Shows
The Runners Reunion PodcastCatching up with Mimi Fallon as she discusses her life in running and the many friendships along the wayMimi Fallon’s first road race was the NYC marathon in 1989. She entered the lottery for a number on a whim thinking it would be a long shot to be selected. As fate would have it, she was selected and off to NYC with a 10 mile long run on her limited resume. Remarkably, she covered the distance with an impressive time of 3:09! Join us on her journey through the running boom years and beyond as we discuss many legendary mentors, notable track clubs and the other half of this fan favorite running family Jimmy!
2024-04-0750 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastCatching up with Paul Gorman and his persistent approach to running and beyondSwamscott, MA native Paul Gorman had a stellar career as a professional runner during the 80’s. His journey to the elite level during the height of the running boom, however, was far from conventional. After dabbling in the sport in high school, he attended Providence College where the likes of Mick O’Shea, Mick Byrne and John Treacy were solidifying the continuous stream of recruits from Ireland. After a brief stint on the team, Paul eventually left PC despite making friendships with many of his teammates. Paul’s rise to the elite level of the sport began after leaving PC with a...2024-03-131h 02The Runners Reunion PodcastJanice Cataldo discusses Title Nine and the early days of Women's X-Country and Track at Providence CollegeWhen Title 9 was signed into law in 1972 little did Janice Cataldo know how it would impact her life and the contributions she would make to one of the storied women’s track and cross country teams in the country. Growing up with five sisters in a traditional italian family learning to be a good homemaker was the order of the day in the early 1970’s. As fate would have it, a gym teacher at St. Xavier High School in Providence spotted her running talent in class during her junior year. Janice took his advice to join the track team and qui...2024-02-1344 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastOur guest this episode is Olympic Trials qualifier, coach and community organizer Mark RobinsonOur guest this episode is 10 time All American Mark Robinson. A graduate of Catholic University, and longtime coach of his alma mater, Robinson did not begin running until his senior year at McKinley Technical High School in Washington, D.C. Despite a late start in the sport, he posted impressive results by clocking a 4:15 mile and 9:16 two mile in high school. His success continued at Catholic University and at an international level competing in the 1976 Olympic Trials and on the European Track Circuit as an 800-meter specialist. Mark’s passion for the sport continues to this day as head boys c...2024-02-021h 07The Runners Reunion PodcastThe Legacy of Johnson & Wales AC and Colonel John McNultyIn the 1970s and 1980s Johnson & Wales AC (JWAC) was the dominant road running club in Rhode Island. Prior to becoming a four year college (now a university) JWAC had one of the top Jr. College teams in the country featuring standouts Hollie Walton, Roland Davide, Bob Hodge and Vin Fleming to name a few. The then 4 year College team transitioned to an all comers club in the late 1970's during the height of the running boom. Bobby Doyle and Hollie Walton, fresh from the collegiate ranks at UTEP, led the charge and soon other top runners followed including Tom...2024-01-1950 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThe Runners Reunion Podcast catches up with one of the event’s founders Charlie BreagyOur guest this episode is the third pillar and one of the founders of the Runners Reunion event Charlie Breagy. Charlie was a member of the second wave of Irish and British runners to attend Providence College that made up one of the most dominant cross country teams in the country during the early 80’s which finished second in the NCAAs in 1981 and 1982. After graduating from PC Charlie remained in Rhode Island and was a fixture on the local road racing scene. A product of the club system in Ireland where members remain with their clubs for life, Charlie has b...2023-12-0358 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastTwo time Olympian Pete Pfitzinger kicks off season three with the Runners Reunion Podcast!Our guest spent his formative years in the snow belt of Upstate NY. Glimpses of raw talent showed through championship success running on skis. After a successful collegiate career, the Clarion Call of Boston proved irresistible and he moved east, initially rooming with punk rockers before moving to the infamous River Street AC Commune. He went from working the cash register to a professional role at the upstart New Balance Shoe Company. An original running outlaw, pilloried for contesting antiquated notions of amateurism; a contagion who risked contaminating entire fields he remained true in his belief that professional athletes...2023-10-011h 07The Runners Reunion PodcastThe 2023 Hoka and Marathon Sports Ocean State XC Invitational with Steve Mazzone and Siobhan BreagyWhile the Runners Reunion Podcast Team is planning for season #3, we are pleased to host Ocean State Running’s master of the media Steve Mazzone as he catches up with Siobhan Breagy to discuss the upcoming Ocean State Cross Country Invitational at Goddard Park on September 22nd and 23rd. The Ocean State XC Invitational sponsored by Hoka and Marathon Sports is one of the most competitive and popular XC events on the east coast. Listen in as Steve and Siobhan discuss the new and exciting features planned for this year’s event. For more information check out their website Ocean S...2023-09-0420 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastOur last guest of the season is Gerry Beagan, one of the founders of the Runners Reunion eventOur last guest of the season is Gerry Beagan, one of the founders of the Runners Reunion event. Gerry’s story is perhaps one of the best examples of how the running boom of the 70’s impacted the lives of the 25 million Americans who fueled the growth of competitive road running. By chance Gerry was at Fenway to watch the World Series bound 1975 Red Sox on Patriot’s Day and spilled out into the street to watch the finish of the marathon to see running’s common man Bill Rodgers float by in a homemade T-Shirt to win the race in an...2023-06-1149 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastOur guest this week is Olympian and Team New Balance Boston Coach Mark CooganOur guest this week is Olympian and Team New Balance Boston Coach Mark Coogan. Mark’s running resume is impressive with range from the mile through the marathon and every distance event between. Mark’s pro career included training with coach Bob Sevene and support from training groups in Providence and Boulder that included some of the best runners of the era. Mark used these experiences to develop into one of the most successful coaches in the country. You can now read more about his coaching philosophy in his new book Personal Best Running: Coach Coogan’s Strategies for the Mile t...2023-05-031h 13The Runners Reunion PodcastThis week’s episode New England Runner Co-Publisher and Editor Bob FitzgeraldAs a Newton, MA native Bob Fitzgerald was no stranger to the Boston Marathon. Each year his parents would take him to watch the race on the famed HeartBreak Hill. It wasn’t until he graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in English and focus on journalism that he started running to lose “beer weight”. The former defensive lineman from Newton North quickly caught the running bug and fit right in with the running boom, easily transitioning into the social scene with the cast of characters of the era. The “beer weight” came off and Bob clocked some impressive PRs...2023-04-2256 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThis week’s episode features five time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Julie Peterson-MenoskyWhen Julie Peterson-Menosky was in grade school at St. Mary’s Catholic, girls did not have gym class, were limited to only a ¼ of the playground and allowed only to skip during recess (no running)! Fortunately times were changing quickly with the advent of Title Nine and the emergence of the running boom. Despite some notable success in high school Julie went off to UMass Amherst without ever visiting the campus, never mind a recruiting trip and a sleepover with the team. Fortunately the stars aligned at UMass when she decided to try out for the Track and X-Country team t...2023-04-021h 08The Runners Reunion PodcastThis week’s episode features Boston Marathon legend and three times Olympic Trials qualifier Jack FultzFewer than 115 men can call themselves Boston Marathon champion. Even fewer boast a 50 year connection to the race: athlete; elite athlete talent manager; coach; and catalyzing force linking the marathon to fundraising efforts to make the world a better place. Add a dash of decades of collegiate sports psychology instruction and buckle up for a wide ranging conversation with the always interesting, always erudite Jack Fultz. Ranging far from his Pennsylvania roots, road racing took hold first over the traditional collegiate career during the height of Viet Nam. It ultimately led him to toe the line in 100 degree heat, in...2023-03-171h 29The Runners Reunion PodcastFollowing The Flame with Greg LautenslagerOur guest this week is four time Olympic Trials qualifier and coach Greg Lautenslager. After a 20 year award winning career coaching in New Zealand Greg is back home in his native state of Texas coaching at Hill College. As many of you know Boston was one of Greg’s stops during his 12 year quest to make the Olympic Team. As with many of the runners in the 70’s and 80’s Boston holds a special place in Greg’s heart for the many friendships he developed during his time running for Nike Boston. This past December Greg was able to attend the a...2023-03-041h 00The Runners Reunion PodcastThis week’s guest is Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame Coach Julie Collins.This week’s guest is Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame Coach Julie Collins. Julie’s first experience with competitive track and cross country growing up in Smithfield, RI was in middle school in one of the first organized programs in the state for middle school girls in the 1970’s. She also ran with the Ocean State Track Club all women’s team organized by legendary coach John Hird before attending Providence College. After a successful career at PC Julie turned to coaching in her mid 20’s as a way to break up the day while caring for her youn...2023-02-1859 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThis week’s episode features Rhode Island’s own version of the “Chairman of the Boards” and Northeastern standout Tom Mortimer.This week’s episode features Rhode Island’s own version of the “Chairman of the Boards” and Northeastern standout Tom Mortimer. Tom’s first exposure to track was a visit to the famed Cranston Street Armory to watch his brother Frank compete for Pilgrim High School. When he entered through the heavy wooden doors to the Gothic Medieval structure the unmistakable scent of Atomic Balm dominated the track that was housed in the main hall. The experience of that first meet where spectators and teammates were right on the edge of the poorly marked lanes screaming cheers for the competitors w...2023-01-291h 13The Runners Reunion PodcastThe Runners Reunion Podcast catches up with Fitchburg State and North Shore legend Paul McGovernOur final episode for 2022 features Fitchburg State and North Shore legend Paul McGovern. Growing up in Lynn, MA Paul’s endless energy was channeled through sports. In his neighborhood baseball was king with several of the local youth of Paul’s generation eventually making it to the major leagues. That career path changed when a college track coach saw something in this young man that eventually resulted in Paul becoming a pro baseball prospect and taking the lead halfway through the 1992 Olympic Marathon trials. Paul shares a remarkable tale of patience, persistence, self awareness and mental fortitude that listeners, and mom...2022-12-2156 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThis month’s episode features RI legend and NCAA All-American Hollie WaltonOur guest this week is Rhode Island running legend Hollie Walton. As fate would have it Hollie just happened to be a freshman at Hope High School where Bobby Doyle and Ted McLaughlin were beginning their legendary careers. Before the two began to influence his stellar career, Hollie somehow missed the running portion of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test and was about to flunk gym class his freshman year! Fortunately the physical education teacher found him in the gym shooting baskets and convinced him to finish the test with a one mile run on the track. With borrowed sneakers that...2022-10-1354 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThis week’s episode features RI Hall of Fame Coach Jim Doyle!With over 67 state championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track Jim Doyle is one of the most successful high school coaches in any sport in the United States. In 2017 Jim was inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame and in 2018 was honored by the National High School Coaches Association as the National High School Boys’ Cross Country Coach of the Year! In this week’s episode we discuss with Jim how he became involved in competitive running during the running boom of the 70’s, his transition into coaching in the 80’s, and how he has become so s...2022-06-1648 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThis week’s episode features two time US Olympic marathoner Cathy O’Brien as we discuss her running, music and more.As a high energy 7th grader, Cathy O’Brien found herself on the Dover NH high cross-country team. Her coach predicted that Cathy would be “fantabulous” if she worked at her craft. Any running chronicle of the 80’s and 90’s shows she did. At 16 she ran the inaugural 1984 women’s Olympic marathon trials, and within months, closed out her high school career as a 5-time state cross-country, and Kinney national champion. Post high school adjustments followed, but Cathy was soon back on track, with refocused energy, validating earlier predictions by becoming a 1988 US Olympic marathoner at 20. Her career ascended, highlighted b...2022-04-291h 01The Runners Reunion PodcastThis week we are “On The Road” again with Bob Hodge (episode #2) as he discusses his career as a professional runner during the 1980s.During this time “Hodgiesan” traveled to Japan four times to compete in several iconic marathons and road races. His Olympic dreams stayed alive as he competed in the ‘84 and ‘88 marathon trials. He planned for his last race as a journeyman pro to be the ‘88 track trials. After that the plan was to finish school and get a “real” job. After the ‘88 track trials however Bob had one more offer to travel to Japan for one “last” race. Bob’s wife Frannie jokingly matched the offer and the trip never happened!
Check out Bob's epic win at the 1982 Beppu Marathon!
2022-04-0354 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThis week we are “On The Road” with Bob Hodge as he discusses his competitive running career that spanned the pre-running boom days growing up in gritty streets of Lowell through the early 1990sThis week we are “On The Road” with Bob Hodge as he discusses his competitive running career that spanned the pre-running boom days growing up in gritty streets of Lowell through the early 1990s . During his youth Lowell’s famous textile mills were closing at an alarming rate with its population dropping just as quickly. Bob’s brother Billy went to Vietnam and never returned. It was a turbulent time with Richard Nixon elected to restore law and order only to resign five years later as a result of the Watergate scandal. Running became Bob’s escape from the disillusionm...2022-03-2754 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastThis week we feature Scott Mason one of the original founders of the Runners ReunionThis week’s episode features Scott Mason who was one of the many runners influenced by the running boom in the late 70’s. Having never competed in high school or college, Scott rose through the ranks to become a top regional runner and one of the few Rhode Islanders to clock sub 50 minutes for 10 miles.
Scott combined his passion for the sport with his love for photography to provide us with a visual documentary of the local running scene that spans five decades. Scott’s enjoyment for camaraderie the sport has offered continues to this day as he can b...2022-03-1344 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastOur latest episode features Portsmouth Abbey (RI) and Harvard standout John MurphyOur latest episode features Portsmouth Abbey (RI) and Harvard standout John Murphy. At times John’s running career provided him solace from the challenges of daily life but also great frustration due to injuries. At Harvard John was mentored by the legendary Bill McCurdy who helped him develop a resolve to persevere through injuries to compete against some of the very best the NCAA had to offer. John’s resolve and grit would be tested once again in 2005 when he suffered a stroke during the Chicago Marathon. Through fate and family support, John has made a remarkable recovery considering the seve...2022-03-1048 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastFrom the slopes of Ski Valley in Cumberland, RI to the foothills of Denali The Runners Reunion talks story with Tom EganFrom the slopes of Ski Valley in Cumberland, RI to the foothills of Denali Tom Egan recounts his running adventures from his early days competing on the Cumberland High track team to a 15 mile run on sea ice in the Arctic Circle navigating through a dangerous ice fog.
100,000 Mile Journey
2022-02-2248 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastOur latest episode features Ironman Triathlon champion Karen Smyers. Karen recounts her early days as a competitive swimmer through her dominance in the world as a professional triathleteOur latest episode features Ironman Triathlon champion Karen Smyers. Karen recounts her early days as a competitive swimmer through her dominance in the world as a professional triathlete and how the sport became a lifestyle that continues to this day. For a full bio on Karen you can visit https://www.karensmyers.com/
2022-01-3058 minThe Runners Reunion PodcastPaul Hammond recounts his early days running in Maine and his more than 40 years of running at a competitive level.Legendary Bates College track legend, and fixture in New England Running scene for more than forty years, discusses his early days of racing and training in Maine and competing with some of New England's best runners during the height of the running boom in the early 80's.
2022-01-1532 min