Karen Dunn walked off the court at basketball practice with her good friend and teammate in 7th grade, walked directly onto the track team, and never looked back. She loved her coach, the camaraderie and routines with teammates, and discovered she had a talent for running; winning races, setting XC course records, and earning a college scholarship.

But it's as a Masters runner, at age 43, where Karen has truly hit her stride and personifies #fasterasamaster. Progressing to the tune of 3:16–3:10–3:08–3:00–2:57–2:43 at the Chicago Marathon to earn her OTQ, digging deep, mining all she can on coaching methodology (Vdot and RRCA certified) and on mindset and visualization

We discuss: Mindset books (Elite Minds by Dr. Stan Beecham & Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor), her high school coach/mentor, why the fire burns brighter as a master, the 2 year buildup/grind/journey for an OTQ, her Chicago PR breakthrough & OTQ, what it meant to have her family and run club friends in Atlanta and on the course, what’s next, her coaching platform & athletes.

On qualifying for and running in the Olympic Trials Marathon:

"For me it’s a once in a lifetime experience and the epitome of my running career. I want my kids to walk away from it and see me as good role model and hopefully an inspiration to them, as well. Seeing how hard work pays off and if it’s something you want and is worth fighting for, you go after it and go all in!"

There is SO much inspiration in this one and I hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

If you enjoy the episode, it would mean the world to me if you would rate the podcast or write a review and share feedback wherever you get your podcast groove on.

Connect With Karen:

Instagram: @strengthenyourstride

Website & Coaching: https://www.strengthenyourstride.coach

Connect With Ron:

Personal Instagram: @ronrunsnyc

Podcast Instagram: @runchats_with_ronrunsnyc

Facebook: https://fb.me/runchats

Website: https://ronrunsnyc.com

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© 2021 Ron Romano