now they haven't said anything about it as to whether it will be canceled or if they'll postpone it or what they're going to do. So right now it's kind of in a holding pattern.

Christine Borchard: [00:24:52] I'm in like this limbo mode with the Chicago. Part of me is me is saying. , I should start training because if it happens, I need to be there. And then the other part of me is like, I wish they would just tell me so I wouldn't run 18 miles to 12 miles because I really don't want to train for it

if 

it's not going to happen.

Jill Certisomo: [00:25:07] Like you don't want to see like go away, but at the same time you're like, I just want to know like what you're going to do about it, because I really don't see us gathering 23 days after a two month lockdown. 

Christine Borchard: [00:25:19] Right, right. Yeah. We're starting to feel the same way with the New York city marathon, while it's in while it's in November. both my wife and I, we were going to be  and I, we were going to be running  this race, , with, , Kelly's guiding athletes. And while I hope it's going to happen, while I hope it's going to happen, I'm, I'm optimistic, optimistic. I'm going to stay optimistic.

There you go. Somebody tells me otherwise. All right, Joe, are we ready for our finish line?

line segment. 

 Christine, is going to hit you with some finish line questions as we get to learn a little bit more about you. 

Okay.  Ready? , all right, Joe, what is your favorite race?

Jill Certisomo: [00:25:52] Favorite race so far, it's gotta be the soldier field. 

10 mile 

Christine Borchard: [00:25:56] Levin. What is your favorite distance. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:25:58] favorite distance. , probably a 10 K.  

Christine Borchard: [00:26:01] Hmm. , inspirational song. Something that you'd like to run to or get like 

Jill Certisomo: [00:26:08] Oh, that's a good question. I think it depends on the morning. Something upbeat. I wouldn't say that I have a specific favorite song. It's just gotta be something that has energy that can kind of pp you up at like 4:00 AM when I'm waking up trying to get ready for this. r

Christine Borchard: [00:26:26] ,   

Jill Certisomo: [00:26:28] Post raised 

meal, , pizza or pasta.

Christine Borchard: [00:26:31] and your dream, your dream race, what trace, if you could do any race in the world, which one would you want to do?

Jill Certisomo: [00:26:39] As of right now, the New York city half marathon.

Christine Borchard: [00:26:42] It's a great race. Yeah, we were signing up for it. Joe and I are here. If you need a guide, you can always call us. And here's another one. Listen, Jill, next time you're in New Jersey and you're down the shore at Jenkinson's or you're in Homedale, you make sure you give us  us a call. And, , it would be our honor to, to do do a, a nice training run with, ,  you.

Jill Certisomo: [00:27:02] Absolutely so much fun. 

Christine Borchard: [00:27:04] I'm going to hold you to that. Jill, thank you so much for joining us and I 

run because it was great

talking to you, 

Joe.

Jill Certisomo: [00:27:10] It was awesome. You guys. Thank you for having meand for letting me share. , some of my race moments,

Christine Borchard: [00:27:15] It was very inspirational. And we look forward to 

Jill Certisomo: [00:27:18] I will be there. One of my favorite places, so, and running by the ocean has gotta be.

Christine Borchard: [00:27:26] or this October when when Christine goes to Chicago to do the Chicago marathon. 

Jill Certisomo: [00:27:31] Yes, definitely. I have, , a handful of friends running that, so I will definitely be out there  cheering cheering as loud as I can. , it's a great race with great crowd support, so 

Christine Borchard: [00:27:41] All right, Jill, thank thank you so much. , and we'll talk to you soon.

Jill Certisomo: [00:27:45] thank you for having me. 

Christine Borchard: [00:27:47] Joe.

Joe Borchard: [00:27:47] Time to connect with Hela and get an update on the run everyday challenge. Take it away. 

  Hellah Sidibe: [00:27:53] Welcome back again, guys. We are at week eight, we are flying through everything. Week eight is here pretty quick. So now let's see if we can hit 10 miles two times this week for week eight, let's go for a 10 mile cruiser run comfortably. And see if you can look for areas where there's some elevations.

Look for some Haley courses. So you can kind of work yourself through because when you get to that race is never a flat surface. A lot of the times, some of the risks I've done, I said is a fairly flat surface, but when you get there, the fairly flat surface turns out to be a mountain because at that point, your legs are already done.

So let's make sure that our body's used to that by running a course, that's a little bit hilly. And if you don't have a hilly course, find that one Hill and run up and down it a few times just to get your muscles. You see that. And then. Most importantly, your mindset to be set, to endure that kind of pain within your body.

So at week eight, we're going to see if we can get 10 miles in and find a hilly course and a week nine. We're going to go for that half the half marathon, 13.1. So we're almost there. Keep pushing. You guys got this.

Joe Borchard: [00:28:59] thanks everyone for listening. We really hope you enjoyed those amazing stories. They are truly inspiring people. We get to talk to here and are forever grateful. Make sure to share this episode with your friends via social networks. We need these athletes and guides stories to get out there.

So until next time, I'm Joe 

Christine Borchard: [00:29:18] and 

I'm Christine. Thank you for listening.