Haley Chura: Professional Triathlete, Preparing for the Dopey Challenge and the Ironman World Championships

Ready to embark on an endurance-testing journey? Let's journey together with the inspiring Ironman champion and professional triathlete, Haley Chura. Haley reveals her experience of transforming from a swimmer to a triathlete, training for the Ironman World Championships, and taking on her first runDisney Race and Dopey Challenge. Hear her candidly discuss the financial stressors of professional racing, the strategic steps to success, and getting back to the World Championships in Kona.

In this episode, we also delve into the intriguing world of pop culture. Join us as we dissect pop superstar Taylor Swift's relationship with NFL player Travis Kelsey and the ripple effects of her political activism on conservative media. We even dish on the ever-evolving spectacle that is the Super Bowl half-time show and the thrilling prospect of a boy band reunion. In true nostalgic fashion, we take a trip down memory lane and revisit our evolution of runDisney race costuming.

Finally, we share the personal insights and stories of Haley as she prepares for one of the most unique challenges of her career, the Dopey Challenge. Listen in on our engaging chat about Haley's creative costume ideas and her strategies for success as she balances racing, coaching, and healthy living. Whether you're a sports enthusiast or a pop culture aficionado, you're guaranteed to learn something new and exciting in this high-energy episode. So, are you ready to join us on this exhilarating ride? Tune in now!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to 321 Go the Podcast. I'm John Pelkey.

Speaker 2: 0:07

And I'm Karissa Galloway, and we're bringing you stories from start to finish to keep the everyday athlete motivated to keep moving towards the next finish.

Speaker 1: 0:16

Karissa. Today we are very, very excited to have professional triathlete and Ironman champion Haley Chura, who is training not only for the Ironman World Championships, because that's not enough, but her first run, Disney Race and Dopey Challenge. Come on.

Speaker 2: 0:33

Yeah, I'm so excited that we have Haley. You know she's a podcaster herself, but we talk a little bit about why she's choosing to run dopey, if she's going for the win, and what it's like to financially be a professional triathlete. We're going to talk about bone health with healthier you. We're going to open the mailbag to answer a question and to all of you out there, thank you for listening, thank you for subscribing, for rating, for leaving us a review for sharing, and if you want to share your story, your feedback, your questions, do that at 321GoPodcast at gmailcom. Let's do this. 3, 2, 1, go.

Speaker 1: 1:20

Alright, Krista, first of all, how are you on this beautiful central floor today?

Speaker 2: 1:24

What did you call me?

Speaker 1: 1:26

Karissa Krista Prista.

Speaker 2: 1:30

It sounded like not, it was like Krista or something like that.

Speaker 1: 1:33

Alright.

Speaker 2: 1:34

well then, I'm going to call you that for the rest of the pod, I don't get when people call me Klorissa, but when it's like Kristi or Krista, no offense to those people with those names.

Speaker 1: 1:43

Okay, well, hold on, hold on, let me start over then. Okay, hello, karissa, how are you on this beautiful central floor today?

Speaker 2: 1:54

Thank you, John.

Speaker 1: 1:57

It's with an H, people Don't get it right, john. John.

Speaker 2: 2:02

I'm great because it's sunny right now, but I just went running a little while ago and it wasn't like crazy hot. We're having a little bit.

Speaker 1: 2:10

It's been over the last week or so, a little cooler evenings. There's been a little breeze. We're having our fall. It's only 91.

Speaker 2: 2:19

It's been rainy a little bit, but not like all day, so that's given the cloud cover, it's giving fall vibes, and I'm loving it, john. You, however, are not doing well today.

Speaker 1: 2:30

No, no, no, no, I was, this is just. You know, this should be the old man segment of the podcast. We had to play some sort of Rudy Valley Wiffen Poof song from the early Say Rudy on the podcast 20th century. Oh my God, you so want to go there.

Speaker 1: 2:48

Anyway, I was cleaning my garage yesterday because, as you mentioned, we had a little rainy day so it wasn't normally its yard work for me and somehow, as happens with people my age I hurt my back and it's hard to get up and down from a chair, the bed, the floor out in the garage where I was working. So I'm playing a little hurt, a little Advil. It's kind of painful not as bad today as it was yesterday, but I'm going to work through it. I'm going to work through it.

Speaker 2: 3:22

No, I do feel bad for you because I have done that one time, tweaked it. It made me feel really old. But it doesn't. Just when it goes, it goes.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Yeah, and it was out of nowhere. I don't know what I did. I was, I don't have that many heavy things in my garage, but I was moving a few things and just you know, and I try to take care of it since I hurt my back. But you know, you get to be a lot of things.

Speaker 1: 3:39

They don't tell you about aging and kids the kids who are listening and this is anyone under 40 is a kid as far as I'm concerned they don't tell you A that hydration is much more important than you think because you dehydrate more quickly and you need to hydrate more often. And they don't tell you that whole thing about, yes, you are hydrating with your body armor, just have them as a sponsor. And they also don't tell you that you will hurt yourself. But you will have no idea how, when you're a kid and you hurt yourself, you fall off of something, you twist something. You know immediately, but there is this just sort of delay thing that happens when you're old. You hurt yourself and then you have no idea and then all of a sudden you're in immense amount of pain. I'm sorry.

Speaker 1: 4:23

And that's kind of where I was.

Speaker 2: 4:24

Well, no, I feel for you, so thank you for being here today, john.

Speaker 1: 4:29

Yeah, fighting through it, playing through it. I'm hurt, not injured, I think. I think We'll see.

Speaker 2: 4:35

We'll update you next week how that plays out.

Speaker 1: 4:36

Yes, but you, you traveling the world, I have to. You know. Here's a little inside baseball for the folks listening to the podcast. Scheduling our podcast when Carissa is available is tantamount to I don't know what's a difficult thing to do Catch me out running. It's very, very difficult. And you were recently in, and because I'm a Looney Tunes fan, I'm going to say it this way Chattanoogie.

Speaker 2: 5:05

Chattanoogie, chattanoogie, tennessee. It is hard, I want to say it's going to get better after October, when we only have wine and things like that. It starts so.

Speaker 1: 5:15

So that's my busiest month, so nothing I know so our scheduling is not.

Speaker 2: 5:19

There are many, not easy that go back and forth. But Ironman Chattanooga. So it was my final of the run of a couple in a row. I only have two more Ironmans this year. But what was nice about it is that geographically it's near Atlanta. That's where the elder Galloway's live, and I mean, if they're old, they're just older than me. So the whole family got to go.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Now I'm picturing them in really high chairs wearing cloaks. Yes, they actually. That's what you come into the home.

Speaker 2: 5:44

There are thrones done in the. You know the Jeff Galloway blue and green colors. He's there with his. It's not a staff, it's a giant Galloway timer that you have. You have two minutes to speak and then it beeps and you must not speak. So it's.

Speaker 1: 5:57

Is there some sort of when you're, when you're, when you're traversing the red carpet to get to them? Is it a run walk thing, or do you just have to?

Speaker 2: 6:05

Yeah, everything is like we're making dinner. You know there's there's pauses. No, I'm just kidding, yeah. So family got to come. Elliott came out and did the kids race, the iron kids race, which he kept saying I want to do the short race, I want to do the short race. I'm like okay, but I get there and I side him up and they're like he's three, he's to do the half mile.

Speaker 1: 6:22

Wow.

Speaker 2: 6:23

So, as any good parent does, I just don't tell him this, cause there's, there's a level of parenting where it's like don't, just, it's not, it's fine, just, you're running the race, there you go. And he wanted to win. Like all my kids, they always want to win, right, yeah. So we had two announcers there who say, speaking of saying names wrong, the announcers name was Tony Bugo and I went to say it one time and I got where you get something in your throat and I called him Tony logo. So I was made fun of the end.

Speaker 1: 6:44

Wow, tony Grogu would have been my go to.

Speaker 2: 6:47

Yeah, no, it's just like you know how we're getting stuck right. Oh, yeah, yeah. So he was doing the announcing too. So I felt like, okay, I'm going to go down, I'm going to run backwards and I'm going to catch up with them. So I catch up with them as they're coming up it was a hill and blesses, you know my son. He's so, so cute. He runs up and he says I am a little bit tired. It's not like I just like a thoughtful acknowledgement. And so he kind of walked with him. And then when he got to that magic carpet we have the red Iron man has a red carpet that comes out about 100 feet or so. He took off by himself and finished. So it was really cute to see that.

Speaker 2: 7:26

And then Western ran another marathon because he's crazy, and they won not Iron man 70.3, which is like akin to a half marathon. Right Half the distance have relays, but full. Iron man don't usually have a relay. So as I'm prepping for the race and I was like there's a relay, do you want to do it? He was like, sure, anything but running, couldn't find anybody else to do it with him. We got this guy named Duggan Walker. Duggan has done over 60 Iron Man's. He did six Iron Man's on six continents in six weeks. Wow. He got married during an Iron man, him and his wife Jill. They done all this together did Iron Man's on a Saturday and then a different Iron man on a Sunday.

Speaker 1: 9:26

Bit obsessed little obsessed.

Speaker 2: 9:28

So anyway, Duggan was supposed to be off that weekend, but I was like Jill, does Doug want to do it? She's like, of course he does. So anyway, Duggan is a great swimmer. So they won the relay.

Speaker 1: 9:38

That's awesome, oh my God, just out of nowhere. And all those people and so they are like among the most hated because all those people who trained all that time to win it. It's like these guys are like yeah, I got about. I got about four hours for it to be anywhere. You want to want to win this?

Speaker 2: 9:51

thing. Yeah, no, and I did get in trouble because I signed him up like super late, so they named him Curris's Troublemaker. So thank you to people who aren't listening with the athlete services team.

Speaker 1: 9:59

Listen, I'm seeing a marketing thing here, by the way, because we're getting a lot of really great quote Curris's Troublemaker. We need three, two, one, go the podcast t-shirts and you pick your quote on the back. It's Curris's Troublemaker, or I am a little bit tired. I want that on mine. I'm a little bit tired.

Speaker 2: 10:16

Like you have a complaining. It was just an outward acknowledgement of where he was in that moment.

Speaker 1: 10:20

I'm right there with him.

Speaker 2: 10:21

And maybe that's the key, you would not say it out loud. I'm just a little bit tired.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Well, you know what You're basically talking through just going, it's just fatigue. Let's be honest, it's fatigue. We all go through it. So let's, let's work our way through. Good for Elliott, he's going to you're, you're, you're working towards that division one college track scholarship, right, isn't that? I mean you got to get into that early, because there are a lot of those that's not a, you know they use up all the done football and basketball.

Speaker 2: 10:49

Maybe I don't know. He just sees what it is, you know I believe in him.

Speaker 1: 10:53

I believe in that kid, even though you don't. You don't believe in communicating with your children apparently just didn't tell him.

Speaker 2: 10:59

You need to know basis.

Speaker 1: 11:01

Yes, okay, well, you know, speaking of obsessed.

Speaker 2: 11:04

Yep.

Speaker 1: 11:05

And clearly there's some people are obsessed with the whole Ironman thing. Something people may not know about me is I get obsessed with things.

Speaker 3: 11:12

Yes.

Speaker 1: 11:13

And so I'm going to. I'm going to bring that into, because this podcast is essentially therapy for me, without having to pay for it or, frankly, being paid for it, which would be, nice and one of the things I do is I get obsessed with it, with a song or like an episode of a television show.

Speaker 1: 11:32

I mentioned the bear earlier yeah, one of our earlier podcasts that I was obsessed with that show. So I would go back and and watch episodes over and over again. I still say episode seven of the bear and you kind of have to watch everything in context, but one of the greatest episodes television ever really spoke to me. So there, we got that out of there. But I get obsessed with songs and the bear did that to me.

Speaker 1: 11:53

I was obsessed with Love Story by Taylor Swift and, as you know, I don't really know a lot of Taylor Swift other than the hits that pop up during races, it's. You know I'm classic rock guy essentially, but but I got a new one so I throw these out to people. We obviously don't want to pay the Azcap BMI royalties to play the song, we don't really have that sort of resource but I want everybody to go and listen to the song Harmony Hall by Vampire Weekend because I'm obsessed. Okay, part of I made me a happy Spotify, basically, again, part of my therapy. They made me a happy playlist and because, as you know, it's just I'm not really a happy go lucky sort of guy, though.

Speaker 2: 12:34

I'm just saying like not, you're none of those things, you're not happy, you don't go and you're not generally lucky.

Speaker 1: 12:40

I am so lucky, the fact that I have a career, a home, an attractive wife? I mean none of none of these things. If there were a just God, none of these things would have happened.

Speaker 2: 12:50

Context people are like Chris is a terrible human.

Speaker 1: 12:54

I know, I know, are you guys really friends because she's just so mean to you. But Spotify made me a happy playlist and the song is actually used in a film or television show or something. I had heard it before but I'm now obsessed with it and I listen to it over and over and over again. I do, I'll go cut the grass and I'll listen to like seven times in a row and I never get to the point. Going to tell a little quick, quick little anecdote about my best friend growing up, steve Kerrick or former University of Virginia offensive lineman, and he was kind of the same way and he talked about driving from Charlottesville, virginia, to either Miami or Fort Lauderdale for spring break, because that's how old we were. It was Fort Lauderdale, a spring break, it was the 80s folks.

Speaker 1: 13:38

And listening to the song, tell him by the exciters from the big chill soundtrack. It was a big movie for people, mike, yeah, and he played it on the cassette. Explain that to the kids later. So to Google it, play that on the cassette so many times in a row that that eventually he went. This is ridiculous. He was driving, I think, his car. He had a Porsche 914 with the target top. So open top and ejected the cassette from the cassette player and threw the tape somewhere on I-95 out of his car because he's like this is, this is gone too far and I get to that point as well. I don't with streaming. You can't really do that sort of dramatic moment.

Speaker 2: 14:21

Yeah, but.

Speaker 1: 14:22

Harmony Hall by Vampire Weekend people, Great song.

Speaker 2: 14:25

It's on the list. And then our last topic before we move on to Hailey is I want to talk about it. I'm going to say trailer. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1: 14:35

No.

Speaker 2: 14:35

No Swellsy.

Speaker 1: 14:40

Oh yeah, I do absolutely know what you mean. I am so here for this.

Speaker 2: 14:45

Right.

Speaker 1: 14:46

So very here for it.

Speaker 2: 14:47

Now, okay, I'm going to put my preface on this, where I said I wasn't going to say this and I'm just going to like brush over it quickly. I'm not going to go deep into it. I have dated professional athletes Sorry, weston, so no, I know. But the point is like I totally get that, it's very fun and I believe Taylor is just having fun. Yeah, yes, just having a great time and I am living for it. Okay, I feel like maybe we're like it's kind of like a movie type thing, like we're all being maybe played a little bit because it's not really possibly, you know, but I don't care.

Speaker 1: 15:19

And because Travis Kelsey is very good at self promotion, very entertaining.

Speaker 2: 15:24

Do you remember that?

Speaker 1: 15:26

I don't.

Speaker 2: 15:27

So I didn't know this either, but apparently, of course, as any good social media spotlight seeking F list celebrity would, I guess there was a girl that won it and she came out saying how terrible he was and that Taylor shouldn't date him. So of course that she got airtime that she wasn't getting, but yeah, and then he had a date. So I'm like I just want to date a guy that was on a dating show. Is this the guy for Taylor? But he's like you didn't learn anything from Jake Gyllenhaal.

Speaker 1: 15:54

He's really, but he's really kind of kind of fine. I mean he is like he and his brother. Both they have a podcast. It's a lot of fun. They're both like Hall of Fame level players. And what I think has been fun is watching particularly and I'm going to get pseudo political here the conservative media that doesn't care for Taylor because she's trying to get people registered to vote. Let that sit for a bit, folks. Somebody actually posted and it's some conservative media guy actually posted.

Speaker 1: 16:24

Taylor Swift, all she is Travis, get a prenup. She's a. She's a gold digger. And I thought I don't know if you know how this works, pal, but she could buy the Kansas City Chiefs. He's just paid by the Kansas City Chiefs. There was a great quote years ago from Chris Rock talking about you know, people go after professional athletes because of the money they make. And he goes look here, thing, michael Jordan is rich. The guy who owns the bulls is wealthy. Travis Kelsey is rich. Taylor Swift is wealthy. She might be able to buy Missouri, let alone the Kansas City Chiefs at this point.

Speaker 2: 17:02

And good job, for I know you know this but, like a lot of people think Kansas City is in Kansas, so there is a Kansas City in Kansas and sadly it loses the battle of the known Kansas City, oddly.

Speaker 2: 17:13

I want to get to the bottom of some memes that were like you know, somebody was at a game and actually, ironically, was the Chiefs game. Like, wow, taylor, let's football teams happen in her stadiums because of her. You know massive stadium doors, so same idea. But we are living for swell See. Yeah, I like swell see better than trailer, because I think trailer like a trailer that, like you, would live in or use for a race or pull behind a car.

Speaker 1: 17:37

So I just think of former beefy NBA star Robert trailer. I don't know why that's what pops up, but I thought maybe dating Taylor Swift.

Speaker 2: 17:44

But you know anyway, right, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You the best from three to one go.

Speaker 1: 17:49

Yes, we do, we're I mean, I love Taylor Swift.

Speaker 2: 17:52

It's the mashup that I needed this fall.

Speaker 1: 17:54

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Has she done and I know I'm going to be just roundly destroyed for this Did she ever do half time, super Bowl half time.

Speaker 2: 18:04

No, no, I think she's. She's not there yet. Usher, though Usher this year.

Speaker 1: 18:08

But I'm thinking, listen, usher, if, if the Chiefs get there, you bring how can you pass this opportunity up?

Speaker 2: 18:16

I don't know, but then she would overshadow him. So before we're going to move on and we're going to talk about our amazing sponsor, but my friend said to me, because we all thought we all wanted a boy band reunion, right, that was like the big yeah.

Speaker 2: 18:27

Anyway, and I really didn't think that was going to happen, because I think Justin burned that bridge anyway she said to me we were like I'm sure we like usher and she was like Usher is to the younger generation what we felt like when the Eagles did the Super Bowl, my generation.

Speaker 1: 18:42

That's sort of my generation. So are we that old?

Speaker 2: 18:45

But like it was. How many years ago we were like the Eagles and now, like young kids, are like usher. Who's that?

Speaker 1: 18:51

Yeah, I know that's it's, it's, it's incredibly scary, it's, but for sure, I like I'm, I like usher, I'm all for I think he's a great performer.

Speaker 2: 19:00

He's aged well. I hope we get to see a little John pop in there.

Speaker 1: 19:05

No, I would be surprised.

Speaker 2: 19:07

Yeah, I would be less than to be that for the podcast. Yeah, just like when we're recording.

Speaker 1: 19:12

I'd be surprised if we don't. Here's the thing. After when you're my age, you have to realize and I have a lot of friends who don't realize this and will openly criticize half time. And you know they're not singing, it's, it's the rap music, the. The halftime of the Super Bowl is aimed for people around, let's just say, 40 years old. Those halftimes are because that's the demographic of the people who are going to buy stuff. All of this Follow the money. People's all about buying things. Those are the people that they're aiming towards. So for the 40 somethings, usher very big in their, in their lifestyle.

Speaker 2: 19:47

Me.

Speaker 1: 19:48

I, you know I'm sitting here going. I know a Led Zeppelin reunion might be fun with Jason Bonham Not going to happen and you know the kids they want. I don't know whatever TikTok music star, because I don't understand. I don't understand how kids listen to music.

Speaker 2: 20:03

Doja Cat. I see what's it. There's the ice person that has a Duncan commercial. I don't know. Sorry, Now I feel just like.

Speaker 1: 20:07

well, you know me, my favorite treat is an icy. So there you have it.

Speaker 2: 20:12

All right. So that was a lot. We hope you enjoyed it. Please share your thoughts on all of all of the above. And then, if you're thinking about travel, want to shout out our sponsor, our travel agent. We love her. It's Katie McBride. With TravelMation, you can get her to get tips, stress, fee planning, budget. She'll make everything for you. So follow her on Instagram at TravelMation, show her that three, two, one go love and you can find her at wwwtravelkatingmcbridecom and that'll be in the show notes.

Speaker 1: 20:42

Okay civilians.

Speaker 2: 20:43

It's time for the goods.

Speaker 1: 20:44

Let's get on to the interview.

Speaker 2: 20:47

Joining us today is a woman who shares my affinity for Taylor Swift and a pink and green color scheme. She's a professional triathlete who has competed in the US Olympic trials in both swimming and running. She's an Ironman and Ironman 70.3 champ, co-host of the Iron Women podcast, and she's prepping for her first Run Disney event in January. Welcome to three, two, one go, hailey, tara. Hailey, how are you?

Speaker 3: 21:13

and where are you? Oh, thank you so much for having me. I am in Bozen, montana, right now, where the weather is beautiful, perfect, maybe like 50 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny, which I feel terrible talking about, because I know that y'all are like in the midst of hurricane and I think everywhere else in the country is just terrible weather. But I mean, I get my fair share of that in the winter, and so I feel like we kind of have earned these nice days right now.

Speaker 2: 21:42

Yeah, enjoy it. Take all those Yellowstone vibes in.

Speaker 1: 21:46

Yeah, absolutely. That's all I think of with Montana.

Speaker 2: 21:48

That's my fault.

Speaker 1: 21:49

Truth be told those of us in Central Florida, we're not really dealing with too much hurricane wise just a little breezy and little windy, excuse me, and a little little rainy. But our thoughts are with those folks up north of us who are really dealing with the heart of the storm. All right, let's get right to it, hailey, because there's just so much to talk about with you. First, for everyone, talk briefly about your journey from being a collegiate swimmer at the University of Georgia which, as a Florida Gator, I disapprove of in so many ways to a working professional and then to a professional triathlete. What a journey.

Speaker 3: 22:24

I know I actually I remember swimming in Gainesville while I was at Georgia and it's kind of terrible.

Speaker 3: 22:31

Before our meet we actually went to the dining hall and so all of us dressed in like red go into the Florida Gators dining hall and ate there, and I mean the animosity it was always right before the Georgia Florida football game too, when we had that meet. But but no, I mean I'm a fan of the Florida slimmers. For sure you got some good slimmers who come out of that program. But I did swim at Georgia. I did graduate and plan to pretty much not swim again, I think, and I started working in public accounting.

Speaker 3: 23:05

My number one goal was to make as much money as possible and I, my college roommate I was college roommates with Carolyn Joyce, who is a three-time Olympian and her brother was living in Atlanta and he kind of convinced me to just try master swimming. He's like just come and master swimming is 18 and up swimming. And they had this program at Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta, which is a storied swim club, and he was like, just come try it, it's really fun. And so I was like, oh, okay, okay. And it was just like this group of young professionals and the coach, maria Thrash, is just a legendary swim coach and she used to give me a hard time for my words to yards ratio because I would just come in mostly chat and socialize.

Speaker 3: 23:50

Because I was still pretty fast, and so I think that that it kind of just gave me a different perspective on swimming. And at Dynamo, that was when they were just starting a program, maria and Matthew Rose, who is still my coach now. This was like around 2008 time. They were starting a multi-sport program, so Dynamo multi-sport, so triathlon, and I think through meeting them and kind of starting that program, I just got really lucky. I just met these people who were doing triathlon and I was really lucky that Matthew and Maria both kind of spoke my language as far as swimming. Like they could kind of break swim, bike, run down into swimming terminology, which made sense to my 23-year-old brain who had been in the pool most of my life. And so I started training with them and my good friend Betty Janell, who's also still a really good friend of mine.

Speaker 3: 24:45

She qualified for Kona and this was back when you could qualify in half and several halves. And so since she qualified and she was my training partner, I wanted to qualify and I did. I went to Rhode Island and did a half Ironman there and I qualified and I was 23 at the time, so I was pretty young, and we went to Kona that year and that was 2009. And that first Kona was an experience. I was, I think, first amateur woman out of the water and then, I think, 1,300 people passed me, so I was one of those days where I was like John can sympathize with that, I think, I think yeah.

Speaker 3: 25:29

I mean it was. It was not my best performance, but and I think at a certain point I'm like is anyone left back there? Like you get to see everyone in the race? But it's just it's kind of how I raised and having a sub background, but I knew in that first race, even though it wasn't a grand start and it didn't really foretell like a great future, I was like I'm going to come back and I'm going to do better and and I have, and so I think that kind of set the tone. But I was still working in public accounting, which I loved. I was an auditor and I don't know if many people say they love being an auditor but no one loves their auditor.

Speaker 1: 26:05

But I.

Speaker 3: 26:06

I love my coworkers and the firm I was working with and they were very supportive of me and to this day I still.

Speaker 3: 26:13

I raced in, you know, a race in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago and one of my old managers, who's now a partner, was texting because he was watching and I just think that's I don't know, it was just really cool.

Speaker 3: 26:24

I think a lot of my, my career has just been luck, Like I just kind of met the right people at the right time and they have supported me and as I've kind of made increasingly crazier decisions, because after four years as an amateur, I did make the decision to race as a professional and I raced as a professional for a little while it while working. That was just a lot, especially with my travel schedule for work, and so I stepped away from public accounting, which was very hard, and that was in 2013. So it's been 10 years now which I never, I never would have thought that would happen. So it's been a grand adventure, grand adventure and I still, even to this day, some days I'm like, what am I doing? Because I obviously have changed my goals a little bit, from the you know post collegiate wanting to take over the financial world to now just trying to make it through the next race, and you've done extremely well.

Speaker 2: 27:22

You recently were right there on the podium at Ironman Corda Lane. I was there for that. You've won Ironman. You've won Ironman 70.3. And for those of you who are more running oriented that are listening, when we're talking about Kona, that is the Ironman World Championship. So that's sort of the big Kona, if you will, for Ironman. But to me, haley, you know and everybody knows, I'm not yet a triathlete. I've never dipped my toes into the waters of triathlon because it seems scary to me. All the training and everything that you go through, and I watch my husband and I hear you guys and how much you're training and I see it on social media. It's a lot. And you competed in the Olympic trials in the highest level, individually at swimming and then individually at running. So how does triathlon training compare, in terms of volume and dedication and time, to when you were training for those single events?

Speaker 3: 28:10

Yeah, so it's so wild because, as a swimmer, I swam. The 200 Backstroke was my event and it's about a you know, two minute race and that felt so long I just thought that was like the longest thing. I never really swam distance freestyle I probably should have been. But the training for swimming you do a lot, a lot, even though your race is only two or so minutes. You're in the pool a lot and it's a non-impact sport so you kind of can do that and it did give me a really good aerobic base for transitioning into triathlon and into running.

Speaker 3: 28:44

I think that, honestly, when I in 2019, when I kind of stepped away from triathlon a little bit to focus on the marathon and just see what I could do, I was shocked by how exhausted I was from run training. So I think a typical week for me as a triathlete, I'm probably training, like you know, 20 to 25 hours a week, and when I was training for the marathon, I was training, probably like half that, you know, eight to 10 hours a week, which I thought, oh my goodness, I'm going to have so much extra time, I'm going to do so many other things, but I was exhausted because I just think running takes a lot out of you, and I also felt I think my biggest weekly mileage was 70 miles a week, which I know, for, you know, per runners is not a lot, but I felt like I was like on the precipice of injury. You know, it was fascinating and I did realize that if I wanted to like increase that it would have taken me a year, you know. And then this was a. I raced, you know, 70.3 World Championships, the Half Ironman World Championships in September, and then I raced CIM California International Marathon in December. So it wasn't like the longest build but it was different than I expected. I actually it was much, much, much harder than I expected.

Speaker 3: 30:03

And so I think that it is a good reminder that it's not just about the hours and that you have to like respect your body, and I think that's one reason people like Traff on training is because of the ability to kind of do more and you get to do non-impact sports like swimming and cycling, that you can do a little bit more volume and you don't have that fatigue that running brings and I don't have the injury risk, and I am a big fan of cycling as a way to get faster at running. I do think that there is an overlap. I do think you have to do quite a bit of cycling, but I think as a way to get some non-impact time, you know, just doing aerobic exercise, it can be really really good. And I also coach and I've had some athletes who really really have been successful doing a slightly lower run mileage program with adding cycling. And if they can add in swimming, I'm always for that too. But that's always the it's challenging that one, depending on their athletic background, that one is a little tough.

Speaker 2: 31:02

That was more of a hard sell. I'm exhausted.

Speaker 1: 31:05

I'm exhausted just listening to it. I'm sorry I'm going to lay down here and take a nap thinking about that. On the off day I'm just going to go out on a bike for I don't know 100 miles or something. Good Lord.

Speaker 3: 31:15

I mean you don't do it all the time, but if you're fit and healthy enough to go for a 100 mile ride, I mean there's some cool routes you can do. You can spend time with friends. You get to eat all the most terrible foods ever, but I think, you know, it could be like a wonderful thing. It's similar to doing a long aerobic run on some beautiful trails. I mean it's the same kind of buzz I think that you get from each of those.

Speaker 2: 31:39

John, this is what I love about Hailey she's bringing the positive, like she makes you I know, I mean, and I know maybe you're going to say no or not, but she makes you want to be like, okay, I could entertain that idea of getting these endorphins from being outside in the beauty and celebrating endurance with people. John, that's what I think. That's what Hailey sets her apart from other triathletes that I've met is that you have and I've mentioned it before this beautiful vibe and this energy with you that exudes positivity, and I think people like that about you.

Speaker 3: 32:04

Oh, thank you.

Speaker 1: 32:05

Yeah, I'm sure that's. I'm sure that's one of the appeals I just hear. Well, you can hang out with friends, and I was like, well, I could do that on my local group too, and and I don't even break a sweat. All right, now this really kind of leads us into the Ironman World Championships in Kona, I believe October 14th of this year, coming off your finish last year and you finished 13th.

Speaker 3: 32:27

Yes, I think my best, my best finish ever in Kona, which is wild. I mean, it was my. I was talking to someone this morning. It was my eighth trip there, which is wild to hear. I raced four times as an amateur and then that was my fourth start as a pro and and my best finish, and so I do think it's a race where experience does help.

Speaker 1: 32:48

Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure I mean talk about the training for it. Now that you've had this success, you finished in the top 15. I mean, obviously you're going back hoping to better that. How is your training going and what are you setting for a goal? I mean, I know everyone's goal we're going to win the race. But what do you set many goals in there for each discipline, or how do you approach that and what is the how? How is that training and what is that training?

Speaker 3: 33:13

Right, so my goal for this year has been Kona, so the Ironman World Championships. It's typically held in Hawaii, but this year is a little bit different because they're actually splitting up the men's and women's races and so the women's race will be all the race in Hawaii this year will be all women, which is it's going to be amazing, I think, and a big party and the men are going to race in France and that's actually happening thing next weekend, so it's a little bit sooner, so they're about a month apart and two very different locations, and so this has been an ongoing kind of struggle for Ironman. As long as I've been part of the sport was women's participation and for a long time even the pro women. They would allow more men to qualify for the professional field than women and they had gone through so many iterations of how we could earn more slots and if we could get more women in the sport, and just you know, they were kind of ridiculous, like, and I think they finally realized that Ironman is a business and they're missing out on a huge segment of the population and a huge segment of the consumer population by not catering, you know, not making it and invite.

Speaker 3: 34:29

That celebrates women and what makes us feel welcomed, and so it's taken a very long time, but we finally I think just last year was the first time we had equal slots, and so that was I really wanted to be there for that and I was really thankful there were 50 pro men and 50 pro women who qualified, and then this year there will be equal slots and then also an expanded women's age group field, which I think is just fantastic. I think it's going to be just the coolest thing, very, very cool, and so that's why one reason Kona has been on my radar this year I just want to help celebrate that and see what it's like. I'm really into kind of unique race experiences and I want to see what that's like. So, working back to the training part, my whole year has been based on that.

Speaker 3: 35:18

I did have to qualify and so I did qualify in Cortalain. Now the qualification criteria is it's based off of a finish in a certain Ironman branded race and I finished second there and I did get a slot. There were three slots and so that was in June and so I've known I was going to Kona since June and I raced at the PTO US Open in Milwaukee as just a really good race experience. But basically everything has been training for Kona and I do enjoy kind of a long build like and without a lot of racing in between. I think that's just kind of works with my mental and I really enjoy the routine and the day in, day out I'm in Montana, which is right now.

Speaker 3: 36:00

The weather is amazing, but it is not Kona, and that is one thing I worry about is Kona is so hot and so humid and in past years I've done a training camp in Arizona or somewhere hot where I could just practice being miserable, and but this year Arizona is like too hot I think, and and I'm just really enjoying the routine at home. So I might actually stay here and try to do some sauna and heat acclimatization and hopefully, hopefully that works out, but that is the other. The other big factor of racing in Hawaii is I mean, I know the Disney races are hot and humid too, but at least you start at 5 am and you're not running the marathon at 1 pm.

Speaker 2: 36:40

I will say having yes wrong yeah. I was having been in Kona last year for the first time as an announcer. I got there, you know, I went out in Iran and I run here at noon and I'm fine with that. Just my, I'm used to that. It's hot and miserable, but it is a different type of heat, like it's very hard and, as you're saying, you're not only are you running a marathon I don't know what time you're starting, but it's at least in the afternoon but you've already swam and biked for hours.

Speaker 2: 37:02

So the heat there is definitely a factor. I have a question that came up in my mind as you were talking about everything. Ironman 70, point three world championships were last weekend. A lot of the pro women race there. Do you think you have an advantage by not racing that race and solely having focused on Kona?

Speaker 3: 37:17

I hope so. I mean, I think that they're far enough apart. This year I think it was like eight weeks ish, or eight or nine weeks apart, and so I do think they're far enough apart that I'm not counting. I mean, I think if Taylor Nive races Kona, she's going to do, you know, she's going to be ready. And Kat Matthews same.

Speaker 3: 37:35

It was second there and I don't think those women necessarily did themselves a disservice.

Speaker 3: 37:42

I just know that me traveling to Finland, which is where the 70 point three worlds were held, it just I don't, I didn't, it didn't seem like it would be the smartest thing. I think the risk of injury, the risk of illness and the risk of just fatigue wasn't worth it for me this year. And, that said, I've had some really, really good training these last couple weeks and just been able to kind of stack that together and get that consistency and I feel like I'm setting myself up for, you know, the best Kona build I've ever had. And that does add pressure in a way, because there's no excuse, there's no all. But I did well at 70 point three worlds, oh, but I did well at, you know, the PTO, asian Open, that kind of thing, and, and that's OK. I think I'm OK with that. Like the pressure is, is it's a good thing, and if I can go into Kona knowing that I put myself on that start line with the best possible preparation, then that's all I can ask for.

Speaker 1: 38:35

I have to ask profession, excuse me, collegiate, division One, collegiate athletes, if they still call it Division One, I'm losing track of all of that with all the football changes. Professional triathlete when does this motivation come from? From you? Is this something in your family? Did you grow up in a competitive atmosphere? Where did it come from? Because, again, you talked about what your profession in finance and stuff doesn't you know they, they, they're somewhat counterintuitive the way all of us think. Where did this all come from for you?

Speaker 3: 39:08

I did grow up in a pretty competitive and athletic family and I think that I was a pretty intense kid in a way, and I remember being 11 years old and I couldn't fall asleep at night because I was so excited to get up for morning practice. And I think that along the way I've been really lucky to have a couple really good coaches. I did participate in cross country while in high school and the coach at my first high school he was just this math teacher who was just incredible that he knew I was a swimmer and he was like you know what, if you want to come to practice one day a week, we would love to have you and you are part of the team. And he just set this tone. That was just so welcoming and I don't think that happens everywhere and I think it instilled in me this love of running and I always knew that when I was finished with my swimming career I would become a runner and because of how nice all the cross country runners were and how nice the coach was and how welcoming they were and no one gave me a hard time for not being at every practice and they still wanted me to come to the meets that I could and it was just such a good environment and so I knew that I would need to do that. I will say I am thankful that I grew up in sports and I grew up with parents who would go for a run and I got to see that happening when I was a kid Because I did just think that's what people did when they became adults they just would go for a run and I didn't realize until I got into the professional working world that not everyone grows up like that and a lot of people have to learn how to do physical activity as adults and how to work that into their lives. And it's expensive and it's hard and you don't know how to do it and you don't have that kind of guidance, and so I'm really really thankful for that.

Speaker 3: 41:06

And again, I ended up working in an accounting firm where they really valued actually running. One of the managing partners was really into marathons and I did my very first marathon with two of the partners and it was funny. It was the Memphis Marathon and one of them we had a flight out at 1 PM after the race and I had gone there and I was just so nervous because I had to go to dinner. I was a first year staff and I had to go to dinner with two partners and their wives the night before and I was like, what do I wear? And all this? I wasn't even thinking about the race. But then I did the race and they had this thing where they're like if you're too slow, we're going to leave you. And I was like, oh no, and I ended up beating them both and I beat one by one minute and that was actually the worst plane flight back Because I was like, oh, I'm for sure fired now. But I just felt good. We started out together and I just felt good at halfway and I went ahead.

Speaker 3: 42:01

And it's the beauty of being 21 years old and just kind of not knowing what you're doing. But I think I've just been lucky to have these supportive people in my life who were just like keep going, try this. And that was how it was when I was thinking about going pro. It was I could be an accountant when I was 80. But I probably am not going to be a pro-tra athlete when I'm 80. The downside is that financially I probably will be an accountant when I'm 80. Now again, my earnings potential.

Speaker 3: 42:31

But I'm OK with that, I think, because I get down sometimes on my life decisions, but then I'm able to kind of look around and take a step back and talk to some of my trusted advisors and realize that my life experiences have been pretty cool.

Speaker 3: 42:50

I have a map in my garage and I have pushpins for all the places I've been, and it's wild, I mean, for a kid from a small town in Montana to have been to China twice, australia, europe, all over the United States, places like Iceland. I never would have done any of that without sports, and so I'm really, really thankful. I think I've also set myself up health-wise in a better place than I think I would have otherwise, just because I've learned how to structure my life around fitness and health and exercise and get through my 20s and 30s that way, and I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for my strength and the health that I have right now and I hope I can continue that. Even though I know I won't race professionally forever, there's things I've taken away that I'm like, oh, I can do this forever.

Speaker 2: 43:39

I love that, and you kind of alluded to my next question a little bit in what you said, and this is a question that I put in there because I love when people in podcasts ask questions that maybe we think about. But we don't want to ask people. And I'm just going to put this question out there because I always think about this when I'm watching you guys race and I'm looking at your training you talked about I'm not going to make the money I made as an accountant. So for you and for other professional triathletes, where does that income source come from? Is it because you're placing in races? Is it sponsors, is it coaching, or is it just not there and you're living your best life and making core memories because you can be a pro triathlete?

Speaker 3: 44:13

Right, so this is something I've definitely learned about. So I did before I left my accounting job. I saved money for four years and I was very accountant about how I went about this. Of course you were, and I took money out of every paycheck that went to a direct deposit, and so I had a cushion. It wasn't as big as I would have liked, but I had a cushion to get myself started. That said, the financial pressure crushed me Like that first year, and I did well. I won my third pro race, but the prize for winning was $3,000.

Speaker 2: 44:46

Yeah, so that's what I see and I'm going. Well, that barely gets you here. So I'm watching you guys finish and the back of my brain's going but what? So I'm fascinated to hear this.

Speaker 3: 44:58

Yeah, so that first year I mean that was back when iTunes was a thing and I wouldn't even allow myself to pay a dollar for a song Because I was like, no, I was really crazy about finances and I mean it was coming from a financial background and I had a spreadsheet on everything and I was trying to come out in the black with my racing and I qualified for Kona as first out of the water in Kona. These are things that are like should be career defining, and I will say this was 2013. Sponsorship actually came easier back then than it does now, which is the sponsorship. Landscape has really changed with social media and content creation and how that has evolved over the years, and so I had some good sponsors that first year. But I came out of it.

Speaker 3: 45:42

I had an incredible season and I felt terrible. I felt terrible because I was just like watching my bank account get smaller and smaller and it was so much, so much pressure and I didn't know if I could keep doing it and I did. I was really lucky that I had a friend who asked me to start coaching her, and so that got me one person. And then, I think, the next year I kind of posted. I was like, hey, I'll do more. And then I had like three people for the longest time and then it got a little bit better. I think I just got a little bit more established, got some results with my athletes and now I would say the majority of my income comes from coaching and so, and for me, that is what I need, because I can't handle the financial stress of not knowing if I'm going to eat, if not knowing if I'm going to be able to pay my bills, not knowing if I can download the latest Taylor Swift album. I need that.

Speaker 2: 46:41

There's no Napster anymore. We have to do these things legally.

Speaker 3: 46:45

I need to pay for my streaming Because I need that for my mental health. So now that is definitely the majority. All my bills are paid through coaching and there are times when it's a little bit hard and I wonder if I've overdone it, Because I will feel at times a little bit like an age ripper who races pro Because I will spend so much time on coaching. But I just remind myself, I'm like this is just my lot in life and this is how I make it work and it's still a job that definitely works well with racing.

Speaker 3: 47:19

Sometimes I get probably a little bit too into triathlon and I don't have much else. I do coach a few run-only athletes and so that's fun, but for the most part it actually probably has been really good for me just to have that puzzle, to kind of think about someone else and someone else's training and almost have co-workers in a way and other people I'm talking to and communicating with, Because that was another thing that was really really hard. When I left my public accounting job I didn't realize how much my social life came from work and all of a sudden.

Speaker 3: 47:48

I'm training alone and everything is alone, and I was really unhappy and so I've gotten now I think finally I have a pretty good balance and I don't have a huge coaching business and I don't advertise a whole lot Because again I'm going to have my limits of where I can do a good job and still race. But I do think I'm at a point where if I, when my professional career, my own racing career, is winding down, I think I can pivot to a little bit more coaching and still make a living. Am I ever going to make as much money as I would have if I had stayed in public accounting? No, but the things that I wanted then and now are different and I think that's age probably mostly, which is a wonderful, glorious thing.

Speaker 1: 48:39

Well, on the upside for your budget, you don't have to pay someone to do your taxes like we do, so you got that going for you and you could save some money and maybe move into that. For those of us who are a math challenge.

Speaker 2: 48:51

The coach account, the coach account it. That would be great. Here's your training plan. Here's your fiscal plan. Yeah no one wants me. I was an auditor not a tax accountant.

Speaker 1: 49:00

So no one wants me doing their taxes.

Speaker 3: 49:01

This doesn't happen, as we know. You'd be better than me.

Speaker 1: 49:03

You would be better than me.

Speaker 3: 49:05

Trust me on that I can write off this coffee. Ok, I want to you know at.

Speaker 1: 49:07

Run Disney. We hear a lot of stories about people who are fighting through challenges, people coming back from injury, people getting over illnesses, fighting through cancer. You actually had a bike crash a number of years ago when training for Kona, and you've said it was difficult to get back into the group, difficult to get back on the bike, I guess is what was your quote about it? What advice would you give for people? Because, again, we just at Disney we have so many people running their first race, so many people who set that as a goal, overcome a challenge. What advice would you give to somebody in the midst of a recovery or comeback to get to that finish line?

Speaker 3: 49:45

My number one piece of advice is patience. I think that was the best thing that I did, and my coach, he, was incredibly patient with me. I did. I was hit by a car three weeks before Kona in 2015. And it wasn't. I didn't have life-threatening injuries, but they were career-threatening and they were also psychologically devastating. So I worked with a psychologist, which was also probably the best thing I could have done, and I did, in those sessions, talk about do I want to continue? Do I want to keep doing this?

Speaker 3: 50:24

I kind of went back to when my job was as an accountant. I didn't worry about dying at work, and now I do, and it came down to me trying to figure out the reason why I like doing this, and it was. I was like you know what? I do love riding a bike. I do love going on bike adventures, and life comes with a certain amount of risk and you could probably die as an accountant too, less chance, but it can happen and there's a lot of things in life that are risky and we have to weigh those risks and I obviously I definitely mitigate those risks now, as when I get out on the bike, I dress in. That's kind of what I think when I started dressing in all neon and the green and yellow and pink and just trying to I don't know if necessarily bright colors help, but they can't hurt. I spend a lot of money on bike lights. That's not something I will skimp on. I choose my routes carefully and I don't know, is it going to prevent it? I don't know, but it can't hurt and it does give me a little peace of mind. But I also just I do love it, I love getting out there, I love being a part of it, I love going for runs, but I do run a lot on trails. I think I get a little bit nervous running on roads as well, and so I run a lot on trails and away from cars and I think there are ways you can kind of mitigate those risks.

Speaker 3: 51:44

But I think, being patient, realizing why I really enjoyed it, having the right people around me who are also patient, I think I mean I really didn't ride outside for probably I think it was a year at least, and that was my coach was like that's fine. He's like you're fine, you can ride indoors, do all your training indoors, and even I think it was like two years later I was. It was on the like the anniversary, and I was training for Kona again and I had a six hour bike ride and I just I couldn't get myself to go outside. And I had one of my really good friends, erin, who was actually in Cordele and cheering for me this year. She, it was this beautiful day in Bozeman and I was like I can't do it. And so she came over, brought donuts and was like we'll ride inside.

Speaker 3: 52:30

And so I think I think having those kind of people around you and just being like it's okay, you have some, you know some neuroses now, but they're not initially a bad thing. Are they really negatively impacting your life? No, and and then time like again that patient's time gets. Everything is better with time and the human body is amazing and I cannot believe. I mean I cannot believe I have run all my best times since then and just because I was so patient with my recovery and I went to physical therapy and I, you know, cried over how hard it was and I just I thought I would possibly never run again and it has taken a long time but I just stayed healthy since then and I even got to run in the Olympic marathon trials, which is crazy. I mean, I can't believe it. So so, patients and a lot of grace, I think those are.

Speaker 2: 53:24

Those are my, my big pieces of advice, and I think that's important for people to hear. So if you are listening and you're coming back from something and you're looking at your watch or you're thinking about going and you're not who I used to be, just give yourself the okay to be where you are now and give yourself time to get back to whatever version of you is there in the future. Now I'm excited to transition away from triathlon. Now let's talk about the magic. Let's talk about run Disney, because I have it on good authority that the dopey challenge is on your radar for 2024. So what made you decide to do dopey and what are you looking forward to?

Speaker 3: 53:59

Yeah. So hi, my good friend Shelly Anderson, who I met at Dynamo Masters back in 2008. We're still really good friends. We have this really good, you know, friend group that came out of that.

Speaker 3: 54:10

And I say that Shelly always has like some of my best ideas and she's she's not a triathlete, she's Sam at Clemson and she, but she was the one who actually came up with the idea for me to try to qualify for the Olympic trials, like she in the marathon. She was like I think you could do it and I was like I don't know. And then she's like no, I think you could do it, and she was right. And so she's just like a good friend, good advisor in that way.

Speaker 3: 54:33

And she is turning 40 next year and she was like I think we should do dopey and I was like I mean, I was like sure, because I throughout the pandemic, which was a hard time for everyone, I did. I kind of we got this like virtual running mom group I'm not a mom, but I'm part of it and they all love Disney. And so we had like we were talking like every single day and it was just like good to have that social outlet and they love Disney and I don't, I don't, didn't grow up going to Disney.

Speaker 2: 55:06

And so I think you're in a safe space. Haley, you can say that.

Speaker 3: 55:11

They kind of got me like hyped on this and then. But I was a little bit worried about how hard the races are to get into and I was like, do I have it in me? And then I had the experience of trying to get Taylor Swift tickets and that taught me how to be patient and work with Ticketmaster.

Speaker 3: 55:28

And so when we knew that dopey was happening and it worked well with Shelly's schedule and January is actually like a pretty good time of year for me well, good time of year for me to leave Bozeman and go somewhere warmer, and also I just it's not going to conflict with the triathlon and so she was like, okay, what do you think we should do? A Disney race? And so I think even like the morning of because I can't remember exactly when it was, but it was like you know, it was like an eight AM. My time was when it was going to open up registration and I was like you know, I'd had this terrible experience with Taylor Swift and I was like we're probably not going to get in. We're probably not going to get in.

Speaker 3: 56:07

And she was like she's like had a meeting or something. She's like she's a lawyer and so she's like in a meeting and I was like, okay, I'm going to try. And then I was like, what do we sign up for? Do you want to do the half? Like, do we want to do the full? She's like go bigger, go home. And I'm just like, okay, what are we doing?

Speaker 3: 56:22

And I like just hit dopey and then it went through. I like got in. It was like one of those things like I was like fifth in line and I had been for Taylor Swift. I was like 2000 plus like with everyone else. And so I was like, oh, my goodness, I got in and then it would let me sign someone else up. And I was like, shelly, should I sign you up? And she was like, yeah, and then so you know, $1,200. Later I signed up for dopey and I think that I think it was. You know, it was the excitement of it and just I like having something on the calendar and I think that will help keep me going and I want to experience one of these Disney races and but I guess I'll get to experience four.

Speaker 1: 57:04

Well, all right, then that leads to the next question, because I don't know if you know this or not, but costumes are a big part of what people do at our races. Will there be a costume for you?

Speaker 3: 57:13

Oh yes, there's gonna be four costumes.

Speaker 1: 57:15

Oh wow, Nice.

Speaker 3: 57:17

Again, I went into this like knowing that it's a big deal and I think that's part of the appeal. Like I said, I've, like I really like unique race experiences and I feel like I don't have the Disney race experience on my resume and so that's something I really do want to add, and Chris actually helped me. I think we were crowdsourcing on social media some costume ideas and that go with the green, yellow, pink color scheme. I have not put together any costumes yet. Shelly has hers, like all set up Again.

Speaker 3: 57:46

This is why I'm friends with moms, because they're very organized and then they help offset my chaos. So hopefully I'm not like New Year's Eve trying to piece together a costume. But I think I have some ideas and then I'm just been shocked by, like, what's available. It's almost like decision fatigue as there's so many and all an Etsy, like all the costume designers, and then looking at, like you know, past ideas and I just I mean, I'm so excited about this because I'm learning about this whole marketplace for running costumes and how intricate they are and how there's just so much to it, and so I'm hopeful that I can. You know I'm up to the task and I will take Chris's advice and run in them ahead of time, but I'm working on it.

Speaker 3: 58:32

That's like you know everything, as when you're training for Kona, for training for Iron man I'm sure, chris, you know like you put everything off. You're like after the race, after the race, and I'm like, oh goodness, there's so much left for after the race.

Speaker 2: 58:43

But when you're dying there on you know, out on the Queen K, just go back to these Disney moments and think about you know. Okay, well, this is done and I've done an awesome job. What will I be wearing, you know, in January. But I do want to thank you because last year in Kona was my first time there. It was my first time on the announcing Team Better World Championship and I was feeling a lot of imposter syndrome because we're there with Mike Raleigh, we're there with Paul K, we're there with Joe Murphy, and you came over and you asked to take a picture with me because of your one Disney friends and the other announcers were standing right there and it was a moment where I felt like, look, people, I do know how to do this announcing. Like it was really cool and I really thank you for that because it helped me a lot get over my. You know all of those feelings that we have when we're in a new environment, so thank you for that.

Speaker 3: 59:28

When we look at Dopey. I know I'm like move over Mike Raleigh.

Speaker 2: 59:31

I know it really was like oh my gosh, they know, I know how to do this. Yay, like somebody knows who I am. So that was really cool. But we have had one time a woman win all four races of Dopey. Is that Brittany Charbonneau, great friend of ours? Is that on your radar at all?

Speaker 3: 59:52

I listened to your interview with Brittany that you did a few weeks ago. She's an incredible runner, incredible runner, and I'm not going to pretend that like I have her running pedigree and the ability to do that, because I mean I look at these results. In there you have great, great athletes and I don't know if that's something that necessarily motivates me, like the thought of doing that, just because I really want to experience everything, and I don't know in January how my running will be, but coming out of the Montana winner. But I'm going to make a decision, I'm going to see how things are going, you know, probably after Hawaii again, I put everything off till after Hawaii and I will, you know, decide how hard I'm going to run these.

Speaker 3: 1:00:37

I do think I'm running some of my best runs and my best pieces right now at 38 years old, which is fascinating to me and so exciting and so fun.

Speaker 3: 1:00:49

I'm also like, historically you know, I'm a one day, one event athlete, like I do one big day, and so this is going to be different. Doing four days, I have to go back to my swim meet days when you're like bare all weekend. But in my training, you know, I get I do day after day after day. I am going to I think we are going to go to the parks on after the 5K and the 10K because I just want to see what they're like. And I know that that's probably like you don't want to spend too much time on your feet but I just have to be like I'm an endurance athlete and I don't know. I just I want to see them and we're going to be like careful and hydrate a lot and that kind of thing. But that is part of the plan is to do some you know park time, just because I'm you know, I'm 38 years old, but I need the Disney experience.

Speaker 2: 1:01:38

We can't wait to have you there. And I will say, and I'm sure you know this, olympic trials are February 4th, so right after Disney, so most people would not come and run that marathon hard that we're sort of in that trials part, not that that plays into you know, I know, but for Brittany that was her hardest one. But come have fun, enjoy, I mean running down Main Street, usa. The Christmas decorations are up. I'll make sure there's some Taylor Swift played for you and much to John Chagrin in January, a little bit of Christmas music. But come, come, enjoy it, because I think that you might find a new, a new love. After you know, accounting, triathlon, run Disney.

Speaker 3: 1:02:15

I think I will and honestly, like I've already when I signed up, I've had a few other people who are like, oh, wow, like. And you know I just think there is this allure of the Disney races. I'm a very competitive person. So even though I'm sitting here in you know August saying, ah, I don't know, I might just go for fun, you know that gun goes off and I have a hard time holding back. So I'll just see what kind of fitness I'm in.

Speaker 3: 1:02:36

But I mean, I've heard I've had athletes and friends do like wine and dine and say really good things, and I am just really amazed at how many people do the, you know, do the multiple races. And I do think that's something that you know is a really cool challenge and it's not something I've ever done, and so I'm really excited for that experience too and what it's like. And so there's so much about this that I'm looking forward to and the costumes. I mean, one of my biggest regrets in my life was like in college a couple of my friends did a costume for Myler and I didn't have the confidence to dress up and I'm like, okay, we're a couple of decades later and now here's your chance, go all out.

Speaker 2: 1:03:15

I mean, we could do a Taylor Swift mashup, some kind of. You know, we'll work on it, We'll think about the dragon from Reputation. Pete's Dragon, like I don't know, that is one.

Speaker 3: 1:03:25

I've got to figure out the wings, cause I'm like that sounds so fun, but that might need to be like the 5K one. That's right, I don't know.

Speaker 2: 1:03:31

I mean you can go straight up Dynamo, you can go in the kit. You know, for the final day We'll discuss this offline and then listeners Haley's going to tell us how to get in touch with her. If you have ideas, even Etsy links after Kona, send them to her.

Speaker 3: 1:03:45

Yeah, yeah, wait, wait, cause I'm like so bad at, I'm like the worst at checking DMs and everything. But yeah, I am. I'm on Instagram. You should be able to find me HaleyTura23. I have a weird name which makes me very easy to find, I feel like, and then I do wear a lot of neon, which makes me a little bit easier to find in person.

Speaker 1: 1:04:02

Well, you should be aware, Haley, that we do informal poll and it seems like more people spend a greater amount of time working on their costumes in our race than they do their training. They will admit that. So it really, you know. It's about 50-50 on that and some of the things you see will be absolutely amazing. And, speaking of that, of all the things you've seen through your inspirational career, what's the most inspiring thing you've ever seen in a race?

Speaker 3: 1:04:27

I think I'm most inspired by my competitors actually, and that is the people, you know, at the very front. I remember years ago I was at this race and Radka Caulfeld, who was a fellow pro we was an out and back and I started coming back and she was leading and she was just going so hard and I was like, oh, that looks awesome, I wanna be able to run like that someday. And it took me a little while. But you know, I feel like I've had some races that were like that, where I'm still pushing so hard on the run and in those final stages. And that's also how I felt last year watching Chelsea Cidero in Kona, who you know, she won first American to win in a long time, and it was just so cool to see her in the front of the race and just pushing and I was, you know, a little further back and a little less fierce and I'm like, okay, you know, someday maybe I can, I can put in the training so that I'm like that and I look like that at mile 20, because that would be amazing. And so I'm really inspired by them. But I'm also inspired by, you know, my competitors who are a little further back.

Speaker 3: 1:05:34

I think that I understand how hard the sport is and there are a lot of women who have full-time jobs, who race pro and who are out there with less than ideal training and they're still doing it and I think that that's so cool.

Speaker 3: 1:05:47

Or there could be someone who's having a rough day and because it just happens it's Ironman, such a long event, and you know, they're still doing what they can to get to themselves with the finish line and I get really, really inspired by that. I thought, as well as the age group athletes I in in quarter lane I was, I was struggling at we're a good chunk of that marathon and there were so many other athletes like pro age group who cheered me on and, you know, took that moment and their precious like heartbeats and breath and helped keep me going. And and I am inspired by that because I think that it's so kind and and I don't think I'm always the best person to like reciprocate it or acknowledge it in the moment, especially if I'm feel like I'm dying, but I feel it Like I definitely feel it and inside it's it's keeping me going.

Speaker 2: 1:06:41

I love that and I think women too and we'll see this at the women's only race and Kona really support each other and that lifts everybody up, so it's amazing when you can see that happening and to be a part of it. I want to know if people want to follow you, your career, the Iron Women podcast where can people go to follow you and support you as you train for Kona and beyond?

Speaker 3: 1:07:01

Yeah, right now, I think yeah. Iron Women podcast is a weekly podcast I co-host with Alyssa Kadeski. Karissa has been a guest and we interview women from endurance sports, mostly professional triathletes. But that is probably the best way to get regular updates on me, Cause I taught comes out every Thursday. And then Instagram I'm Haley Chura 23. And that is my probably second most updated thing. I put out a couple of YouTube videos this year, which was a fun and new adventure and it's been kind of interesting, but I think it's just Haley Chura on YouTube and those are probably the most up to date. I have other social media things, but I think I'm not the best at updating everything. It's hard, it's very hard. And then, hopefully, in person, if anyone is in Hawaii or at Dopey, I mean, hopefully you can spot me and come say hello, because I really enjoy meeting people in person. I think that's really fun. Karissa, will you be in Hawaii this year? I sure will.

Speaker 2: 1:07:59

Oh, great, awesome, I will get there. So we're still figuring that out, because Clara's a gymnastics meet that weekend before and I'm missing two other Virgin Massics meets. So the Ironman team was kind enough to let me come in a little bit later, so I'll either be there on Sunday or Monday, but I will just get right into it. Well, maybe I'll get to interview a bike check-in.

Speaker 3: 1:08:16

Oh, nice, it's a big week for you. I mean, oh my God, cause I think I'm flying out Monday so you might be there before me.

Speaker 2: 1:08:22

Well, they usually want us to come. This is not you know. They want us to come early for like all the swims and stuff. So I'll be there. I'm so excited to support the women with Joanne Murphy, paul K, eric Gilson, and we'll be there. We're not allowed to have favorites, so we'll be rooting for all of you equally.

Speaker 3: 1:08:37

But yeah, I mean I don't have favorite announcers either. It's fine, my Karoli's gone.

Speaker 2: 1:08:42

We're going to change that. Are you ready? Wait till.

Speaker 1: 1:08:44

January. Are you ready? Wait till January.

Speaker 3: 1:08:48

I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm allowed to have favorites. I have all of all of my favorites. I will say, you know, in Montremblant last year when I did get to go back at midnight and watch Mike Riley call in those final finishers, I was like, oh, this is magic and I had been at other midnight finishes and I hadn't appreciated him like I should have. And that was very, very cool. He will be missed for sure. And but I thought you did a fantastic job in court delay and I loved all the again. I remember in transition when I was hearing the like Taylor Swift shout outs and again smiling on the inside. I was very much smiling on the inside and then you had to watch me come across the line and like sob for a few minutes. But that's what happens.

Speaker 2: 1:09:32

No, mike, really yeah, in a ducky in January.

Speaker 3: 1:09:34

I'm going to be just all smiles hopefully.

Speaker 2: 1:09:36

Well, I hate to tell you this now, but when you finish the 5K, the 10K and the half, john and I will still be starting people, probably. So we miss the first finishers. We'll probably be there by the marathon. But I will say, mike Riley, that finish line that he did, that's kind of what transformed the sport, I think, what he brings to a finish line there at the last couple of magic hours there. So, great guy, but you're a great girl, hailey, and we are so thankful that you took time with us today, right, john?

Speaker 1: 1:10:04

Absolutely, hailey. Thank you so much. Best of luck moving forward to the World Championships and Kona. We look so forward to seeing you in January and you get a taste of what is a highlight for us every year. Thanks for spending some time with us on 321 Go and hopefully we'll talk to you again down the line.

Speaker 3: 1:10:22

Yes, thank you so much, and as we get into that dopey challenge, I'll be reaching back out for more tips on how to sneak my way in there and have a really, really good day, but I'm really really looking forward to it, so, and meeting more people from your run Disney community, because it seems like a really special place. So thank you for having me.

Speaker 2: 1:10:43

All right athletes here's the drill Time to shape up your diet, harissa, give them the goods. All right, john, we're gonna shape up our diet today, talking about bone health, and I was gonna ask you if you think you have strong bones but you love milk. So I think I know the answer.

Speaker 1: 1:11:02

I, yeah, I am, as my wife says, addicted to milk. I drink probably too much of it. I drink so much of it that you once gifted me with coupons for free milk and, as my wife will attest to, I jumped up and down. You sent them to me anonymously and I jumped up and down. I was so excited to get them and shout out to A2 Milk, cause it is fabulous, it's my favorite, but I do, I drink too much. I probably go through a half gallon of milk at least every two days, but day and a half is probably more.

Speaker 2: 1:11:33

Well, you're getting that calcium, you're getting some protein and, I think, bone health. When we think about concerns with bone health, that really goes into those, those paler skin. You know women, as we get 50 and up, cause there's some concerns about that. So we think about calcium, we want to increase our bone health. Most people listening this, myself included, especially women are not getting enough calcium. So this is kind of that nudge to maybe track for awareness just to see how your calcium stacks up.

Speaker 2: 1:12:01

I know I am the opposite of you. I don't drink dairy milk. So when I'm looking for milk alternatives or even orange juice, I'm looking for that calcium fortified. But as we are boosting our bone health, we've got to think about fortified plant-based milk alternatives leafy greens, tofu, almonds, sesame seeds, but there's other things too that are going to help with bone health. Some of this you know, but again, my job as a dietitian is sometimes just to remind you of what you know, so you do it a little bit better.

Speaker 2: 1:12:28

The vitamin D, sun exposure, which you want to do safely, but it is in some foods, again, those fortified milks, those fish, even egg yolks, which is why we always want to eat the whole eggs. Magnesium so magnesium is something that I encourage people to look at for a couple of reasons Sleep, calm, digestive benefits but it helps convert vitamin D into its active form, which then aids in calcium absorption. And this is probably why nutrition confuses people, because we're going from A to B to Z or over the map. We also know about vitamin K. So, again going back to those green leafy vegetables, couple things you want to avoid if you're concerned about bone health. Too much soda and too much caffeine affects calcium absorption. So if you're having your milk in your coffee kind of like we had that conversation about wine and tannins and vitamin and mineral absorption you have to be careful with that because over time, if the calcium's not absorbing in your bones because you're drinking caffeine all day long, you're gonna have an issue. John, exercise Exercise did you know it was important for your bones?

Speaker 1: 1:13:33

I did not. I knew it was important, but I did not know specifically that it helped. Well, it's important for a lot of things.

Speaker 2: 1:13:38

It's called Wolff's Law and so it kind of says that, yeah, this is true, it's what it's actually called. I think it's Wolff's 2 Fs. When you do weight bearing exercise, especially strength training, and you put a strain on your bone from that in a good way it responds by the strengthening itself. Kind of like with muscles, you tear the fibers, you know when you exercise they come back stronger. Bones do the same thing. So women over 50, make sure that you're doing that. Strength training, even if it's little weights at home, doing it safely, is going to support your bone health without anything else. And then adopt these practices truly as early as you can in life. So I'm saying women over 50, but if you're younger and listening women, make sure that you're getting this in, because that's going to help ensure optimal bone strength and reduce the risk of osteoporosis and fractures as we age. So I'm a big advocate for total body health. Think about your bone health. Get in that weight bearing exercise.

Speaker 2: 1:14:30

Look for more calcium sources, because I too because I don't do dairy or yogurt I do have to pay more attention to that. But join healthier you if you want help with your calcium or any part of your diet. We are just in the midst of our fall special, which means when you sign up, you're going to get a bonus three day free meal plan. If calcium's your concern, when you sign up, let me know. I will make you a special calcium focused three day meal plan. You can use the code podcast and you're going to get your meal plan today. 12 weeks of healthier you and that's going to save you $150. So use the code podcast at gallowaycoursecom.

Speaker 1: 1:15:05

Athletes listen up it's mail. Call time, announce a free present. All right, sarge, thanks. Now this question isn't from one specific person, carissa, but it's probably the most oft question thing brought up to us. So we thought we'd talk a little bit about the evolution of our costumes for run Disney races. Now I hope you know this. I have no idea when did we start getting costumes and let me just preface that by letting people know that in the beginning, when Carissa and I began, prior to run Disney being a thing, we would get merchandise for the race, so polo shirts, jackets, if need be, pullovers, that sort of thing. When did the costume thing start?

Speaker 2: 1:15:49

That's a really good question, because I even wrote this and I can't tell you the date, but I can tell you I believe it was the first or second princess and I don't think you did you do princess when it started. I feel like you didn't do it right away for some reason.

Speaker 1: 1:16:06

I, you know what. I wouldn't remember that either. Perhaps not, or I worked in some sort of ancillary position, not the race itself. Maybe that's what it. You didn't come to the start.

Speaker 2: 1:16:18

So I think the first year because there's a picture of Cree Kelly and I in a storybook and we've got red windbreaker jackets on and I've got this horrific pair of like gray express pants that, like my 20s, young 20s, something where self thought looked professional. Because they will say, and I have a version to khaki pants and polos, I don't like them either, because I had to wear them so much when we first started. Nobody looks good in khakis and women don't look good because they kept giving me men's polo shirts. That's not the point. I get very triggered by polo shirts.

Speaker 2: 1:16:49

But the second year I had to go to costuming in the morning and I was dressed as a princess, not a specific princess, but I was just in a princess outfit. I had a big wig, this red dress, and so that was the first costume. But I even think after that we went back to maybe for marathon weekend, we were just in the polo shirt and the khakis or the black pants. And then Tower of Terror, we started definitely being costumed. Expedition Everest I believe we were always costumed at Expedition Everest. But Disneyland really went harder into the costumes and I think when we had our director some say Felin, some say Felin. John Felin came in and kind of made it like we're always gonna have them costumed, which is done by Disney Costuming. Does that seem to connect with your recollection?

Speaker 1: 1:17:36

Yeah, it really does, and I have pictures of us from that Tower of Terror year with me dressed as like a forties. I don't know, radio looks like a Walter Wynchley type thing. Good morning everyone in the ships at sea, blah, blah, blah, blah, that sort of thing. So that does sound a bit right, though Please don't search out those pictures. I look horrible in them.

Speaker 2: 1:18:00

I have them. I know you do, I know you're not I prefer that you not put them on.

Speaker 1: 1:18:05

So that means 100% folks.

Speaker 2: 1:18:07

you'll be seeing those on our no, I won't, because there's other race announcers in the pictures that are no longer with us.

Speaker 1: 1:18:13

Ah, okay, all right, I went there.

Speaker 2: 1:18:16

I went there, so I'll tell you about that.

Speaker 1: 1:18:18

I know you did, but yeah, that kind of hits for me. I do know that with Expedition Everest was always sort of a standalone thing as far as it. It was always a more theatrical production.

Speaker 2: 1:18:28

It had just a different feel than other races, because you weren't always a race announcer at Expedition Everest, correct?

Speaker 1: 1:18:34

me if I'm wrong either. No, I was.

Speaker 2: 1:18:36

I was the announcer, but then there was a character that came in.

Speaker 1: 1:18:42

Gary Erick's the Getty Addickson character which by the way was played, which every year was played by a different performer, I think including our director, Mark Ferrara, at one point.

Speaker 2: 1:18:54

Thank goodness you remember you mentioned Mark John, because what if we went a whole episode and you didn't say Mark Ferrara? What would happen?

Speaker 1: 1:19:00

I know well that's how he sort of decides whether or not we're doing this stuff. So kind of have to stay in his good graces and I'm about to head out on the Disney Wish with him to host some shows next week. But at one time for Expedition Everest I was Gary Erickson and John Pelkey race announcer and had scenes with myself via video so that one always sort of stood alone and I think probably some of the positive feedback that they got from that was what led John Fallon when he came in and I believe it's Fallon to sort of institute it in all the races. And it really has been fun, even through those years when everyone else was dressed as something cool and I was whatever character disappeared earliest in the film and I know it fends you when I say so. I won't say that I was ever dressed as Bambi's mom, but those sort of characters were what I was dressed as it doesn't offend me.

Speaker 1: 1:19:53

For a long I was always the Porg, so whatever was for lunch, that sort of thing, that was my character.

Speaker 2: 1:19:59

Well, the costumes have evolved and I think the athletes stepping up their costume game allowed us to step up our costume game, and it's one of the things that I most look forward to every Waste Weekend. So if you have any other more specific costume questions or any questions at all Run Disney, non-Run Disney related, email them to us at 321gopodcast, at gmailcom or on Instagram. You can share them with us at 321gopodcast. And then, John, we want tips. We want to share tips.

Speaker 1: 1:20:26

Yes, you had your finger up, I believe.

Speaker 2: 1:20:28

do you have another thought?

Speaker 1: 1:20:29

It's okay, I was just gonna say. I know there are always a lot of questions about costume and I'm gonna tease that later on, as we get closer to Wine and Dine, we will actually have some people who are experts on the costume from Disney Costuming and otherwise. So we'll talk more about this in the future because it is probably 60% of the questions we get are questions about that and 0% of our input is put into the costume.

Speaker 1: 1:20:53

Yeah, we have nothing honestly have nothing to do besides telling them what our sizes are, which they generally don't believe in me and then they measure me again anyway. We have no input whatsoever.

Speaker 2: 1:21:05

So that's it. But keep asking the questions and then tips. Like John said, if it's a costume tip, if it's a tip for someone doing their first dopey or even their first Run Disney email, we want to put together expert tips from Run Disney athletes for newbies, so send them to us. And then keep listening and keep sharing. We love when you guys share it on Instagram. It makes us feel good that you are enjoying the podcast. So keep doing that and we will keep doing this.

Speaker 1: 1:21:29

Absolutely. I'm heartened by how many people talk about they use us during their training. I think that's fabulous and it was something I don't think. You and I, we really didn't know what to expect, but thank you all for listening. We couldn't be happier about what we're doing.

Speaker 2: 1:21:42

Yeah, thanks for listening. Thank you, Hailey, Keep listening and we'll see you next time.

Speaker 3: 1:21:45

Bye Mom, let's go. ご嗯 One, two, three.