780. Ask Ali!
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January 28, 2025
TLDR: This month on Ask Ali, questions about ski racing, a funny injury, and a pro athlete's return to racing are answered.

In Episode 780 of the Ali on the Run Show, host Allie Feller dives into listener-submitted questions in a fun and engaging segment titled "Ask Ali!" This episode spans various topics from running, ski racing, personal anecdotes, to opinions about current events in athletics.
Key Highlights from the Episode
Monthly Q&A Format
- Allie has been conducting these "Ask Ali" sessions monthly, aiming to engage with her listeners by answering questions directly from her Instagram followers. This participatory format fosters a closer community and encourages listener interaction.
Fun and Passionate Hobbies
- Allie shares her joy about skiing, emphasizing the fun she finds in pursuing hobbies that are just for enjoyment and not tied to competition or outcomes. She mentions being part of a ski racing team, racing weekly, and enjoying the process rather than obsessing over performance metrics.
Personal Reflections and Life Updates
- 2025 Reflection: Listeners asked what her "rose and thorn" of the year has been so far. The thorn included frustrations with current events and media, while the rose was about skiing and family activities with her daughter, highlighting the importance of joy in daily life.
- Injuries: On the topic of injuries, Allie discusses her own mishap with a ski-related fall but reassures listeners that it is only a sprain and she is on the mend.
Insights on Running and Races
- When questioned about upcoming races, Allie reveals her current focus on shorter distances, such as 5Ks, noting that she doesn't feel the desire to train for a marathon this year.
- Running After Pregnancy: She offers sage advice to new mothers about returning to running. Emphasizing the need to take it slow and consult professionals like pelvic floor therapists to ensure a safe comeback, underscoring the idea of playing the long game.
Community and Support
- Mental Health for Athletes: Allie expresses concern for fellow athletes, particularly in light of recent doping controversies, sharing the emotional tolls competitive sports can have on individuals, regardless of the circumstances.
- Friendship and Connections: The discussions also touch on Allie’s methods for nurturing friendships amid life’s hectic pace, emphasizing the importance of phone calls over texts for deeper connections.
Light-Hearted Fun
- The episode is sprinkled with light-hearted banter, such as Allie's favorite snacks from the '90s and her preferences between winter and summer running, providing listeners with relatable and entertaining content.
- Music and Entertainment: Allie tackles queries about her music preferences, revealing her top picks for soundtracks that would get her through a marathon.
Conclusion
- The show wraps up with Allie encouraging listeners to share their thoughts and continue supporting each other both on and off the run. She emphasizes that pursuing passions, whether in running, skiing, or life, is vital to happiness.
Takeaways
- Pursue hobbies for joy, not just outcomes.
- Reflect on personal experiences—both highs and lows—to find motivation in daily life.
- Safety and intentionality are crucial when returning to any physical activity, especially after injury or childbirth.
- Maintain connections by prioritizing meaningful interactions over digital communication.
- Humor and relatability are essential for engagement in discussions about running, wellness, and life.
Allie Feller’s heartfelt and humorous insights provide listeners with both inspiration and camaraderie, making Ali on the Run not just a podcast, but a community for all who enjoy a life on the run.
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Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host, Allie Feller, and on most episodes, I talk with people who are doing exciting things on the run and beyond. From professional athletes and celebrity runners to the everyday amateur and back-of-the-pack runner, we are here to celebrate everyone. And anyone!
who enjoys a life on the run. Whether you find yourself running towards something big, or away from something that has been holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace. So today, it's just us. I've been doing these Ask Ally episodes for as long as I can remember, and this year I am committed to checking in here once a month to answer listener questions submitted on Instagram where I am Ally on the run one.
Before we get into the Q&A portion of this episode, I am delighted to let you know that this episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by Gooder. Gooder is here for another year of fun and support on The Alley on the Run Show. Look, January is a long month and 2025 has already gotten off to quite the start, so I say, treat yourself.
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All right, ask Ali, are you ready? Let's do it. All right, we've got a whole range of questions today and they are in no particular order, so let's dive right in. Question number one, will you be in London? I assume you are asking, will I be at the London marathon? I can't tell you yet.
But I feel like that answer alone should tell you about some potential plans in the works. Nothing is official, nothing is signed, nothing is finalized. But I will just say that one of several races I am in talks to be at this spring include one that is in London. How's that for an answer? We're off to a good start.
What is your rose and thorn of 2025 so far? Totally stole this idea and do it every night now. Oh, I love that. Annie and I do this every night. We do our rose thorn and paint. I don't know why Annie calls it a paint. We started it as rose and thorn, right? The high and low points of your day. And then Annie decided to do paint. I don't know why she calls it the paint. It doesn't make any sense. She doesn't know why she calls it the paint, but your paint is something that made you laugh that day. So I'm not going to argue with that.
My Rose and Thorne from 2025 so far. Thorne is easy.
I'm about to alienate a whole handful of people right off the top, but this should come as no surprise to you. My thorn for this year is our new or returning current. It's our president and the cabinet and pretty much everything they've done so far. I would say that's my thorn. Yeah. And you know what? I'll throw the media in there. Not loving the media right now. Not loving how they're reporting on things.
Yeah, it is. We're in it. We're back. So that's, that's good. That's my thorn. That's a big thorn. That's a big thorn. My rose. My rose has probably been skiing, all things skiing. I would say ski racing for me. It's been really fun. I joined a ski racing team. I race on Monday nights. It's downhill racing through the gates.
My dad does it. I have friends that do it. It's awesome. It's a really fun way to get out on the mountain at least every week this winter. But really I'm on the mountain at least twice every week this winter because I also get to go and do ski lessons with Annie or she does the lessons. I go and watch and do free ski with her. It's been really awesome. She's sick. She's in kindergarten and watching her
really loving learning how to ski has been so much fun. So we'll go with those. Those feel like good ones. Oh, and my paint. Oh, gosh, I have so many paints. I like that I, I was like, I like that I paint every day. I like that I have something that makes me laugh every day. So
What is my paint of 2025 so far? It's hard not to think of her very recent memory, but oh my gosh, I was cracking up at Annie ski lessons yesterday as of when I'm recording this. She's getting really comfortable going down some of the bigger slopes and she was doing little jumps and I just I remember being her age and doing little jumps and it's so fun.
Yeah, that made me really smile. I don't think I really laughed, but I don't know. I guess that's my paint. Visiting any new places in 2025. Well, yeah, like I just mentioned, I've never been to London, so.
If I am at the London Marathon, it would be my first time in London. It would be, yeah, I've only been to Europe once. I went to Paris in 2016. I was so sick. I was miserable the whole time. I feel bad that I have next to no fond memories of being in Paris because I was just an absolute wreck.
Part of me never wants to go back again because I had such an awful experience and that obviously is not a reflection on the city. That's just I was so sick. And part of me is like Paris needs redemption. I want to go back and eat all the food and do all the things and just walk around the city. So I'm sure I'll go back someday.
as for any other new places. Yeah, there are other places that I might be visiting this year for the first time, but much like that one race I hinted at mere moments ago, nothing I can share just yet. And I know that's annoying, like, who am I being like, oh, I can't share yet.
But it's mostly just that there are races that have reached out about working together, and we haven't finalized those plans, and so I don't want to announce, like, or share. Yeah, I'm gonna be there, and then it doesn't work out for any number of reasons. Any upcoming races in 2025, you killed it at your recent 5K. I would say killed it is very generous, but thank you.
Yes, I ran a local 5K, ripped the racing band-aid off for the year. Right now I'm in a little brace if you follow me on Instagram. You saw I had a bit of a fall this week and it's fine. I was convinced that either my foot or ankle was broken. I was in so much pain, couldn't walk, couldn't put any weight on it. It was up the whole night, miserable, and...
just picturing myself being on crutches and on a scooter and not able to do anything for the first while this year. I don't know, weeks, months, whatever it was going to be in my very tired brain. But fortunately, it's just a sprain. I am in a soft brace. And today it feels even just being almost 48 hours later, it feels so much better. I can walk, I can put weight on it.
There's still some pain when I do certain things like when I either like wing my foot out or point my toes in But it's it's gonna be fine. I don't think I'm gonna be sidelined for all that long I'll be shocked if I'm a good girl and I wear this brace for the full two weeks They suggested they actually said 10 to 14 days It's day two and I'm still wearing it so I
Yeah, it's actually like day one. But anyway, anyway, I do not have any upcoming races. I ran that 5K because I like the idea of running 5Ks this year and trying to see what I can do in the 5K. I don't think I'll run a marathon this year. I'm not feeling that itch. I would, of course, like to run some half marathons. I always love running a half marathon, whether I actually specifically train for and race a half marathon.
with a goal of a certain time. I think that's doubtful that's just not really where I'm at with running lately, but that could change. As of now, though, I do not have any races on my calendar that I am planning to run. But if that changes, I'll let you know. Are you making the Swiftie 5K dance party happen this year in some capacity? Yes. Mark my words. Yes. What are your favorite non-running podcasts? Oh, I'm a Giggler. I love Giggly Squad, of course.
Who is your favorite Ted Lasso character? I just finished binge watching it the best. I agree it is the best. Schitt's Creek is my favorite show. Ted Lasso, I would say, is my second favorite show. Though Ted Lasso doesn't really have any characters that I strongly dislike. I mean, obviously I dislike Rupert, but, you know, and I don't particularly like Nate for a lot of it.
Whereas Schitt's Creek does, I really, Schitt's Creek has a handful of characters I don't like. I don't like what they did to Jocelyn. She was fine in like season one. And then kind of like what they did to Joey on Friends, where it starts as like, oh, they're kind of quirky. And by the end, you're like, they're an idiot. And it's fine. But I don't love Jocelyn. I don't love Roland.
I don't love Bob. Whereas on Ted Lasso, I think I love all of them. Anyway.
Who is my favorite Ted Lasso character? I feel like a year ago, I would have immediately said Keeley Jones because I love Keeley. I don't love what they did to Keeley in season three. I think that her character grew so much in seasons one and two and you got to see her be this powerful business woman. And then in season three, she
I was really disappointed. I didn't like the relationship they had her in. I didn't like how they showed her running her business. Um, I think she seemed incompetent and she's not. So I didn't like that. She made bad hiring decisions. She made bad business decisions. She was ordering fresh flowers to the office, like every week and didn't have a budget for that. And I love fresh flowers, but you know, Kelly,
Make better choices. Could talk about this stuff all day. So okay, I would say after my most recent rewatch, which I just did, my favorite character, it's hard because there's different people each season. Like I love Jamie season three. I love Roy season two. I love beard season one.
I didn't like the beard after hours episode. When I do my rewatches, I skip it. I love Rebecca. I think that in the phase of life I'm in right now, I am team Rebecca. Oh, and I love Sassy. I think Sassy's hilarious. I love the episodes that she's in. I always laugh. I love Danny Rojas. Obviously love Sam. Yeah, I love all of them. I really do.
best tips for returning to running after having a baby. Go slow. Take it easy. Do not focus on pace or distance or time. Play the long game. I know that you want to get back to running. We all do for so many reasons, physical, emotional to feel like ourselves again, to get back to something we love. Maybe it is a social activity.
play the long game. I know so many women who return to running at three, four, five weeks, and they are injured soon after. And that's not everyone. Some people are ready to return to running. Everyone's on a different timeline.
But please, please, please, if you are able to see a pelvic floor physical therapist, make sure that you are doing this intentionally. Play the long game. I know you want to run right now and want to run probably a lot right now, but you also want to run a lot a year from now and five years from now and probably for the rest of your life. So take it easy. The fitness is going to come back. It really will do this without getting injured.
And enjoy. You know, I think it's kind of cool to explore what does running feel like now and what purpose does it serve. And it's great to have races on the calendar and something to motivate you if that's helpful. But mostly I want everyone to ease back into running. You're going to see people online who are like, I return to running 10 days postpartum. And I don't want to knock it, but I always, anytime I see that, I always want to say why.
Um, like what's going on? Um, is everything okay? Not that running is always a crutch, but play the long game, be intentional, have a medical team that you trust that you can ask questions to and enjoy and congratulations.
What's something that surprised you about skiing? Oh, just how much slower I am than everyone else racing. It is remarkable that I watch these really, really fast skiers and they go down the course and they do it in like 21 seconds. And I'm like, okay, well, obviously I'm nowhere near that fast, but like how much slower can I be? It takes me twice as long to get down the same course. What they do in 20 seconds, I do in 43.
So yeah, I am thrilled that it has surprised me how little I care about that though. I don't care about my time, my placement. I'm always on the last page of the results. I do have a goal of one day beating my dad. I don't think I'll achieve it and I don't think I'll lose sleep over that. It is so fun to have a hobby that is just for fun where I do not care about the outcome.
It's awesome do things and I'm not bad at like I'm not a bad skier if I like I've been skiing my whole life I can go out and ski a mountain I can I Won't do moguls and I don't like glades. I don't like being in the woods. I'm afraid of skiing into a tree But put me on pretty much any hill and I can make my way down and I'll be fine When it comes to racing though
Yeah, I don't want to go fast. I don't want to get hurt. And so I take my time and I have fun and then I get chilly in the lodge and then I go home. It's a good Monday night. So yeah, I think what has surprised me is how much slower I am than the really good people and how little I care. And it is the best feeling.
Oh, a loaded one in here, I guess. What are your thoughts on Shelby Houlihan's return to racing? On paper, she did her time and she is legally allowed to return. Is that system the best one that should be in place? I don't know. And I am glad that I am not in a position where I have to have an opinion on that or weigh in on it. I have a big compassionate heart and
I will say she'll be someone that I worry about in that anytime you are getting so much hate, whether it is online or in person. I think that is incredibly hard to deal with and to put aside. Um, so I worry about her in that regard. I worry about, um, her mental health and how she's coping with that because, uh, even if let's say she did,
take a banned substance intentionally, right? If we're gonna go that route and say, yeah, no, she doped and she did it on purpose and then she lied, yeah, all of those things are awful and should be punished and should have bans, et cetera. I, for better or worse, I guess I would just say I hope she's okay in terms of being a human who's gonna be okay.
All of that being said, I would not want to be one of her competitors. I would not be happy with her returning to competition after everything. Yeah, so I guess I have
I have empathy for the people involved, which are the people competing against her that she's had to face. I think, you know, imagine it. Imagine someone doing the job that you also do. And you both want and allow the raise, the promotion, whatever. They're out of the running because they cheated, whether they meant to or not.
And then they come back, like, I don't know, I don't know. I was tempted to not even answer this question because my thoughts are not super formulated. Obviously this is something I talk about with people in the running industry of just kind of, hey, what are your thoughts? And it always feels like in issues like this one specifically, like there has to be a right and wrong answer. You know, someone will share their take on this, which none of us really need to be doing.
And everyone will chime in, and usually it's disagreeing, no matter what the stance is. And I think as with everything, it's just all nuanced. I would say I think about Shelby, who I don't really know personally.
was on the alley on the run show I believe once I remember she played the ukulele we had fun so she's been on the show uh beyond that I don't I don't know her um so I don't have thoughts on her beyond what's been reported or talked about uh I just come from a place of always wanting people to be okay be healthy be happy um
But I would say, yeah, I think about Shelby less than I think about, say, Nikki Hiltz. Granted, Nikki is a good friend and someone I care about tremendously. And I think about people that have raced against Shelby and that their results weren't what they could have been, right? Like you get second to someone who then tests positive for doping. Like you miss out on money and opportunities. And so I think about a lot of that.
And not from a place of having an opinion on it, but more of like a, I wonder what that feels like, right? Like Shelby's first race back, everyone's going to be watching. I'm going to be watching. I can't wait to see what happens, both in performance and just in what's the energy like.
What is it like for her to be stepping back on the track where I'm sure she feels incredibly? Hated I don't think that's too dramatic of a word and what's it like for the competitors who I'm sure have very strong thoughts on her Not all the same. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are fine with her being back and that's their opinion to have I am a podcast host. I don't think I
Need or even deserve to have an opinion on this person. I my frustration with all of it comes from a place of This is why I don't to true crime I don't like not knowing I don't like that there are I don't like when there's answers to things and we don't know what they are That is something that really bothers me, right? Someone out there knows who killed Jamba day Ramsey someone knows
We don't. I hate an unsolved mystery. I hate a question without an answer. I hate a problem without a solution. Thanks for asking that question. Any chance for a local New Hampshire live show? Your people who will show up for you promise. I love that you knew what my answer was going to be, which was I don't know that there are enough people in New Hampshire to fill a live show, but maybe there's an opportunity to do something small here. I also feel like
I don't know. When I go to New York or Chicago, it's like, it's cool because there's lots of people there and people are from all over. And we don't necessarily know each other in person. Whereas I'm like, I don't know that anyone really, it's not that people don't care in New Hampshire, but like, I'm just Alice and fella here. I grew up here. Everyone, you know, I know every, I don't know everyone, but
I don't know. I think it would feel weird being on a stage or like hosting an event in New Hampshire because in New Hampshire we're all.
on the same level in my phrase. Feel like I'm not getting anything across the way I'm intending it today. So be kind, be kind to rewind. What's your preference? Winter running or summer running? Oh God, summer running. Summer everything is my preference. I don't like winter. I don't like being cold. No, warm, warm always. How do you deal with winter blues? You're on the ski team. What else helps?
I wear my bathroom all day every day so that I'm warm. Right now I'm recording this in bed with a heating pack on because I want to be warm. I am having trouble getting up early like I normally do. I don't like that it's dark so early but it's getting better. That's nice. I think now the sun sets like just after 5 p.m. so we'll take a win.
I don't have advice here. I don't have advice for dealing with the winter blues. This year I am trying to embrace winter and just have the right gear that allows me to be outside. I'm having fun skiing on my own. I'm having fun taking any skiing.
And other than that, yeah, I'm kind of just waiting for winter to be over. I don't like it. I suffer through the winter. There might be moments that are fun. Going to the ice castles is fun and going to holiday light shows is fun, but mostly I am a toasty girly. I like to be warm.
Are motherhood Mondays coming back? I do not have plans to bring motherhood Mondays back right now. If there's enough of a demand, I'll see what I can do. But no, right now that is not one of the series that I'm scheduling into this year's alley on the run show calendar.
Did you run while pregnant? I'm in the shape of my life and 11 weeks and I still want to keep going. Congratulations. You're almost through that first trimester. So that's a big, exciting milestone. I did run while pregnant. I was super into orange theory when I was pregnant. That was my jam. And so
Yep, I went to Orange Theory up until the day Annie was born. I actually, well, no, because I was in labor overnight. But right before I went to the hospital, I did go to an Orange Theory class and before my water broke. So I did. I modified. I modified quite a bit. So it's helpful to know what the body, whether we say can or can or should or shouldn't, or just what feels right for you.
But yes, I mean, enjoy being in the shape of your life. Run while you can. Try not to be too intense about it and just enjoy what you can do for as long as you can do it. Some women will run right up until the day they give birth and some women get to a point where it's just not fun or enjoyable. I certainly got to that point or at least had those days.
where the bouncing, I was like having to pee every quarter mile. The pressure just didn't feel good. And running some days, it just didn't feel good. And so on those days, I just didn't run. I walked or I would go on the strider, the elliptical at Orange Theory. And so yeah, modify, but congratulations and enjoy.
When did you get into interviewing people? Did you start as a kid interviewing your dolls? I don't think I interviewed my dolls. What I remember most is, and I mean, I was the editor of my high school yearbook, so I definitely did that, though that wasn't so much interviewing. What I always remember is being at parties in like high school and early in college, and you know,
dipping into the jungle juice or the wine coolers or whatever we had gotten our hands on. And I would interview people. My friend Sarah would have like a camcorder and would follow me around and I would pretend I was Katie Couric. I would say, Hi, this is Katie Couric.
and I would go up to people at the party, all of them were drunk. And I would just do stupid little interviews and we would record them. I don't remember what I asked them, probably like, what are you drinking or who knows? But yeah, I've always loved asking questions and I've always loved Katie Kirk. Do you do your own editing for the podcast? How did you find and choose the theme music? The theme music was on a,
royalty free website back in 2017 and I think you could sort by mood and I chose happy and I liked it so I went with it. There was nothing, nothing deeper than that and as for the editing what I do is I record all the different parts of the episode so the intro
the episode itself, the ad reads in the closer. I send all those parts to Tyler, my incredible editor, who has been with me since day one, episode zero, and he's the best. He then takes all those parts, he puts them together, he adds the music, he levels the audio, if there's major issues, he deals with those, he does all the bleeping when Molly Sidel is on the show.
And then he sends it back to me. And in theory, that is ready to upload. But because I am me and need to have ears on the final product, I then go through with what I call my fine tooth editing comb. And I go through and listen to the episode from start to finish. I make minor edits. That's also when I write the show notes and I do all the time stamping. So I do all of that. We're a good team, Tyler and me.
How do you feel about running at the moment? Well, if you had asked me this three days ago, I would have been like excited. I ran a 5K and I'm eager to do more and to see if I can improve my fitness. And I was thinking about working with Caitlyn Goodman again, who coached me for the Eugene Marathon. And I loved working with her and.
then I fell standing up, and so my thoughts or feelings about running at the moment are just none. I'll run again in, I don't know, 10 to 14 days if I have no pain at all. Like I said earlier, I play the long game, so I'm not going to rush it. Even today, I was like, oh, it doesn't really hurt. I could probably run on it.
Beyond that did not even consider it. Why am I going to go for a run? I went on the Peloton bike for the first time in probably two years. That thing was so dusty, but it actually felt good. I don't particularly love spinning or indoor cycling, but I did two Taylor Swift classes. And so that was fun.
So yeah, I look forward to running again. And you know what, maybe in two weeks, it'll be two weeks warmer. So plenty to look forward to. How much has Kira told you about the cot content of her new book? Yes, did you see Kira Damano has a book coming out? Don't call it a comeback. I am so excited for all of you to get to read this. Kira gave me a copy of the book last year. And so I was very fortunate to get to be one of the first people to read the book and
It's great. It's Kira. It is. This book is like sitting and talking with Kira. That's my favorite thing. It's written in her voice. It's also just really honest. Like, I know that Kira is funny. I know that she's a good time, but I
I genuinely think that she shines the most in the heartfelt moments. If you've ever been to one of our live shows, you know, we play games and we have a good time, but there's always a point in these where we talk about the real stuff where Kira talks about the trials where she talks about breaking her foot days before the Chicago marathon. And it's in those moments that I think Kira is at her best, is at her most inspiring and relatable and
I know she gets a lot of credit for being such a badass and being fast and being such a good mom and all the things she should get credit for and for being funny. I don't know if she gets enough credit for being as
intuitive and thoughtful. She's all those things too and all of that comes through in the book you really get. You get to hear a lot of stories that you probably didn't already know about her for as much as she has shared. I actually still learned a lot reading this book and I consider it to be pretty close so yeah. I think you're gonna love it. Go pre-order it. You know that pre-orders are
Super important for new authors or for books just coming out. And so pre-order the book and then you get it the day it comes out. So go do that. And then in September, you'll be so excited when you're like, Oh my gosh, I forgot I had ordered this. And now you have a book. So check it out. Kira Jamado, don't call it a comeback. What is a marathon finish? You could watch on repeat. Mine is Shalain's 2017 or Paula's London 2003.
I love this question and I do this all the time. Okay, so I would say mine is probably Sarah Hall's London marathon. Remember that incredible kick? What was that? Was that 2021? It wouldn't have been 2020 because it probably got canceled. Gosh, I should know this, but it's when she finished second and had that insane kick in the final straightaway. I watched that all the time. I also
I mean, the moment that made me a sports fan was Meb Koflesky's 2014 Boston marathon win. I love Dez's 2018 Boston. I love Schalane's 2017 New York, but I'm going Sarah Hall London and Meb Boston 2014. What would be your sports walkout song? Like if you were a professional baseball player, ooh, do I go Celine Dion or Taylor Swift?
Uh, I think I'll go Taylor Swift. And if it's sports, let's do who's afraid of little old me. Cause like I'm walking up and I'm about to strike out. I was going to say in a home run, but come on. No, I'm not. No, I'm not. Uh, who's afraid of little old me is good or maybe I would just have them cue the bridge to cruel summer. That would also be fun.
What are you most excited for in 2025? Yeah, still working on finalizing my announcing and broadcasting and work and live show calendar and schedule for the year. So I'm feeling excited about that. I'm excited to return to some of my favorite events that you know I'll be at, the Boston's, the New York's, the Chicago's, and excited to throw some new ones in the mix this year. So hopefully I get to see lots of you and we get to hang out.
Are you dating Tom? Totally kidding, since we know you aren't, but someone had to ask. Okay. Tom is my friend that I ski with on Monday nights. He's one of my friends. Tom is someone that I've known my whole entire life. I grew up with Tom. Our families have been friends forever. Our dads played team two softball together. They still do. So I've always known Tom.
In high school, my senior year, he's a year younger than me, my senior year, his junior, we did go to winter ball together, the winter dance, but as friends, we are not dating. Every time I post pictures or videos from Monday night skiing, lots of people are like, oh my God, are you guys dating? We're not. We are friends.
I don't know if I'm disappointing you. I don't know your thoughts and feelings, but we are just friends. We will always be just friends. What is your go-to pre-race meal? See, now when you say race, I think ski team, but I know you mean running and mine is sushi. I usually do a salmon avocado roll and a spicy tuna roll.
How do you prioritize keeping up with friends with all of life's other demands? I'm not the best at this. And I wish I were. I mean, I wish I were the best at everything. Let's be honest, but.
I am big on the friendship phone call. I am not so good at texting. I got don't even don't my friends don't email me, but I'm really behind on texts. I right now I have 21 unread texts or. Unresponded to texts and I'm not proud of that.
What I am good at is calling my friends and talking to them on the phone. I usually will call a friend when I'm out for a walk. I talk to my cousin on the phone every day, at least once a day, usually in the morning after we drop our kids off at school or at night after we've put them to bed.
Yeah, it's finding pockets of time to reach out. I love that a lot of my friends are moms in the area. And so it's nice to do play dates with the kids and then we get to hang out. It's nice to have kids who are that age where we can do play dates and the kids play and the parents get to hang out. So I'm not the best person to ask about this. I wish I were better at it. I do my best. I try to let my friends know when I'm thinking of them. You know, just do your best.
is your hair growing back the same chemo curls are wild yours blends so well yeah i have like so many different lengths of hair right now i have i still have the tape in extensions i have the hair that i didn't lose during chemo which is around shoulder length
Then I have the new growth, which the new growth is like four inches long now, maybe, which is awesome. I mean, it's coming in and it's really soft and fluffy and that's great. And it is such a weird length to know what to do with it. And so yeah, my hair is just I'm embracing the chaos of my hair right now. And I don't often style it unless I have a strong reason to and I'm just kind of letting it be wild and fluffy and
and all over the place. I had cancer. My hair's not always gonna look good. Whatever. Yeah, yeah, I did just pull the cancer card. What's something you prioritize now that you didn't while married or didn't have time to?
Oh, it's a good question. And one I should have thought about before I said it and recorded it. My piece. Final answer. I want to know all about ski team. What are the courses like, injury prevention question mark? Yes. I know I touched on it and I feel like I've written about it to death. But yes, I am on a Monday night corporate
Team corporate, what does it call it? It's like corporate ski race team, team racing. I don't know. My dad does it. And there was a spot that I could take if I wanted it this year. It's hard to get on the ski team. A lot of people want to do it and you have to wait for a spot to open up. So I got a spot this year. Very exciting. And so yeah, I ski race on Monday nights. There are, there's more than a hundred of us. There's different teams teams have, I think between four and six individuals per team.
And you race for time and you get points. I don't understand the scoring system. I know I get a handicap because I'm a woman. There's not many women who ski. So I'm proud to be one of them. And it's cool because my friend Tom, who I mentioned, Tom ski is much faster than I do. What he can do in 31 to 33 seconds, I'm doing in 37 to 39, 37 to 43. So Tom's faster than me. But then once they add my handicap, I beat him every week.
So yeah, there are people who are super competitive. There are people who are lifelong ski racers. And then there are people like me who are just there to have fun and get out and enjoy it. And so the courses, there's two different. It's at our local mountain, Pat's Peak. There's two different courses that we ski. One is on Twister, which is a black diamond. It's a nice trail. And the other is on the FIS trail, which is a double black.
though I don't really think they're all that different. The FIS is just a little steeper, I guess. I actually like the FIS better. And so every week we never know which one we're gonna be on, usually until we show up. And yeah, then there's gates. So on each trail you do two runs and there's two different sets of gates. There's the green and there's the orange and you have to do each one.
the first week I did green first and then I went up for my second run and I was like I liked green I'm gonna do green again and they were like no you're not you have to do the other so you do each one and they take your better of the two scores and that's what determines your score and time and placement for the night I don't know uh so yeah you do each one you have to go around the gates I think if you miss a gate you DNF um so
My dad's advice to me was start turning long before you get to the gate. Some of those gates creep up on you quick, but I haven't missed a gate yet. So that's good. Last week was really cold and really icy. So I was like sliding from gate to gate. Didn't love that. But yeah, it's fun. Injury prevention. I got nothing. My injury prevention is ski slow, ski cautious, but I am the same person who got injured standing. So not the right person to ask.
When will you be back announcing races in New Hampshire? I know. I think I've mentioned this before that during the pandemic, and when races were coming back, I was working a ton with Millennium Running, which is an awesome local organization that puts on races. I am such a supporter of Millennium and a firm believer that Millennium Running could put on the biggest races in the world. They do such a good job. Their staff is awesome. I truly believe that they could manage a New York City marathon. They could do a major
They could do the trials, like, they are great. And I really miss working with them. Right now, it's really hard to decide which races to work because I only have Annie every other weekend now. And if I have Annie, I am not working. Unless I'm traveling to a race and I can bring her along.
My time with her is my time with her. I'm not trying to also cram in work and other things. I'm very intentional and very present. So then on the weekends that I don't have any, I want to work on those weekends. But I also need some weekends just to get stuff done and not be working.
And so it's a balancing act and it comes down to which races are my most excited about which ones you know obviously financially that comes into play has to be worthwhile and what's my availability can I travel or can I just work one day.
All kinds of factors that go into it, just like all of you and all your jobs and figuring out how much we can realistically take on while still enjoying it and taking care of ourselves. So yeah, I don't know when I'll be announcing in New Hampshire again, but hopefully I can pick up a couple races this year. I know you love Taylor, but what other music do you enjoy listening to?
I don't understand the question. What what is other music? What what does that even mean? Honestly, the only thing other than Taylor Swift that I listened to is the zombies one, two and three soundtracks because Annie is super into those.
final answer. Oh, she also loves Miley Cyrus right now, which is awesome. Like, listening to Hannah Montana with your daughter is such a gift. I showed her a short clip of Xenon, girl of the 21st century the other day, because I was like, I wonder if she would be into protozoa. Like, I wonder if this might be our next thing. And she wasn't. She did not want to watch Xenon, but we'll get there.
What do you enjoy more now? Running races or announcing? It depends. When I'm announcing marathons, people are always like, does it make you want to run one? And I'm always like, no, it looks so hard.
When I'm announcing like five K's, 10 K's, half marathons, I get a little bit of envy. Uh, I wish I were out there running, but also like, I get to choose what I do for the most part. And so if I would rather not announce it and I'd rather run it, that's a choice I can make. But, um, yeah, I think I enjoy both a non answer. How do you like me now?
How far out do you make your race announcing schedule, beginning of year, quarterly, multi-year contracts? Usually beginning of the year is how I do it now. Right now, I have almost my entire 2025 planned out, not definite. I don't think I've signed any contracts at this stage, but I am in discussions with
the races that I typically work and a couple new ones. So yeah, I do try to figure it out at the beginning of the year. I didn't used to, but again, now that things are different with my family and what that looks like and that I have a
schedule of when I get to have Annie with me now, it does change things. And it does make me prioritize my race announcing as soon as I can. That way, if I need to swap weekends with Annie's dad, I can make that request as soon as possible and try to figure that out. So yeah, planning is key. What's your favorite cake flavor? Do you prefer cake or cupcakes? I love a chocolate mousse cake.
And I prefer, yeah, I think I prefer cake to cupcakes. I'll take either. Like, what do you have? What is your favorite pasta shape? I like elbows. I like most pasta shapes. I like elbows. I like muffledini. I really like a classic spaghetti, too. Any alley on the run merch? Okay. I feel like I talk about merch every time I do an Ask Alley.
Top level, my answer is yes. I want to have merch, mostly because I have ideas. I have many ideas for fun things. As a reminder that you've got this, I want to make PRPJs. For it to be alley on the run merch, I want it to be branded in some way, but I feel weird putting alley on the run on a pair of pajamas or sweatshirts.
Look, there are podcasts that I love and would want to support, but I don't necessarily need a sweatshirt that's like made by Paige DeSorbaux, right? But I probably would wear one that says giggly squad or something. So I don't know. I feel weird putting my name on merch that other people would wear. And I've been like, all right, well, I would just put the alley on the run show logo, small on the back.
just so that it's there, because you gotta have the branding, right? Like, this is a business after all, but I don't know, I can't get over feeling so weird about putting my name on something that other people would choose to, like, who's gonna choose to wear something that says Ali on the run on it? Something that says you're doing great, sure.
Am I right? Am I wrong? Let's talk about it. How do I brand merch without it being the brand?
And why are we humans brands? What is this world? How did we get here? Who is your favorite pro runner to interview? I feel like I need to break this up into categories. Like, who's your favorite marathoner? Who's your favorite middle distance? Who's your favorite miler? Who's your favorite sprinter? Ah, this is hard.
You know, like, DES is always fun and Mollyside is always fun. And in a very different way, Kira is always fun. And in a different way from that, I love an Emma Coburn, an Emily Sisson, an Ellie Prairie or St. Pierre. But I have to just give one answer because you asked, I'm going to say Nikki Holtz. How close are we to getting friendship bracelets? Oh, we're so close. I got to email George. I'll do it this week.
Do you watch the Super Bowl? Do you know who you just asked this question to? No, of course I don't watch the Super Bowl. I've seen a handful of halftime shows. No, I don't. No, that's not. No. How are you doing? I'm great. I'm good. I say I'm good. Yeah, I'm like pretty good. I'm pretty good. Taylor Swift song that currently resonates with you.
Oh, good question, good question. Let's go mastermind. Let's go who's afraid of little old me. Let's go, you know, I feel like there are a few that I want to say, but I shouldn't say. So we'll just go with those. Okay.
Did you get your chocolate cake from Trader Joe's yet? No, okay. It's, they're out. Tis the season for the Trader Joe's chocolate mousse cake, Valentine's Day, heart cakes that I always get. I buy like a dozen of them. They're the best. I can't wait. I went to Trader Joe's last weekend, all excited of like, I'm here for the heart cakes. They had no heart cakes. The woman was so nice. She was like, I'll go look in the back. And I was like, thank you so much. I was so optimistic. She came back and said, we don't have any in the back.
It was a really hard day for me. So no, I still haven't had the Trader Joe's chocolate cake and the closest Trader Joe's is 40 minutes from my house. So I made the effort, came home empty-handed, and now I have to figure out when I can go back to Trader Joe's. My life is so hard. Please don't take that seriously.
What mantra do you use while downhill skiing? Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall, don't fall, don't fall. I repeat that to myself the entire way down. Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall, don't fall. I think if I were to mic myself up, I make little noises like, but yeah, mostly don't fall.
If the pandemic hadn't happened, what would your life be like today? It is so tempting to really think about this question and give it an honest answer. But also why, right? Like it's a good question. And I like that you asked it.
But just based on how the past few years have gone, it is so hard for me to think about an alternate reality and what it had been better, worse, just different, right?
If the pandemic hadn't happened and we had never left New Jersey, are we still living in New Jersey? Am I still married? Am I happily married? Is it a stressful situation? Like, I don't know. I have no idea. Would we have eventually moved to the suburbs in New Jersey? You know, would I still have gotten cancer? Probably. I have the BRCA2 gene. So I think I was a ticking time bomb with ticking time bombs.
And then would that have made me want to move back home and be closer to my parents and that support network? I don't know. I don't know. I'm not great. Much like the unsolved mysteries explanation earlier. I also don't really spend time thinking about stuff like this and like what would have been or what could have been or what might be
I'm a dreamer. I'm an optimist. I'm a realist. I am delusionally hopeful, but I am not someone who spends time thinking about what could have been. Do I long for times in the past? Sure. Do I have regrets? I absolutely do things I wish I could do differently. Yes, but I don't really spend time wondering what if or what could have been.
favorite 90s snack. Oh, they were all amazing. I went so hard for a fudge round. I would eat a fudge round every day. Fudge rounds. You know, they still make them. And I'm kind of tempted to get one and see if it tastes exactly as I remember. Most things from the 90s that I loved
I don't think they still taste the same. I don't think that double stuffed Oreos are even double stuffed anymore. I think those are like regular Oreos now. Double stuff used to have double the stuff. And I love double stuffed Oreos and dipping them in milk till they got sake. Oh, I'm craving that right now. But I don't think those taste the same anymore. That might be a good thing. I don't know. But yeah, I would do a fudge round. I loved those. What are they, nutty buddy bars?
like chocolate and peanut butter wafery, pretty much any packaged snack that was chocolate. I really liked. I loved to host this cupcake. Anytime we would go to Pennsylvania to visit our family, we would always get to get a bunch of tasty cakes because you couldn't get those in New Hampshire. And I loved getting very the tasty cake chocolate peanut butter junior. I liked a lot. Um, and the one of the little Tandy takes my mom called them. So
Yeah, and hamburger helper, not a snack, but whoo, delicious. If you had, this is the last one, I swear. If you had to listen to a movie musical soundtrack for an entire marathon, which one? First of all, if you had to, how about if you get to? That is a gift. Okay, so if I got to listen to a movie musical soundtrack for an entire marathon, my first thought was Mamma Mia, here we go again.
I would say the greatest showman, but that soundtrack is really short. And the lead into from now on is super long. And I don't really want to run to tightrope. So even though that is my second favorite movie, I'm going to rule that one out. Does Pitch Perfect count as a movie musical soundtrack? If so, Pitch Perfect might be my answer. Mulan Rouge also might be my answer because Elephant Love Medley is
I can sing every word for you right now. If that's something you're interested in. Oh, in the Heights. In the Heights is a movie musical. I mean, originally just a musical, but then they made into a movie. Hairspray is great. Oh, prom. I love prom, but prom for as many songs on prom.
the Netflix version. I love half the songs and I really don't like half the songs. So okay, we'll rule that one out. Ooh, newsies though. All right, I would make a playlist. And it would be, mom and Mia, here we go again. Pitch Perfect, Mulan Rouge in the Heights and Newsies. Final answer. What's your answer? I'd love to know what people would choose for that one in particular.
Alright, we covered some ground today. Thanks for this.
Thank you so much for being here for this episode of The Alley on the Run Show, and thank you to everyone who sent in a question for this edition of Ask Alley. The best way to submit a question is to follow me on Instagram. I am Alley on the Run 1, and once a month I put out a question box, and that is where I pull all of these questions from. If you DM me a question, I will lose it. If you email me a question, I will lose it. If you leave a question as a comment or a photo, I will not remember.
I'm not doing great in the organizational department these days, but every question that gets submitted on Question Day does make it into the pile. So thanks for following. Thanks for submitting. Thank you for supporting the show. Remember, make sure you subscribe, leave a rating and review if you're enjoying things here.
And support the sponsors today. That is gooder, gooder.com slash alley using code alley at checkout. We'll get you $5 off your first gooder order. Go get some sunnies, go get some snow jeez. You're going to look so cool this year. Honestly, you're doing amazing. You really are. You've got this. Thank you for joining me on the run.
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