Episode 159: The Joneses - Never Settle

Jessica & Johnathon Jones live in Hamilton, Ohio — a city they've tried to leave more than a few times — and are opening a specialty running store this summer. They're both fresh off the Boston Marathon, where Jonathan ran a massive PR and Jess is oh-so-close to cracking three hours. I met Jess through LinkedIn (of all places) — we both went to Miami of Ohio! During this episode, sponsored by Batch and Cure, we talk about: Jonathan's 16-year road to Boston — including a ski accident that exposed his kneecap, emergency surgery, and somehow doing a full Ironman 10 months later Jess running a Boston qualifying marathon while 16 weeks pregnant (her third pregnancy, two kids already at home) How they operate very differently on race morning — one is immediate boarding, one is last call Checking Jonathan's finish time on her phone mid-race and crying happy tears at mile 15 The proposal — racing to the end of Navy Pier in Chicago, all sweaty and mid-run, with both sets of parents hiding in position ~30 marathons each, pacing each other through all of it, and why Jonathan offered to pace Jess to her sub-3 this fall instead of chasing his own goal Their running store, Main Street Running Collective, opening in Hamilton, Ohio this summer — and why they're building it for the 60-year-old with bad knees, not the carbon plate crowd Getting a sitter at 5am on Saturdays so they could do their long run, get coffee, and still have a full family day How Knoxville changed the way they think about running as community Girls on the Run, the Hamilton Run Club's 700+ members, and why a healthy city starts with people on their feet What's next: Berlin in the fall (they both qualified at Boston), sub-3 for Jess, and a grand opening Previous Guests Mentioned ⁠Carly Stewart⁠ - Episode 53 ⁠Mike Vollmer⁠ - Episode 156 Sponsor Details Other Links Main Street Running Collective on Instagram Follow me on Instagram ⁠@allytbrett_runs⁠ ⁠Subscribe to Finish Lines & Milestones weekly newsletter⁠ This is a ⁠SandyBoy Productions⁠ podcast.