Tina has been a podcast host for a decade; first on Runners Connect’s Run to the Top, then since 2017 on her own award-winning show, Running for Real. Inspiring interviews and deep friendships have come out of the experience, but now, she has decided, it’s time to move on.
She’ll be focusing on her passion for environmentalism, especially through her work with Racing for Sustainability, the nonprofit she’s created to help small to mid-sized races become more eco-conscious.
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This is the 439th episode of Running for Real, but as impressive as that number is, it doesn’t include all of the podcasts that Tina has done over the past eight years. There were Running Reunion episodes, where she caught up with previous podcast guests. She and her best friend, Sarah Crouch, did For Real-Isodes together, episodes that Tina describes as “real, raw, random conversations that were just so much fun we laughed our way through it.” Running Realized was an NPR-style limited series that she did with Knox Robinson.
Then there were Together Runs – just shy of one hundred of them! “It is kind of amazing, it stopped at 99,” Tina says. “Ninety-nine podcast episodes of Together Runs, where I took out a microphone, took us through some meditation practices, and then we just talked and caught up and I shared with you updates and checked in with you and left space and time for you to check in with yourself. I feel really proud of those Together Runs, and I loved that we got to do them, and I hope you enjoyed them too.
“You can still go back and listen to them. I get messages weekly of people listening to the Together Runs even now. So make sure you check those out, if you haven’t. There may well be a time where I go back to adding those in, maybe even soon. And those would go through the Running for Real feed.”
With so many episodes, Tina is hard pressed to choose highlights, but, she says, “some of the ones that stand out the most are the people who inspire me and I have learned and grown from in other areas of my life but just happen to be runners. Malcolm Gladwell, I think, will forever go down as my biggest accomplishment, interviewing him in person. What an incredible moment that was.
“Michael Gervais, I interviewed Michael Gervais three times. I adore that psychologist. I have learned so much from him over the years and that was also something I’m very proud of. David Epstein, Ryan Holiday, Reshma Saujani, are three that come to mind as people who are pushing the boundaries, making people think differently, and I am proud that I got to interview them and bring them on the podcast.
“And the last two that come to mind in that category are Kayleigh and Sandy [Williamson]. Kayleigh and Sandy have changed my life. I got to meet those two through the podcast and it led to two lifelong family members. So on that note, there’s also been some real close friendships that have come out of the podcast. I’ve interviewed many of my best friends on this podcast, but some of them have come to become close friends because of those interviews and I’m not sure they would have been there without the podcast.
“Ryan Montgomery I first interviewed on the podcast and I remember thinking, ‘I really want to get to know Ryan more.’ Same with J Solle and Guy Winch. I reached out to him on a whim after his TED Talk, one of the most watched TED Talks, and we’ve become incredibly close. Zoë Rome, Simran Jeet Singh, so many more I could easily mention, those people I got to know through the podcast and we became very close.”
Longtime listeners will have noticed a shift in the tone of the podcast, as Tina has increasingly pursued her passion for environmentalism. “I really have put my whole heart into moving the running community towards a more environmentally conscious way of being. I released my book coming up on two years ago, Becoming a Sustainable Runner: A Guide to Running for Life, Community, and Planet, that I wrote with my co-author, Zoë Rome. And it’s been shifting more and more since that book came out, continuing to push the running industry, but not from a way of perfection, not from a way of being a vegan, not from a way of you have to do all these things or you’re a failure, but very much what I pride myself on, that permission giving, that bridge building of you can do this, but don’t expect perfection of yourself because then you won’t make it.”
That bridge building has culminated in the creation of Racing for Sustainability, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps race directors reduce their environmental impact—without needing the resources of a major marathon.
“We’ve made it very equitable so races can join based on their size,” Tina says. “It’s not that much money. We’ve done all the work for them. We’re really proud of what we have built. If you have local races in your area, send them the link. And if you want to support individually, if you appreciate the work that I’ve been doing in the sustainability space, we do have an individual sustainability supporter donation page. If you want to do that, that really gives me the sign of like, ‘I appreciate what you’re doing. I see the work that you’re doing and I want to support it.’”
Charity bibs for major races will be another fundraiser for Raising for Sustainability. RFS currently has five bibs available for the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. “We would love to have you as one of our five runners. And as you know, with me, it’s not just gonna be the bib; we’re gonna have a fun, exciting weekend together as a real team.” The deadline for applying is May 15th; you can find the application here.
“I’ve met so many of you, the amount of people who have come up to me and said, ‘I listened to your podcast’ or ‘I’ve listened to it for a long time,’ thank you, thank you, thank you. I really have loved meeting you in person and I hope you continue to come find me in my trash skirt or come to a plogging event sometime soon. What a gift that has been.
“So, as we make this move away from podcaster to sustainability person, it feels like the right time to take this step and pause this podcast, take a break. If you want to stay in touch and follow along, feel free to go back to listen to all the episodes, and you can sign up for the newsletter. And you can find me on social media. I’m most active on LinkedIn and on Instagram. Go find me there.
“My friends, thank you. For tuning in, for your support, for the kind words, for growing with me, for dealing with my woo woo, earth loving nature and letting my true weird self come out. End of an era. Thank you to everyone who’s joined along the way. And I’ll see you sometime. Take care, friends.”
Resources
Racing for Sustainability website
Racing for Sustainability member signup
Individual donations to Racing for Sustainability
Team Racing for Sustainability application for the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Podcast episodes (Running for Real, Running Reunion, For Real-Isodes)
Running Realized podcast episodes
Subscribe to Tina’s newsletter on any page of the Running for Real website
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