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TFS Podcast: “Best of” Series
Republican Presidential Candidate MIKE HUCKABEE
Posted January 9th, 2008 at 1:25 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: Motivation, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
Having won last week’s Republican Caucuses in Iowa, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee hopes to carry that momentum throughout the U.S. Presidential Primaries and this April’s Boston Marathon (where he will compete on a charity relay team).
TheFinalSprint.com had a chance to speak with Governor Huckabee in a podcast interview last March and he discussed his life-saving battle with obesity and how that experience has influenced his plans for health care reform as a 2008 candidate for the U.S. presidency.
Download this installment of the TFS Podcast “Best of” Series to hear how Huckabee, who once had trouble even walking up the steps of the U.S. Capital Building without being out of breath, changed his life and inspired others by losing over 110-pounds, holding off Type-2 Diabetes, and becoming a marathon runner!
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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Mike Huckabee
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 17.9 MB | Length: 26:04 MIN
Episode Sponsored By: Nike +
Long Live Running!
Nike Plus will improve the way you run. Get feedback from your iPod on pace, time, distance and calories burned.Log into Nikeplus.com to track your progress,
set goals and challenge friends.
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Podcast 110: Courageous Survivor, Running Hero, and
TFS Success Story Honoree
GILBERT TUHABONYE
Posted December 19th, 2007 at 6:00 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Books, Success Stories, Columns, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
TheFinalSprint.com (TFS) is honored to present our monthly Success Story award to individuals who have overcome tremendous obstacles, changed their own lives and/or the lives of others through running, sports or fitness. Past recipients of TFS’s Success Story award include female running pioneer Kathrine Switzer, father-and-son team of Rick and Dick Hoyt, and amputee athletes Oscar Pistorius and Rudy Garcia-Tolson.
I am proud to announce that TFS’s November 2007 Success Story, and my guest on Episode 110 of The Final Sprint Podcast is courageous survivor and running hero GILBERT TUHABONYE.
Born to a Tutsi tribe farming family in Burundi, a small mountainous country in east central Africa, just south of Rwanda, Gilbert grew up in the midst of the centuries-old war between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes. In October 1993, the Hutu classmates at his school, their parents, some teachers and other Hutu tribesmen forced the Tutsi teachers and children into a room where they beat and burned them to death. After nine hours of being buried by the burning corpses of his beloved friends, and himself on fire and seriously injured, Gilbert jumped free of the burning building and ran into the night, the sole survivor of one of the most horrible massacres in the long Tutsi-Hutu war.
Gilbert, who now lives in Austin, Texas, has continued his efforts to try and compete in the Olympic marathon and is the award-winning coach of Gilbert’s Gazelles, a training group consisting of hundreds of dedicated runners of all skill levels. Gilbert has also created the Gazelle Foundation, with the mission of improving life for people in Burundi and offering educational assistance to children in Austin, Texas, where Gilbert, his wife Triphine and daughters Emma and Grace reside. His life story is captured in his book, This Voice in My Heart, a testament to the triumph of the human spirit as Gilbert emerges from the scars of his unimaginable ordeal to live a life of optimism, grace and victory.
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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Gilbert Tuhabonye
Producer:Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 19.8 MB | Length: 26:53
Episode Sponsored By: Nike +
Long Live Running!
Nike Plus will improve the way you run. Get feedback from your iPod on pace, time, distance and calories burned.Log into Nikeplus.com to track your progress,
set goals and challenge friends.
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Podcast 105: TIM BORLAND
TFS’s Oct ‘07 Success Story
Posted November 21st, 2007 at 8:22 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Columns, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
TheFinalSprint.com (TFS) is honored to present our monthly Success Story award to individuals who have overcome tremendous obstacles, changed their own lives and/or the lives of others through running, sports or fitness.
I am proud to announce that TFS’s October 2007 Success Story, and my guest on Episode 105 of The Final Sprint Podcast is TIM BORLAND.
On November 4th, Borland finished his 63rd marathon in 63 straight days, a feat never before accomplished. Called the A-T Cure Tour, Borland set out to accomplish this arduous task in order to raise awareness for the A-T Children’s project, a non-profit organization that raises funds to support and coordinate first-rate biomedical research projects, scientific workshops, and a clinical center aimed at finding a
cure or life-improving therapies for ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), a rare, fatal genetic disease that affects children.
Download the podcast to hear Tim discuss his sixty-three-day, cross-country marathon adventure, the challenges he faced along the way, his efforts to fight this horrible disease, his future ultra-running goals and much more!
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Host: Jimmie R. Markham | Guest: Tim Borland
Producers: Jimmie R. Markham, Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 21.5 MB | Length: 31:20
Episode sponsored by:
Camelbak - the originator and leader in hands-free hydration.To learn more Camelbak Elixir, their effective, easy-to-use and portable electrolyte beverage, as well as Camelbak’s running specific hydration systems, please visit www.camelbak.com.
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Inspirational DVD Review:
“The Jim MacLaren Story”
Posted September 27th, 2007 at 7:00 PM by Valerie Cerami
Section: News & Results, Motivation, Movies, Success Stories
I am imbued with pride to have this brightly hued, clear as blue sky rubber wristband, embedded with the words Choose Living dangling from my wrist. This little circle of hope looms large - in spirit, courage, inspirations and realizations. It emotionally, powerfully, figuratively and literally represents the circle of life – as truthfully as the geometric shape it holds. Wearing it - and believing in it - helps support the foundation that touches the world: The Choose Living Foundation.
The foundation’s spokesperson and founder, Jim MacLaren, has come full-circle in his aspirations, accomplishments and never-ending optimism – with a dash of wisdom added to the mix (and what a mixture of circumstances he’s encountered). Jim does it all with a smile and indefatigable love of life and the simple things we all take for granted.
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Podcast 73: TONY REED
TFS’s August ‘07 Success Story
Posted August 23rd, 2007 at 8:21 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Success Stories, Columns, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
TheFinalSprint.com (TFS) is honored to present our monthly Success Story award to individuals who have overcome tremendous obstacles, changed their own lives and/or the lives of others through running, sports or fitness.
I am proud to announce that TFS’s August 2007 Success Story, and my guest on Episode 73 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast is TONY REED. On June 23rd, Reed became the first Black person to run a marathon on all seven continents (A feat accomplished by fewer than
200 people in the world) and in the process broke new ground for minorities in the world of amateur marathon running (It is estimated that Black Americans account for only 1-2% of all US marathoners).
Reed, who grew up in a St. Louis housing project, is also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Black Marathoners’ Association (NBMA); a non-profit organization that encourages Black Americans to pursue a healthy lifestyle through running and awards college scholarships to high school distance runners. Reed, whose own decision to lead an active and healthy lifestyle prevented the onset of full-blown diabetes, has shown what it takes to reach seemingly impossible goals and has become an ideal role model for people of all races.
Download the podcast to hear Tony discuss his seven continent marathon adventure, breaking down racial barriers, the NBMA, and much more!
Note: This episode also features a very special, guest co-host: Don Kern. Don is also a member of the exclusive Seven Continent Club and last winter completed all seven races in an astonishing 35 days (just four days off the Guinness World Record!).
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Hosts: Adam Jacobs, Don Kern
Guest: Tony Reed
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 22.3 MB
Length: 32:29
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Check out every episode of TFS’s Podcast in iTunes!
Q&A: Francisco Rodriguez on his transformation from avid smoker to dedicated marathoner
Posted July 19th, 2007 at 2:45 PM by Courtney Albon
Section: Running & Training, Motivation, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Health & Fitness
Twenty years ago, Francisco Rodriguez smoked more than two packs of cigarettes per day - and the thought of running a marathon was almost laughable. Today, the recently-retired Bank of New York Vice President is running as many as 54 races a year and completed his 150th marathon in April at the Boston Marathon.
In the following interview TFS’s Courtney Albon speaks with Rodriguez about his metamorphosis, the challenges he faced, his source of inspiration and support, and the benefits of his new lifestyle.
TFS: What was your life like before you became a marathon runner? What were some of the specific, unhealthy habits that you had to deal with?
Rodriguez: Well, my major problem-or not problem-but my major issue is that I was a very heavy smoker. I used to smoke two and a half packs a day until 1998 when I decided that was not good. So, I started running and I haven’t stopped since then. It’s been twenty years no that I’ve been running.
I always eat healthy, but I just eat a lot. The food is always healthy, but it is in bigger quantities than other people. I don’t eat too many fats or fried foods, things like that, but my major thing was the smoking. So, now I run a lot of races and I run every day. My life is a lot better.
TFS: What triggered you to start working towards living healthier? Was there a moment of epiphany or was it more gradual?
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Podcast 64: TEAM HOYT
TFS’s July 2007 Success Story
Posted July 16th, 2007 at 1:30 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Success Stories, Columns, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
TFS is honored to present our monthly Success Story award to individuals who have overcome tremendous obstacles, changed their own lives and/or the lives of others through running, sports or fitness.
I am proud to announce that TFS’s July 2007 Success Story is TEAM HOYT and my guest on Episode #64 of The Final Sprint Podcast is Dick Hoyt, who along with his son Rick, demonstrate the impenetrable power of love, dedication and courage, as well as, how athletics can serve as a medium for
surmounting life’s most inconceivable challenges.
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together continuously compete in marathons, triathlons, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you consider that Rick, who was born with cerebral palsy, is unable to walk or talk. For more than twenty five years Dick, who is 65, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines and Team Hoyt has become both the face of the Boston Marathon, as well as, an inspiration and source of hope for people around the world.
Download the podcast to hear about Dick and Rick’s amazing journey, how it began, the initial resistance and later warm reception from the Boston Athletic Association, their astounding list of accomplishments, the challenges they face, Rick’s health, goals for the future, and much more!
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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Dick Hoyt
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 16.4 MB
Length: 24:00
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Podcast 55: JIM MACLAREN
TFS’s June 2007 Success Story and the Epitome of Courage
Posted June 7th, 2007 at 1:30 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: Motivation, Success Stories, Columns, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
TFS is proud to present our monthly Success Story award to individuals who have overcome tremendous obstacles, changed their own lives and/or the lives of others through running, sports or fitness. Past award recipients have included female running pioneer
Kathrine Switzer, former Arkansas Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, and double amputee runner Oscar Pistorius.
I am proud to announce that TFS’s June 2007 Success Story and my guest on Episode #55 of The Final Sprint Podcast is The Epitome of Courage: Mr. Jim MacLaren.
Jim, a former Yale University All-American football and lacrosse player, was hit by a bus at age 22; an accident that forced doctors to amputate his leg. However, Jim persevered, beat the odds and became a marathon runner, Ironman triathlete world record holder and earned the title: “The Babe Ruth of Amputee Athletes”.
Eight years later, Jim was once again the victim of a tragic accident; hit by a van while competing in a triathlon and left as a quadriplegic after sustaining serious spinal injuries.
Never the one to give up, Jim once again proved that his spirit was strong enough to surmount even the most unthinkable of adversities. Jim has gone on to become a motivational speaker, founder of the “Choose Living Foundation”, and as Oprah said at the 2005 ESPY Awards in presenting him with ESPN’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Jim has “given new life to those around the world who need it most”.
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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Jim MacLaren
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 18.5 MB
Length: 27:05
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Podcast 49: Interview with double-amputee triathlete Scott Rigsby
Posted May 16th, 2007 at 4:00 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: Motivation, Success Stories, Columns, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
TFS is proud to present our monthly Success Story award to individuals who have overcome tremendous obstacles, changed their own lives and/or the lives of others through running, sports or fitness.
I am proud to announce that TFS’s May 2007 Success Story and my guest on Episode 49 of The Final Sprint Podcast is Scott Rigsby; the first double leg amputee to ever complete an Olympic distance and half IRONMAN triathlon on prosthetics.
Scott now has his sites set on becoming the first double amputee to complete a full IRONMAN triathlon and furthering his passionate efforts to motivate other physically challenged athletes.
In the interview Scott talks about the tragic accident that led to the amputation of both of his legs, how he is lucky to be alive, and his courageous battle to regain a competitive and active lifestyle.
Download the podcast to hear Scott discuss these topics, as well as, the unique challenges faced by amputees in endurance and multi-sport events, his opinion on Oscar Pistorius (who appeared on the front page of the NY Times on 3/15/07), the Achilles Track Club, and much more!
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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Scott Rigsby
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 19.9 MB
Length: 00:29:07
Check out every episode of TFS’s Podcast in iTunes!
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
Podcast 37: Interview with the legendary Kathrine Switzer
Posted April 9th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: Columns, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts
TheFinalSprint.com’s monthly Success Story selection aims to highlight remarkable and factual accounts of runners who have overcome major obstacles and/or changed their lives, or the lives of others, through running and fitness.
I am proud to announce that TFS’s April 2007 Success Story and my guest in Episode 37 of The Final Sprint Podcast is the legendary KATHRINE SWITZER!
Kathrine, who was called the “Susan B. Anthony of running” by fellow running great Joan Benoit Samuelson, broke the gender barrier in 1967 when she became the first woman to officially enter and complete, what was at that time, the all-male Boston Marathon.
She also won the 1974 NYC Marathon, was a driving force behind the inclusion a women’s marathon in the Olympics, received an Emmy for her work as a sports broadcaster and remains one of the most courageous and inspiring runners in history.
Download the podcast to hear Katherine discuss what led to her iconic run, little known facts about her “race gear”, attempts to forcefully remove her from the course, finding the inner strength to push forward, how the race forever altered the course of her life and the lives of all future generations of female athletes, her new autobiography “Marathon Woman” and much more!
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[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)
[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to youHost: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Kathrine Switzer
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 21.5 MB
Length: 00:31:25
Check out every episode of TFS’s Podcast in iTunes!
Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!
















The Final Sprint
On May 22, 2008
Peggy O'Neill said:
Thanks, Kate. I would not have missed a minute of the journey. Love, Mom