Episode 171: Carolyn Coffin - Inspired Soles

<p>Carolyn Coffin and I met through the <a href="https://sandyboyproductions.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SandyBoy Productions podcast network</a> — she hosts the <a href="https://sandyboyproductions.com/inspired-soles/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Inspired Soles</a> podcast and just celebrated her 300th episode.</p><p>During this episode, sponsored by <a href="https://kilarun.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kila</a> and <a href="https://go.shopmy.us/p-61174071" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Huug</a>, we talk about:</p><ul><li>[01:32] Learning to embrace milestones without ever feeling like she "knows what she's doing"</li><li>[06:00] Life in Winnipeg, Manitoba</li><li>[13:00] Growing up "dabbling" in running and hating a childhood 5K her parents made her run every spring</li><li>[15:00] The wild story of how her mom found out she was having twins from an X-ray days before Carolyn and her twin brother arrived</li><li>[24:00] Her brutal, untrained 4:17 debut at the 2000 Marine Corps Marathon — and why it sent her underground on marathons for 15 years</li><li>[28:00] Getting coached by her brother in her 30s and dropping from a 48-minute 10K to sub-40 almost overnight</li><li>[30:00] Her path from physiotherapy to health coaching to becoming a run coach, and why that background still shapes how she coaches today</li><li>[37:00] Meeting her Inspired Soles co-host Kim Sankey and building the podcast from a list of just 50 potential guests</li><li>[49:00] Coming back in 2015 to run a 3:21 PR at the Vermont City Marathon</li><li>[51:00] Turning 42 and launching "42 at 42" — the ongoing quest to run her fastest-ever marathon at her current age</li><li>[52:00] Raising money for a 2020 Chicago Marathon that got cancelled at the last second</li><li>[54:00] Getting pulled off the course at the halfway point of the 2022 Manitoba Marathon because of extreme heat</li><li>[59:00] A near-perfectly paced 3:23 at CIM that reignited her belief a sub-3:21 was still possible</li><li>[60:00] Hiring a two-time Canadian Olympic marathoner as her coach</li><li>[63:00] The 2024 Chicago Marathon bathroom emergency that cost her a PR by about three minutes</li><li>[65:00] Winning the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas 10K outright — and wearing the finish tape out on the town that night</li><li>[70:00] Discovering The Marathon Project — the pandemic-born race in Arizona — and DNF'ing it despite a great training block</