Episode 97: A Black Unicorn

Rob Jackson and I met first on Instagram and then in person before the CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon last year. This year, he'll be racing his first marathon as an elite athlete at the 2025 Carmel (Indiana) Marathon. During this episode, sponsored by ⁠Pure Fuel⁠ and ⁠Cure Hydration⁠, we talk about: How he trained for the Monumental Marathon last year by doing 2-3.5 hours on the elliptical while he was coming off of an injury and how he still incorporates it into his training And how for his first marathon he did 99% of his training on a treadmill (spoiler alert: he ran a 2:58)How he “struck out” having a boy and is the dad of three girls - ages 9, 6 and 4 and how he met his wife, JordanThe incredible amount of support Jordan gives him during training and race day His childhood experience with sports and being a little overweight How he came to be coached by Matt Ebersole of Personal Best Training The one triathlon he did in Indianapolis and some other races he’s done  Running with an Apple Watch in Boston and running a 3:00:00 flat (his worst race)The “med tent” story Thinking about the business side of running and his partner, PYNRS, a black-owned apparel companyWhat it’s like to be a Black Unicorn (he’s in the top 55 black men in the US) and why he says more black men don’t run marathons   His eating disorder, Orthorexia nervosaLosing his mom and the mental side of running SHOES! And how Rob is a sneaker-head Why he went ghost on Strava  This is a ⁠SandyBoy Productions⁠ podcast.Deals: Pure Fuel use FUEL20 for 20% off, Cure Hydration use ALLYB for 20% off your first orderEvents Mentioned:Be a SHEro 5K in Kokomo, IN on 3/8Holliday Park Trail Run on 3/14 and 3/15 (FLM10 for 10% off)Previous Guests Mentioned:Matt Ebersole (EP89)Mark Guyer (EP59)Carly Stewart (EP53)Jennifer Conner (EP57)Mark Glover (EP76)Chris Galloway  (EP69)