Christine Hetzel Has 2 Opposite Sides Representing Her Podcasts

Today’s guest is a lady with that I have quite a bit in common from being a running coach, Disney fan, and podcaster.

We will have no shortage of topics to cover today.

I am looking forward to going a few easy miles with Christine Hetzel today.

Christine Hetzel

Adult Onset Runner

While growing up, Christine Hetzel disliked running so much that she would do anything she could to get out of gym class.

Like so many others, she didn’t discover running until later in life.

As an adult, her father suffered from a severe stroke that left him with a loss of speech along with diminished physical capabilities.

That event was enough to scare her into taking the first steps toward a healthier lifestyle.

Initially, she began by walking outside, then progressed to short pick-ups, longer jogs, and eventually running.

It didn’t take long for Christine to sign up for her first 5k and as she says, the rest is history.

Marriage Counseling With Running

Christine has experienced many highs and lows with running over the years.

She likens her relationship to the sport akin to marriage counseling.

Spending time running outside and clearing her thoughts is what first spurred her love for the sport.

Much like any relationship, the excitement may wear off.

Christine has found that signing up for races helps to generate excitement along with keeping her accountable to training.

When the inevitable lulls in training occur, Christine takes the pressure off herself by rediscovering the joy of running.

She finds more joy when she is able to listen to her body and run at what pace and distance feel good.

Finding An Outlet For Grief

Christine’s mom was suffering from ALS and eventually passed away from the disease.

Her grief needed an outlet and that is how Christine found herself filling out an application to be a charity runner for the Boston marathon.

The training cycle was anything but smooth.

Her grief and an emergency appendectomy 8 to 10 weeks prior to the race negatively affected her training.

Christine had one goal at that point and it was to just finish the race.

Though she did complete the race, she took away a valuable lesson.

The decisions we make as runners don’t have to be permanent.

If a goal is causing stress, it is perfectly okay and acceptable to change the goal or get rid of it altogether.

Cheating On Running

Christine cheats on running quite often and encourages others to do the same.

Running/training can become monotonous and when that happens Christine finds it helpful to inject more levity into her fitness routine.

She does that by dabbling in various fitness classes.

Christine is game to try anything as long as she has fun with it.

Taking a step away from running makes her more excited to go back to it.

A forced break is harder to deal with than voluntarily stepping away for a bit.

Thankfully Christine has only had one significant injury and it was caused by dropping a desk on her foot.

That one forced break was enough to remind Christine about how much of a gift running truly is.

Her passion for the sport was reignited and that is when Christine got certified to begin coaching others.

Christine Hetzel

Six-Star Goal Detour

Christine was close to obtaining her sixth and final star in the World Marathon Majors when the pandemic struck.

She had completed 5 of the 6 majors and was set to run Tokyo in 2020.

Christine is hoping to run Tokyo in 2023 and finish her goal which is nine years in the making.

When pressed, Christine finds it hard to pick a favorite out of all the races, because they all have special qualities.

She loves the energy of big races but doesn’t love the logistics involved.

The Space Coast marathon and half-marathon is her favorite local race.

Venturing Into The Podcast World

Christine is brand-new to the podcast world.

She had been thinking about starting a podcast for a few years before she finally made the choice to do it.

Christine realized that she would never feel prepared enough and needed to just make the choice to start.

Prior to starting a podcast, she worked for an audio-based running app that gave her some confidence going into her new venture.

Christine has two very different sides to herself.

One side is a true-crime-loving side and the other is a bubbly, happy, Disney-loving side.

She took these two sides and made them into two very different podcasts.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Stay connected with Christine Hetzel by following her on Instagram.

Christine Hetzel has two podcasts that are both centered around running, but that's where the similarities end. Much like her own life, there are a lot of sides to herself. Click To Tweet

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