Happy New Year and welcome to the Allie on the Run show.
I'm your host, Allie Feller, and I am so happy you're here with me today.
If you are new to the Allie on the Run show, welcome.
It is so great to have you.
And I will tell you that normally on this show, what I do is talk with people who are doing exciting things on the run and beyond.
From professional athletes and celebrity runners to the everyday amateur and back-of-the-pack runner.
We celebrate everyone and anyone who enjoys a life on the run.
So, whether you're running towards something big or away from something that's been holding you back, my job is to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace, whatever that means to you.
So that's the gist.
That's what we do here.
It's really fun, and I have a tradition.
Every year I do an episode that is essentially the Allie on the Run show.
State of the Union episode.
It's helpful for me to take some time looking back, looking at right now and looking forward.
It is not meant to encapsulate everything I want to do this year or everything I didn't quite do in the previous year.
There's a lot of that, but I love reflecting, dreaming, scheming, and planning.
This episode also holds me accountable, or at least I claim it does, and I like sharing it with you because I don't know if I've mentioned this recently, but I love you and I value you, and you are the reason that I do this.
I am the host, but you are the community, you are the people, you are my people and you truly are the heart and soul of this show and this community.
And boy, do we have a lot to cover today.
I'll be breaking this episode up into a few parts.
First, I'll give you the Allie on the Run show by the numbers and some superlatives from 2025.
All the good stuff, the less good stuff, with a bit of reflection on my personal highlight and low light reel from the year.
Yeah, 2025 bit of a doozy, but it also had some of the highest highs ever, so we'll celebrate those.
Then I will revisit my 2025 goals, the ones I shared in last year's State of the Allie on the Run show episode, and we'll find out which ones I pursued later, which ones were failures and failure is not necessarily a bad thing and which ones I totally forgot about.
There's always a few of those.
And then we'll look forward.
I'll share my mission statement for 2026, along with a few personal and professional goals that are on my mind right now.
So if you're ready, I'm ready.
Let's take a look at the past, present, and future of the Allie on the Run show.
In 2025, the Allie on the Run show surpassed 25 million downloads and released 82 episodes with more than 70 different guests.
There were 32 first timers and 38 returning and recurring guests, plus 11 solo episodes and six live shows.
This year, we had a new guest take the top spot as the most recurring guest of the year.
Before I say it, do you have any guesses?
Think of it in your head.
Yeah.
Cousin Jackie.
Jacqueline Adair, my cousin and closest friend, made her Allie on the Run show debut with a special Love on the Run episode in February and then rejoined the show for episodes recapping my 40th birthday party and my first and fifth rounds of chemotherapy.
So we started high and then mostly just talked about cancer stuff.
As for all time appearances coming in with 13 episodes each, the most recurring guests on the Alley on the Run show are Kira D'Amato and Des Linden.
In third place, Nikki Hiltz has been on the Alley on the Run show 12 times.
We have three guests who are ready to enter the 10 Timers Club.
I'm sure we'll make that happen this year.
Molly Seidel, Emily Sisson, and Emma Bates have each been on the Alley on the Run show nine times.
I again did not get my act together for Love on the Run week in 2025, but I did put out two Love on the Run episodes.
You know I love those.
One with the aforementioned cousin Jackie and a second episode featuring Dakota and Montana Popain.
So we still had a lot of love to go around, just not a full week of it.
Don't worry.
I am already planning this year's and have ideas.
We'll see if I actually make them happen.
I always have the ideas.
It's just a matter of bringing them to fruition.
In general, I didn't get back to doing the series that I love so much on this show.
I still did the tried and true everything you need to know about episodes.
I did those for the Boston, Chicago and New York City marathons and also did an episode about everything you need to know about Grand Slam track, which I guess In hindsight we didn't know everything we needed to know.
We still don't know everything we needed to know.
And I will tell you, I was not paid to do that episode.
I'm not paid to do any of my episodes.
If I'm getting paid, it's by a sponsor.
And you'll know I don't get paid by guests or organizations.
You will always hear something like this episode of the Allie on the Run show is brought to you by in an official sponsorship capacity.
Cool?
Cool.
I almost never look at my download numbers or at the podcast charts anymore, but for this episode let's do just that.
The most downloaded episodes of the year.
I'll give you, how do you feel about top 10?
Top 10, starting at number 10.
Number 10, The Support Squad, episode number two with Connor Nichol.
Number nine, Emily Infeld's 2025 USA Track and Field Outdoor National Championships 10,000 meter recap.
Oh my gosh, that win by Emily at USA is.
The love felt around the country for her was absolutely incredible.
It's impossible not to want to support Emily Infeld.
The eighth most downloaded episode of the year was everything you need to know about the 2025 Boston Marathon.
Number seven, a look at life since chemo round two.
I did a solo episode after the worst week of my life or yeah, it was probably the worst week of my life.
It was after I got so so so sick after my second round of chemo, and I just felt like I wanted to come on and explain what had been going on and where my head was at.
The sixth most downloaded episode, Allie Ostrander, professional runner for Wazelle.
Allie had all kinds of life updates this year.
She's another one that Everyone loves.
She obviously has her super popular YouTube channel.
She's got a massive following.
And I think a lot of those people came on over to hear her on the alley on the run show, which is very cool.
The fifth most downloaded.
She is podcast gold.
Molly Seidel on returning to the New York City Marathon.
Molly ended up having a tough day in New York, but I loved hearing about her outlook heading into it.
And we all just love hearing from Molly.
She's so unfiltered.
You never know what you're going to get.
So always great having her on the show.
The fourth most downloaded was Nikki Hiltz's 2025 USA Track and Field Outdoor National Championships 1500 meter recap.
Not only did Nikki win USA's, but this was a really special episode where they talked about having top surgery a year prior.
I'll talk about that episode a little later in this episode, but that was a really special one for me.
The third most downloaded episode on the Allie on the Run show in 2025 the support squad episode with Cousin Jackie.
This was the first time we had done one of these.
It was after my first round of chemo and so much had happened leading up to that day.
And in even making chemo happen, we had dealt with a lot of issues, a lot of administrative stuff, and I hadn't I'm pretty sure I had no episodes lined up and I was like Jackie, let's record together.
And that's really how the support squad episodes became a thing.
I realized it was actually kind of fun to sit down with my friends.
It was helpful for me to hear their perspectives on the day I'm going to chemo on being a support person.
And throughout the year, I feel like I've gotten to introduce all of you to my little cast of characters.
Um, this sounds.
I don't know how this sounds, but uh, they're all my best supporting actors and actresses because they're my supporters.
And so I do think of it that way that they're you know I don't get to do my job without them or have my role or my life.
And so it's been very cool getting to introduce my cast of characters to all of you.
The second most downloaded episode of the Allie on the Run show in 2025 was Des Linden.
Western States endurance run pacer.
This was, of course, Des' episode where she talked about dipping her toes into the ultra world.
And we also recapped the Boston Marathon, which was her last professional marathon.
So lots to catch up on.
Again, Des is always such a treat to have on the show.
And in, for better or worse, no surprise, the number one most downloaded episode of the Allie on the Run show in 2025 was episode 813, a life update from Allie again.
This was the episode where I shared that my breast cancer had returned and spread.
So that was also the biggest day of the Allie on the Run show in 2025, June 6th.
It was the day that I shared that a lot was going on in my world.
I was now existing as a stage four cancer patient.
So really fun, really, really awesome episode to top the Allie on the Run show charts.
But Seriously, that day was a big day for me.
And if you've listened to those Support Squad episodes, you now know that that day was big for my loved ones too, which I didn't realize until we did these episodes.
Sharing with my world what we all knew and had known for weeks, it just made it that much more real.
And my inclination is to say that recording that episode was hard, but when I actually reflect back, it wasn't.
And I'll tell you why with an analogy that you may or may not appreciate.
I, like so many, absolutely devoured Taylor Swift's The End of an Era docuseries these past few weeks.
I loved all six episodes, loved rewatching the era's tour with so much more context, though I will say I still want more.
I need to know how the set lists were decided.
I need more about the outfits.
I need more nitty gritty down dirty details.
So I'm not saying that what we're doing here and what we do at live shows is in any way on a similar scale to what Taylor Swift is doing in sold-out stadiums around the world.
But there were so many moments in that docuseries where I was like oh, I can relate to that in my own way.
And I mean, I'm sure a lot of you felt the same at times.
That's the magic of Taylor, right?
We can somehow always relate.
In the first episode, Taylor Swift is dealing with some tough stuff behind the scenes, having to do with a terror plot and some Just, it was just devastating.
And yes, there's the I can do it with a broken heart element and there's the life of a showgirl element.
But essentially Taylor likens her role with her fans and with this show to being a pilot that, no matter what's going on behind the scenes, she has to stay steady.
She has to put on her her pop concert.
Like she says she has to deal with her shit and then show up because if she freaks out, everyone freaks out.
She sets the tone.
So when I shared that my breast cancer had come back and spread, I was intentional in when and how I shared that news with all of you.
I didn't want to do it too soon.
I needed some time to process, to figure out, to get my footing, because the information it was so new and raw and I had not started processing it.
And I will say that I shared before I had started processing it.
I still don't think I've processed most of it.
But I also wanted to be transparent and bring you That big life update as it was happening, because it was all encompassing.
It had taken over my entire life.
I was never not thinking about cancer.
So mostly, I think I just needed you all to know that I was drowning and I was scared and I was starting chemotherapy again and that was going to seriously impact my ability to show up and work as normal.
In addition to being scared, though, I wanted to steer this ship.
I wanted to reassure you all that I am hopeful.
Does anyone have a game at this point where you take a gel every time I say delusionally optimistic?
Because you will be so energized.
I felt like it was my responsibility to be honest about my reality, my diagnosis and my prognosis, while also being the one in the driver's seat.
I do.
I do. most of my crying offline.
And that is so I can come to you from a steadier place.
So yeah, putting that episode out there, I'm not surprised it was the most downloaded of the year.
The outpouring of support that day was insane.
And it continues to be.
I have not caught up on texts and calls and correspondence and thank you notes.
It's just, it's so It's so much to be the recipient of that amount of love and kindness.
And so much of it is from total strangers.
And I know I say we're not strangers.
We're best running friends.
But like most of us don't know each other in real life.
And the way that you showed up for me this year is something that you know.
I will tell Annie about someday.
And when we're both very old, that's the plan.
Okay.
Back to business.
In this episode, I always like to go back and look at the most downloaded episodes of all time.
And one thing to keep in mind is obviously downloads are cumulative.
So it's very unlikely that an episode that just came out a week ago is going to be the most downloaded of all time at this stage.
So most of these are older episodes that have accumulated downloads.
But here we go.
Top 10.
You feel good about a top 10?
Cool.
The 10th most downloaded episode of the Allie on the Run show of all time is everything you need to know about the 2023 Boston Marathon.
In ninth place, my Eugene Marathon recap with guest host Kira D'Amato.
The eighth most downloaded Ellie Kemper Marathoner.
Seventh, Molly Seidel on returning to racing in 2023.
This is when we got an update after not hearing from Molly for a little bit.
Sixth most downloaded again Molly Seidel, but this one is the Girl Talk episode with Molly Seidel and Anush Arikelian.
That one was really fun.
It came right after Love on the Run Week, and it was kind of the antidote to Love on the Run Week.
In fifth place, Jess Sims, the Peloton instructor with her 2022 Boston Marathon recap.
I think Jess Sims is one of the greatest fitness instructors ever.
I love her.
I'm such a fan and loved hearing about her Boston Marathon recap run in 2022 fourth most downloaded.
This is cool that this is in in the top four.
Callum Neff pacer for Kira D'Amato's American record at the Houston Marathon.
Uh, it was really cool hearing his perspective.
He had never run a 219 marathon and there were so many good takeaways.
I think one that I know a lot of people refer back to was Callum telling Kira when she was hurting toward the end this is what it feels like to run an American record.
And I think we can all apply that to our own running.
The third most downloaded episode is everything you need to know about the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon.
That makes sense because those are the episodes that again, I think transcend the Allie on the Run show audience, as we get the nearly 60000 runners about to run the New York City Marathon who also want that information.
The second most downloaded of all time is episode 647, a life update from Allie.
This was when I shared my first breast cancer diagnosis in 2023.
And it remains the most downloaded episode of all time on the Allie on the Run show is episode 420 live with Molly Seidel, Olympic bronze medalist.
This was that virtual live show that we did with picky bars, where we had a couple drinks and talked about the Olympics.
And it was awesome.
Okay, my most memorable.
These are the ones beyond the charts, beyond the numbers, the episodes to me that stood out so much.
And they really all were special in their own way.
They always are.
But some of my personal most memorable highlights on the show from 2025.
We've got my friend, Chris Heisler, who came on the show and talked about his family being on Family Feud.
Chris is just such a good storyteller.
I hang on every word that he says.
And they have a family tradition where he's one of five kids.
And each time one of them turns 40, they do something big and amazing.
And when his sister turned 40, they got on Family Feud.
And I, you know, here's the other thing is something like that.
Chris is a runner, right?
And that episode was rooted in a conversation about running and Chris's relationship with running and his work in the industry.
But then we talk about Family Feud, which everyone can appreciate, because who out there hasn't watched at least 12 episodes of Family Feud while being home on a sick day?
No, that was really more the price is right.
But Family Feud stands the test of time.
I... will always remember.
You know, I always say I'll always remember.
I don't know what I'll remember.
My memory is terrible.
But as of now, I remember when I went to the track at New Balance last year and I recorded an episode with Parker Valby in person.
And then, halfway through the interview, Vernon Norwood happened to pop in and sat down and took a mic.
And then I sat there while the two of them talked.
And it was such an unlikely trio of, And that conversation went in so many directions that I did not expect.
And I remember just sitting there and being like, what a funny job I have.
I loved introducing.
You know I said I didn't do a lot of series this year, but one that I did start and that I love is Caroline Moss wants to run the New York City Marathon.
Caroline is someone that I have followed online for years and this year got to become an actual friend of.
We hung out in real life.
We went out to dinner and, Uh yeah, Caroline's become a really good friend and it was so fun bringing on someone who does not identify as a runner but who has marathon dreams and talking about how she's going to make those happen.
So this is her year.
2026 is the year Caroline's hoping to run the marathon and we will be documenting it.
And I loved the response to that series has been great.
Sophia Camacho.
Soph is an incredible runner in New York City, and I love, love, love this conversation.
Also, the feedback about this one was incredible.
So many of you were really drawn to Sophia's story and it was an honor and a privilege to get to share that here on the show.
I mentioned this earlier, Nikki Hiltz talking about top surgery.
This was probably my favorite, most meaningful episode of the entire year.
I...
This is in my mission statement, which you'll hear later in this episode.
But it's important to me that I am creating a safe space for the athletes and for guests of this show.
I never want someone to think that coming on this show is going to include some gotcha moment, or you know.
That doesn't mean that I might not push back.
It doesn't mean I might not ask hard questions.
I think we all kind of joke that, like The LA on the Run show, like you come here to have a good time, to laugh, to reminisce, whatever it may be.
Like this isn't the place for the press conference style questions.
I'm not really grilling people here.
And I'm going to ask questions that feel appropriate.
And anyway, I want the athletes to know that this is a safe space for them.
And the fact that Nikki chose the Allie on the Run show as the place to share, that they had gotten top surgery a year ago gender affirming surgery and that Nikki felt comfortable talking about it here.
You know, that to me represents two different things.
One is that Nikki felt comfortable talking to me.
And that matters.
And yes, Nikki is someone who has become a good friend over the years.
And I so appreciate that.
But also I think Nikki sees this community.
You know, it's not just about me.
Nikki knows, and I think a lot of athletes know, that the Allie on the Run show community is a lovely one, is a kind one, is a respectful one, is an empathetic one.
So I think Nikki's decision to talk about that here on the show and reveal some pretty big news and news that in some spaces would be considered very controversial.
And it did, of course.
Nikki sharing that sparked conversations on other platforms.
But here on the Alley on the Run show, it was all love and all support.
And I thank all of you.
Maybe I'm the one, you know, hopefully not flying the plane or even steering the ship.
I'm not good at any of those things if we're to use real life metaphors.
But it's not just me.
I can set that tone.
But it's all of you choosing to be a part of this community and reflecting those same values that make these athletes feel like this is a safe, positive space for them.
And that is so, so important to me.
So thank you for I don't know.
I was going to say falling in line, but I don't think you're falling in line.
I think you're being authentic to who you are and just Choosing to be the good, right?
I put that in my newsletter every week.
Be the good.
Add good to this world and you're all doing it.
And look at what a difference it makes.
Look, you made someone feel comfortable sharing really big, potentially scary news to a lot of strangers and you showed up with love.
How cool is that?
Other memorable episodes.
Olivia Enright talking about the 12 Olivias, her hood to coast team of 12 women named Olivia, and how that came to be.
Those are episodes that I just think are really fun and special.
Olivia is not a professional athlete.
She is not a necessarily big, famous, big name in the running industry.
And a lot of you love that episode too, which is cool.
Similarly, Megan Howard, who ran the Berlin Marathon with Harry Styles.
Who you never know who you're going to meet in the porta potty line.
That's where she met Harry Styles.
That was just.
That episode was fun because I loved obviously, hearing about running with Harry Styles and what that was like.
But that was actually a small part of the episode.
Bigger parts of the episode were about Megan's training, about Megan dealing with loss, about Megan running through grief.
Very, very real stuff with a side of Harry Styles.
Those are the stories I so love sharing on this show. the live show in Chicago with Eric Jenkins.
That was a really special one to me.
It was my first time being back with all of you since getting my diagnosis earlier this year.
And I've talked at length now about what that standing ovation meant to me.
And again, I think that goes back a bit to what I was just saying about how what you do matters so much.
The fact that I'm pretty sure like Dina Castor started the standing ovation.
I know I'm pretty sure it was someone from my little friends and family section.
But for all of you to stand on your feet and clap and smile in my direction.
That gave me so much in that moment, but also still now that has stuck with me.
And so so thank you.
And of course, that was just really fun.
It was fun to be there.
Eric is the funniest.
I laughed the whole time.
I left that stage being like I only ever want to do live shows with Eric Jenkins because it was such a good time.
I loved having Courtney DeWalter on the show after she ran the Twin Cities Marathon.
Courtney is always such a fun interview.
And to hear her, one of the greatest endurance athletes of all time, talking about the very distinct kind of pain you experience in the marathon.
I'm guessing a lot of you could relate to that.
And then, of course, we close out the year with a live show with Sydney McLaughlin-Lavrone at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with New Balance.
That was so special.
I'm sure I'll talk about that in a little bit.
Katie Couric.
How can I not mention Katie Couric?
A literal dream come true.
And Jordan Litz.
Broadway's Fiero.
We will all forever know Jordan Litz as the guy who ran the New York city marathon and then performed in two shows of wicked
And he sang for us.
And that was amazing.
Jordan is an absolute dream.
So those were just some of my highlights, but truly every episode is special in its own way.
It was weird not to include Grant Fisher on that list, because it was.
I loved having Grant Fisher on the show.
And I don't remember that conversation.
I, I know it happened, but that was during that after chemo round two when I was so sick.
I remember being absolutely soaked in sweat during the interview.
My body was just in really rough shape.
And yeah, so to Grant, I say thank you for coming on the show.
May I please have a redo?
I'd love to interview you again in a better physical and mental space.
As for all of you, the ones the listeners loved and I know I talk about the downloads, but to me the measure of a successful, meaningful or impactful conversation isn't in the downloads
It's in the DMs, the shares, the posts, the Facebook conversations.
And so the ones that the listeners loved, you always love Everyday Runner episodes.
Those continue to get the most love.
And anytime I say, what was your favorite episode of the year?
People will say Katie Couric, Jordan Litz, because how can you not?
But also you loved the Caroline Moss episodes.
You loved Olivia Enright talking about the 12 Olivias.
You love episodes where you can relate, where it's people squeezing in their runs after getting the kids to school, or before work or in between events.
Those are the ones that certainly resonate.
The talk about the episodes I did not expect this year.
I didn't expect to do them, and then I certainly didn't expect them to take on the shape and response that they did, which is the Support Squad series.
Whether it was with Cousin Jackie or Connor, who you've all gotten to know, or getting to introduce you to my best friends like Michael Ann Bailey or Danielle Mastronardi, or welcoming back Emily Halnan for a Support Squad episode.
Those ones They they're.
So it's weird to say they're fun for me because we always record them the morning after chemo, when I'm generally not feeling my best.
But we kind of just cozy up and sink into my couch and we chat and we see what comes up.
And to know that you are all really here for those episodes and those show in the downloads.
I was surprised by how high the download numbers are on those episodes.
But yeah, you are you're my extended support squad and you're you're here for my cast of characters.
So thank you.
Nikki Hiltz gets a lot of love.
Katie Couric, you were all so supportive about that episode.
I was really in my head about it.
I thought I could have done a better job and I was blown away by the response to that episode, which was so cool.
You all loved Jordan Litz.
And in general you love.
Anytime I have a man on the show, whether it is Connor, Jordan Litz or Jackson Olsen.
I.
Anytime there is a man on the show, my inbox explodes because you want me to kiss, crush on or marry every guy who comes on the show.
And granted, the three men that I just mentioned specifically are all stunning, gorgeous stand up men.
Just thank you for wanting the hottest for me.
I appreciate that.
And then one runner in particular that I loved getting to know.
This year I don't have a ton of sprinters on the show.
I am typically distance focused or middle distance focused.
Uh, but Melissa Jefferson wouldn't man, what an incredible year that she had on the track.
And it was really fun.
I get nervous interviewing sprinters.
It feels like speaking a different language and Melissa was so cute and fun and lovely and sweet and inspiring.
And so she was a fun one.
And again, the response to that was great as well.
I think you all liked hearing from a sprinter too.
So what else live shows?
I only did six live shows this year.
Um, I think the year prior, I did double that.
And, you know, there's a balance to be had between live shows.
I never want to do too many.
I don't want to oversaturate all of you.
That could have done better phrasing there.
But yeah, I, because of life circumstances, I did Six live shows.
The River City Half live show with Kira D'Amato back in March.
That was a really fun weekend in Richmond.
We had a blast.
We had friends come to town for it.
You all showed up in your sparkliest and pinkest outfits.
And it's just, it's always, it's always a good time at the River City Half.
In Boston, I hosted a live show with New Balance featuring Heather McClain.
It was our biggest live show ever.
What was it?
700 that we fit in that room, which was really cool at the track.
And then I hosted two panels at the Boston Marathon Expo, one for the BAA with Emma Bates and Jess McLean, and the other with Shox featuring Connor Mance, Helen O'Berry and Dakota Popain.
Those were nice because I got to hang out with some of you after.
I'll come back to that.
Chicago live show with Eric Jenkins and New Balance, and then the New Balance live show in New York City with Sydney McLaughlin-Lavrone at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Just an absolutely incredible event. event.
Uh, so to go back to those, the panels that I did river city half and the panels in Boston were the only time that I got to hang out afterward.
Um, one thing, and I'm sure I'll bring this up later in the episode.
It's tough for me to do these events and have you all show up for me and then leave right after.
Um, I want to meet all of you and hang out with all of you and hug you and hear your stories and wish you luck if you're racing that weekend.
And I don't.
I don't like feeling disconnected from all of you and from this audience in this community.
And so, yeah, I'm, I'm forever trying to figure out what the solution is to that.
I can't realistically stay after a live show where there's 700 people.
We will be there for, for days, which is fine.
I'm down.
As long as there's bathroom breaks and someone's bringing snacks, let's do it.
But it It's important to me to be able to to hug you and say hi and not feel like it's me on a stage and all of you in an audience, like I like feeling like we're all in this together.
So forever, forever figuring that out.
And, of course, big thanks to all of the sponsors who made this all possible in 2025, including New Balance, You Can Rock and Roll.
Nashville, the Eugene Marathon, Gooder Lagoon Viore, Atlanta Track Club Ufos, Boulderthon and the Grand Return of Shox.
As you know I think you know back when Shox was after Shox, they were one of the very first sponsors on the Alley on the Run show back in 2018.
We had a long relationship.
It's so cool that even when we weren't working together which I was bummed about people would message me being like my aftershock stopped working.
Can you help me?
Like I was customer service.
But people really, I think much like people do now with Allie on the Run and New Balance.
They put us together, which to me is the sign of a really great and effective partnership.
And so it was so wonderful to get to welcome shocks back to the Allie on the Run show.
And they are committed to being here through 2026 as well.
So big thanks to Seven and the entire Shox team.
I'm so happy to have you here and have you back.
In general, I feel great about the partnerships that I have and the brands I get to work with.
As you know, I am incredibly selective about the brands that I work with.
I am not here to try to convince you to buy more stuff than you need.
I am not here to try to make a quick buck.
With my partnerships, I don't work on any type of commission.
I work directly with the brands and I work with set rates.
So I'm not trying to convince you to use a code so that I can make a buck.
I mean, use the code so you can save, right?
That's what they're there for.
But my partnerships, I'm selective about them.
I love the brands and the people that I work with at the brands.
That's really important to me.
And it's important that the brands I work with see the value in all of you.
There have been a lot, a lot, a lot of proposals I've received over the years where I think people see this community and they see whether it is the community or the purchasing power of the community and they want a piece of that.
And to me, you are not a piece to be... just given away.
I am fiercely protective of this community.
I never want to be throwing different brands and codes at you every week.
I don't want to try to convince you or myself that you should buy something that I wouldn't buy with my own money.
So please know that that is something I take incredibly seriously.
I'm also forever working on finding the right balance between bringing on new guests that you'll be excited about and bringing back returning favorites.
Like, don't get me wrong.
I would be so psyched to have Nikki Hiltz on the show every single week.
And I think a lot of you would be happy with that too.
I never want you to get sick of certain guests or be like oh, so-and-so is on the Allie on the Run show again.
So how are you not sick of me?
Don't answer that.
I also want to introduce you to new guests.
Always looking for that balance.
And I think that this year, much like the year the two years prior, as I've been dealing with so much behind the scenes and in my personal life and with my health, it is easier to bring on guests that I already know.
Uh, it's easier to just shoot a text or an email or a DM, being like Hey, are you down to record?
Versus doing the outreach with someone new and pitching them on the show and explaining what I do and doing a lot of research which, like I, love it.
That's the job.
And um, it's just more.
It's more time consuming, it's more work, and this year I did have to do a little bit more of what I've had to do the past few years, which is go for that low-hanging fruit.
If you know me, you know I hate the phrase low-hanging fruit.
I don't know, I'm not going to explain why I don't like that phrase.
Yeah okay um, I.
I'm sick of myself often.
This job has me in my head a lot.
And I feel like I think about myself way too much and way more than any person should think about themselves.
How do I have this job, which I love? while not being so aware of how I'm perceived.
And again, Taylor Swift talks about this in the end of an era.
And it feels weird to publicly say that I relate to Taylor Swift, because I don't want people to be like Allie thinks she's the Taylor Swift of running.
No, no.
But when it comes to our respective jobs, there are similarities.
Part of my job is staying relevant.
It is being liked.
It's being ripe for constant feedback, both good and bad.
It's getting reviewed.
It's getting comments.
It's being likable.
And what you're getting here is genuine.
You know that.
If I were faking this, I think the jig would be up by now.
But I am hyper aware that there are eyes on me.
And this is a responsibility that I take seriously.
It can be hard knowing people have an opinion on me.
And sometimes they really want to share it.
I joke that I'm really only interested in constructive compliments.
But this is a job and I take it seriously as such.
I have a ton of fun, but I do take this seriously, too.
And there are days where, by the end of the day, I'm just like, oh my God, you're thinking about yourself way too much.
And I think you know it is the alley on the run show, as much as I focus on the guests and want this to be about the guests.
It is about me, too.
At this point, that was never the plan.
But with the support squad episodes, with Everything going on over the past few years, with the diagnoses I've been given, I choose to share that.
And I like sharing that.
Don't get me wrong.
I'm not doing anything here I don't want to be doing or that I'm not doing with my own free will.
It's just, you know.
I've seen posts out there that are like we were never meant to think about ourselves this much.
And in the era of social media, of podcasts, of Instagram, you know all the things think we're all probably thinking about ourselves a little more than nature intended.
Speaking of thinking about ourselves and myself way too much.
I'm now going to give you my personal and professional highlights from 2025.
This section is probably quite repetitive.
If you follow me on Instagram I'm In the spirit of having everything in one place I figured I would share some of my highlights from 2025.
The other thing is I now look at so much of my work as a time capsule.
And I kind of always have.
When I started doing after I would go to these big event weekends, I started recording recaps from them.
Been doing this for a few years now, but after say, the Boston Marathon or New York Chicago, I would always do solo episodes just talking about the weekend from my perspective, which mostly was just fun for me to do.
It was fun for me to look back, fun for me to remember.
And then, of course, I get this diagnosis.
And Also, if you're new to the show, like I'm doing, really well.
I'm responding incredibly well to treatment.
I am so hopeful.
I no longer believe that the five to 10 year prognosis I was given is accurate.
Like I'm crushing treatment and at times treatment is crushing me.
But like we're all going to die someday.
I'm not dying today.
I'm doing all right.
Detour.
Where was I?
Oh, everything's a time capsule.
And I do look at things like this episode now.
And who knows?
Annie might grow up Annie's my daughter and think like oh my God, my mom's job is so embarrassing, right.
Who knows?
Or she might think it's cool, right?
Now she thinks it's cool.
But someday, whether I'm here or not, these episodes might be cool for her to look back on.
I don't know.
So I try to keep it all in a little time capsule.
With that, my personal and professional highlights from 2025.
I will just try to fly through these without too many long detours.
Number one remains.
I flossed every single day.
I'm like five years into this now.
I'm not actually keeping track, but I floss every night before bed.
I never, ever miss a night.
I will not go to sleep unless I have flossed my teeth.
I am absolutely obsessive about it.
I keep floss in my bathroom, in my purse.
What's a purse?
In my fanny pack, in my car.
I have floss everywhere.
So if I can influence you on two things today, number one, be the good.
Number two, floss your teeth.
Another very big deal for me this year is I finally quit my bullshit meditation streak and ultimately my Peloton streak.
I had a streak going for years and years on Peloton.
I called it my meditation streak.
But really what I would do And it started earnestly.
Years ago I was like oh, I'll meditate at night and I would turn on a 10-minute meditation and I would be asleep before it even ended.
And then eventually it became, I'll turn it on and I'll mute it.
So I'll get the credit and I'll say, and like all my friends know about this, about my meditation streak,
They all give me shit for it.
But I finally quit.
Enough was enough.
Caroline Moss was the one who encouraged this and was like, just quit, just stop.
Like, what are you doing?
Just stop.
And so what I did is I stopped my meditation streak, but I tried to keep my Peloton streak going.
So I would do like a five minute core class just to keep the streak.
And then one day I was like, no, I'm not doing this anymore.
And here's what it was.
It was getting this diagnosis and I kept it up for a while.
But then eventually I was like, What am I doing?
Like I'm so obsessive about this stupid streak that no one cares about that.
I don't even care about.
Do I like?
I literally pictured me having a tombstone, a headstone that would say Alison Feller, you know, lived to, died at kept, kept meditation streak alive until the day she died.
I pictured myself like on my deathbed, being like wait, I have to do my meditation streak before I go.
And it's like, you know, there are better things.
I would like a nice haiku on my headstone someday.
Okay, so I flossed and I quit my meditation streak and my Peloton streak.
Both wonderful things, but mostly quitting that streak.
I was motivated by all the wrong reasons.
I wanted the check mark and the gold star and it felt so freeing to quit.
I joined a ski racing team and it's fitting as I'm recording this right now.
Tonight is the first night of the 2026 ski racing season.
I am pumped to be back.
I can't believe they let me back on the team.
I'm like the worst one.
I'm cautious.
Okay.
I don't want to get hurt.
So I joined a ski racing team.
It's like a Monday night corporate ski racing league.
My dad does it.
I have friends that do it.
And I really leaned into winter last year and it just made it so much more enjoyable.
I loved getting on the mountain every Monday night.
We ski under the lights, we ski gates and Mondays Annie's with her dad.
And so it made one of the nights that I'm not with her really fun.
It felt good to do something for myself.
I have a ton of friends who do it even more so this year.
I have even more friends who are doing it.
And it's just a really cool thing that I do for me and that I do for fun.
I'm not trying to be the best.
I'm not even trying to be good.
I have little goals.
Don't get hurt.
Make new friends.
We'll see.
Last year, I had a goal to beat my dad.
I never did.
He beat me every week.
So sure, I have these little goals. but I don't take them seriously.
And it's just really fun to not to say that I'm bad.
Like I'm not terrible.
I mean, I'm not nearly as good as the people who are good, but I don't care.
And I don't think I've ever not cared about being good at something.
I am as type A, Enneagram three, high strung as it gets.
But when it comes to ski racing, I am just in it for a good time.
I was the keynote speaker at the Boston Marathon's annual partner summit.
Really honored to have been asked to do that.
I talked about connection and community and all of you.
And I talked about all that I had lost over the past two years, but about how I never lost the running community.
Actually, did I ever share that?
Maybe I'll find that talk and record it and share it.
I don't remember if I put it out on Patreon.
Probably not.
I ran three races.
I would have liked to have done a lot more, but I ran three 5Ks this year.
I ran the Hopkinton Winter Series 5K, which I ran in 24-15.
I ran the River City 5K in Virginia, a full minute faster in 23-15.
And then I ran the Abbott Chicago 5K.
I ran it in 26-57 while right in the middle of chemotherapy treatment.
So yeah, three 5Ks.
Hopefully I'll run a few more races this year.
We'll see.
I skied a lot with Annie.
I took her on the chairlift for the first time.
We went up to Bretton Woods and skied up there and just generally had a blast on the slopes together.
I grew up skiing with my family and getting to share this with Annie feels really, really fun.
I always worry that I'm not doing enough to make her life special, that I'm not creating enough traditions, that I'm not doing more, doing better.
You know, Let's get right into my fears and insecurities.
A big one for me is feeling like I'm not enough.
That has always been something in relationships, in my job, as a mother.
I constantly worry that I'm not enough, not good enough, not smart enough, not enough.
And I know for a fact that getting to go out and ski with Annie, I think she'll remember those days.
It's a lot of fun.
And we've already been out skiing once this year and we'll be back this week.
I celebrated eight years of the Alley on the Run show.
Happy birthday, little guy.
We're coming up on nine years in February.
I was featured in a segment for WMUR, which is our local ABC affiliate, with host and marathoner Marissa Tansino.
Marissa is awesome and so sweet.
And I was really honored when she wanted to feature me.
They were doing a bunch of features leading up to the Boston Marathon.
And so as someone who works with the Boston Marathon, they did a little profile on me.
And, you know, my parents will be proud of me all the time.
And they tell me that.
And they're very loving, wonderful parents.
But there are certain things that to parents are like, oh my God, we've never been prouder.
And being featured on our local ABC affiliate was like such a big day for Lori and David Feller.
They were so proud.
The River City half weekend, always a fun weekend with friends.
I always bring Annie when we go.
We're not doing it this year.
We're not doing a show there this year.
We're taking this year off, but I brought Annie.
Jackie was there with her daughter.
My Aunt Bobby was there.
We just had a really good group.
It's just a really fun, wholesome weekend.
I got to see my name in lights in the New Balance locker room at the track at New Balance.
It was just a temporary thing, but they put my name up in the locker room in between Sydney McLaughlin-Lavrone and Gabby Thomas.
So thank you, Ginger Gotchall, for making my little name in lights dreams come true.
I did a how I built this style episode with Chris Chavez and his incredible wife Carrie on the Sidious Mag podcast.
That was another one that uh, it felt really cool to get to do a sort of retrospective on how the Allie on the Run show has grown.
I so often now, when I get asked to do podcasts or interviews, it's like so much, it's a lot of cancer talk and it's a lot of.
How did your blog become a podcast which isn't the story?
Um, They actually are not the same thing at all.
They just have the same name because of a lack of creativity on my end.
So it was nice to do this interview with Chris and Carrie, where I feel like they asked me really good questions and different questions and not the same things that I always get asked.
And I really appreciated that.
And again, just fun to have that little time capsule episode.
Go listen to it.
If you didn't check it out, it's on the Sidious Mag podcast.
I got to watch Annie dance on stage at multiple recitals and holiday shows.
This girl has dancing in her bones.
She is always dancing.
She's always tapping around the house.
She loves to move and dance.
I was a dancer growing up, but I truly, genuinely do not care if dance is the thing that Annie chooses, so long as the thing she chooses makes her happy.
I've never pushed dance on her.
I've introduced her to all kinds of things, asked her if she wants to do sports or art classes or, you know, science camp, like whatever she wants to do.
I want to support that.
But there is something special about watching her just shine up on stage.
And yes, I cry every time.
Really big highlight of 2025.
I was called a slay mom by middle schoolers at Annie's school, which is apparently a good thing.
And there is no greater affirmation in this world than a compliment from a teenage girl.
So I was called a slay mom.
And yes, that makes the highlight real.
Boston Marathon 2025 hosted two panels, hosted the biggest live show I've ever done.
Got to be at the finish line all day on Marathon Monday celebrating so many of you.
It was an amazing, perfect weekend.
You know, I went back and looked and I actually I posted that weekend that it was the healthiest I'd ever been in Boston.
Which joke was on me.
I had cancer the whole time.
That's what the chest pain was.
So I'm sorry.
Yeah.
Spoiler alert.
I had cancer.
Um, the London marathon with new balance, another incredible weekend.
I mean, I had never been to London, getting to travel internationally with a brand was so cool.
And yeah, it was.
That was just such a such a fun weekend getting to experience the London marathon, getting to experience London, doing it all with my friend uh, Kristen McKenzie, who works for new balance and is my I joke that she's my boss.
I mean, she's my main contacted at New Balance, but we got to spend a lot of time together that weekend and um, it was awesome, and it prompted someone to send me a DM saying Allie, I think I figured it out.
Kristen, your New Balance gal pal, I think you two are dating and I love this for you, like they were so supportive.
I am here to say on the record not only are Kristen and I not dating um, I am very interested in men um, So I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
You know, trust me.
Over the past few years there have been times where I have really been like it would be great to be into women.
Women are the best, but I'm just not.
And so, OK, this episode is going places.
I turned 40.
I had an epic birthday weekend celebrating.
You've seen it ad nauseum.
My happiest moments that weekend celebrating my 40th birthday were the small, quiet ones.
It was folding my friend's laundry and watching everyone set up for the party and just really feeling so loved.
I had no idea what was to come.
My diagnosis um, my stage four diagnosis, came a few days after that birthday party and this really just felt like one hell of a way to um, not to go out, not to ring it in, I don't know, but it was just.
I had a couple really great times before I found out that life was gonna suck for a little while Annie learned to ride her bike without training wheels.
She graduated from kindergarten.
I shared this diagnosis, which is a low light, but sharing it was special.
The love and support was beyond overwhelming.
And so, you know, highs and lows.
Oh, my gosh.
Take a gel.
If Ali mentions duality, again you're going to be you're just going to be crushing PRs as you listen to this episode.
I announced at the Boston 10K, despite at the time I didn't share this, because it felt I mean I share a lot but I don't know it felt gross.
I had, the Boston 10K was after my first round of chemo and I had all kinds of side effects.
And when I finally thought that the side effects were going away, I got mouth sores, which is very common when patients are going through chemo, but I'd never had them before.
And they were so bad and they were, came at a time when I had to be a race announcer.
So the whole time I was at that 10K I was in, oh my gosh, I was in so much pain trying to just like cheer into a mic, but it was rough.
I took Annie to Ocean City and then to New York City where our friends surprised us with dinner.
It was...
The best of times and the worst of times.
That was the week that I was so sick after chemo round two, but also made a lot of memories with Annie that week.
So I look back on that with a couple different lenses.
I went to Miami with New Balance for the Rebel V5 launch.
That was a really cool thing that I got to do.
It was, again, got to go with Kristen.
We got to go be warm for a couple days and celebrate the Rebel, which is one of my favorite shoes.
You hear me talk about it all the time. finalized my divorce.
That makes the highlight reel.
This was something that took two years, almost exactly two years.
It was a long, arduous, emotional, expensive process.
I don't recommend it.
No, do what works for you.
But I mean, it was hard.
And it's still hard.
This is not No one wants to get divorced.
No one wants to only have their kid half the time.
There's a lot that I don't love about this, but to have the legal chapter of that closed for now is such a huge weight lifted.
And to not yeah, to not be dealing with the legal side of a divorce, to not be dealing with legal bills anymore oh my god, when I paid my last legal bill I was like let's throw a party, just kidding, I can't afford it.
No, I'm fine, but yeah, I mean that.
You know, closing that chapter in a way, there's there was a lot of of emotion that comes with that, some relief that comes with with that Again, the legal part being done.
I made the most of a summer staycation with Annie.
We spent time with her cousins, with friends, a lot of time in the pool.
We went to Great Wolf Lodge.
We went to Great Wolf Lodge twice this year.
And I am hoping never again.
First time was great.
Second time was great because we were with friends.
But I don't know.
I think I'm good.
I think I'm good with Great Wolf Lodge.
Got to spend quality time with quality people.
Chemo days suck, but I had my best friends by my side for every single round.
And we really did continue with our cancer, but make it fun mantra.
I think this was especially clear in the episodes that I did with Michael and with Dee, where these are friends, that they're my best friends and I don't get to see them very much.
And yeah, it would be great if we were getting together for reasons other than cancer.
But But in the spirit of looking at the bright side, I guess it's that we are getting this time together and we're making the most of it.
And so I'm so grateful that the people in my life have been there for me in the ways that they have.
My relationships and friendships have deepened so much over the past few years, and especially this year.
I got my first scans since starting treatment.
And this makes the highlight real because I got amazing results.
Annie competed in her first triathlon.
I mean, competed is a loose term.
It was at her school.
They swam, scootered, and ran.
And it was so cute.
And she loved it.
Ellie, our dog, turned 10.
I did a photo and video shoot with People Health Magazine.
It was three days after chemo round five.
I was in such rough shape.
I was trying not to let anyone know that I felt so sick and they put me on the cover, the cover of People Health Magazine.
Pretty cool.
The GoFundMe.
I was really against having a GoFundMe this time around and my loved ones were insistent.
Sounds aggressive, but as we had these conversations about what would actually help me and my family, The thing is cards and emails and gifts those things are so lovely.
DoorDash gift cards, man, we made such good use of those.
And thank you to people who sent those.
It's truly all so amazing and so helpful.
And, at the end of every day, the thing that I think we all could use and that helped the most and the most directly is funds.
And especially after the last few years, which have been tough in a lot of ways.
I don't know.
I get so uncomfortable talking about this because it's hard to accept this much generosity.
And so I felt, you know, I was conflicted about even having it.
I was nervous that people were going to think I was greedy or that I deserved it.
And it wasn't that.
It was just like, hey, there's people out there who want to help.
This is a way they can help that will help you.
Um, and so I finally gave in and I let my friends led by cousin Jackie, I let them do that.
And it was insane.
Like it, it was just so incredible and helpful and thank you.
Um, and please know that it helps so much.
Um, And because I just had this like nagging feeling and conflicting feeling about it.
I mentioned that to my friend Caroline Moss.
And Caroline is such a doer.
I am someone who will be like, I want to do this.
And Caroline's like, great, here are the steps.
Let's do it.
And so I had mentioned this to her that, like I'm so uncomfortable receiving this much generosity and I want to give back,
And so she said, came up with this plan and this idea.
And she was really the one who made it all happen, which was to raise money for undue medical debt, which helps pay off people's medical debts that don't even every time.
Someone was like can you explain how it works?
Which I'll just recommend you look it up online because they'll explain it better than I will here.
But essentially health care in the US is kind of a scam.
Not the care, but the billing of it and the cost of it.
And Undo Medical Debt helps eliminate people's debt.
And collectively, we, you, ended up eliminating more than $3 million worth of medical debt for people in need.
So thank you for truly just being the good.
I mean, we helped so many people and that feels good.
Okay.
Okay.
The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift's album.
It came out the day that I picked up my wig and that felt fitting.
Chicago Marathon, big feelings that weekend.
The live show was huge for me.
Being with friends backstage, running the 5K with Dina Castor, Mary Wittenberg, and Christine Burke.
Weekend was hard for me.
It was my first time sort of being out.
I was in the middle of treatment.
I still am.
So I felt all kinds of ways, but mostly...
Yeah, I needed to be there and I'm glad that I was.
Annie turned seven.
New York City Marathon Weekend.
Oh gosh, there was the live show at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Sidney McLaughlin-Leveroni.
New Balance giving everyone Team Alley sweatshirts, which I did not know about.
Like I genuinely walked out there and saw that sea of people.
They went to such lengths to hide that from me.
Right before we went out.
I forget if I shared this in the New York City recap episode.
I did, but we were at this gorgeous venue and they had us.
You know, they had all these dressing rooms backstage where we were hanging out, but I was like I want to go walk around.
Like I wanted to experience what you were all going to experience.
And so I wanted to go downstairs where the line had formed and I wanted to say hi to everyone.
And then I wanted to take the elevators up and I wanted to walk through the venue, as you were all going to walk through the venue.
And I wanted to see what it all looked like and how it felt and hear the playlist that I had made.
Um, And I don't know.
Somehow they hid the sweatshirt element of that.
So, yeah.
Anyway, New Balance, always going to the greatest lengths, like they could have just been.
Like no Ali, we don't have time to do a walkthrough.
But they let me do it and somehow scrambled to make sure I didn't see the big reveal and surprised.
Getting to ride in that car from the start line to the finish on race day with Christine Burke was so fun.
Oh my God, it was so fun.
Everyone should get to experience that.
Getting to be a part of the broadcast, doing so many interviews.
I was featured in a package on ABC7 thanks to Sam Ryan, which was really special.
And I closed out the weekend with one of my biggest bucket list items getting to interview my idol, Katie Couric.
So cool.
Since then I had my second set of scans, which were very gorgeous, very sexy, very good.
Uh, the treatment's working and it's so encouraging chemo like.
I know.
There are people out there who are like.
You have to change your mentality to believe that chemo is going in and doing good things and it's lovely and wonderful.
I don't have that mentality.
I appreciate it, I respect it.
I hate chemo.
I think it sucks.
I'll keep doing it, but I don't like it.
Um, knowing that it's working and seeing that on these scans is the single best motivator.
Well, Annie's the best motivator, but knowing that the treatment is working is so encouraging.
And so it's going well.
I bought the bed and I took the vacation after saying that I needed a new bed.
My old bed was the bed that my now ex-husband and I slept in.
And I felt like I need a new bed.
I need New bed karma.
And also was like, I can't buy a bed and take a vacation while I have a GoFundMe.
Like.
What kind of asshole do you have to be to let people support you financially and then do anything seemingly frivolous?
But thanks to a lot of aggressive encouragement from all of you, which was validating, I got a new bed and I took a vacation the week of Christmas, while Annie was with her dad, me and my friend Connor and my friend Kira went on vacation.
And it was my first vacation in a long time.
It was perfect.
It was exactly what I think we all needed.
It was warm and relaxing and fun.
And we laughed and it was just, yeah, buy the bed, take the vacation.
It was great.
And then I enjoyed the very best Christmas on December 26th with Annie and Ellie.
And, looking back, it is very clear to me that we truly did dance through the lightning strikes and make our own sunshine this year.
Those are, of course, lines from Taylor Swift's song Opalite off the life of a showgirl.
And yeah, they resonate.
Should I share some lowlights?
It wasn't all good.
I did get a shitty stage four cancer diagnosis this year.
I returned to the cancer center.
I returned to chemo.
I lost a ton of hair.
I thought about dying.
I thought about dying a lot.
That week in New Jersey, I thought I was going to die.
And I kind of wanted to.
I was like, this is not worth it.
This is not a quality of life worth living.
So yeah, there were some hard, dark, scary days.
There still are.
It's different now.
It's a bit settled now, I would say.
But I mean, it's been This year was really hard.
My grandmother, Honey, my mom's mom, we called her Honey.
She died in September.
She lived to be 101.
She had an incredible life.
And with her death, I don't have any grandparents left.
I know, you know, that's kind of the phase that we're at in life as we get older.
And how lucky am I to have known all four of my grandparents and to have seen my grandmothers live to 100 and 101.
So lucky for that.
And I miss them all every day.
I found out that the shortness of breath I was experiencing was due to five blood clots in my lungs.
Pulmonary emboli, a nice new phrase for the medical dictionary of Allie Feller this year.
I had to cancel my trip to Boulderthon, which sucked.
Having to make that phone call to Alexa and Phil and the team at Boulderthon the day before and say I can't come.
I was, I was embarrassed, I was angry.
I yeah that, just that sucked.
That sucked for a lot of reasons.
I was so excited about that trip.
The team at Boulderthon is awesome.
They were great to work with.
I was excited to do a live show with Aisha Pratt-Lear.
I was excited to get to see a lot of you.
I was excited to see friends.
I was excited to go to Boulder for the first time.
I was not excited to have to start on blood thinners because I had five blood clots.
So that was a low.
That was definitely a low.
And then, I mean, on the business front, I didn't hire someone.
Again still continued to drown in correspondence.
Emails texts, DMs have all spiraled out of control.
And I hate that, uh, kind of behind on the Facebook group, trying to keep up over there.
I've all but abandoned my Patreon.
Uh, Patreon was something that I started years ago and I would do extra episodes over there for Patreon supporters.
My, you know, I just don't have the bandwidth for that anymore, uh, to be doing extra episodes.
Um, I would love if people supporting on Patreon decided to come over to the newsletter where you can opt into being a paid subscriber or you can just stay on Patreon.
I've heard from a lot of people who were like no, I just want to support you and I'm not looking for anything extra.
So that's really cool and I appreciate that a lot.
I still don't feel like I've adequately thanked all of the people who have shown up for me this year.
That includes everyone from...
My parents and my closest friends, to all of you, to all of the brands that support the show.
I just feel like I need to write 100000 thank you notes.
So I need to do that.
But mostly, I would say, with the highlights and the lowlights.
I survived some really intense and hard shit this year.
And I'm not done yet.
Yay.
Yay.
And before we start looking forward, just some final takeaways looking back.
I know I already touched on this, but I want to be able to meet all of you and hang out, whether it's before or after live shows or on race weekends.
I love that these live shows have gotten so big.
It is so cool.
It is so fun.
I love being in a room that's packed like that.
That makes me excited.
It makes me proud.
It's fun.
So I don't want to change that.
And it is hard not getting to chat with all of you.
And I feel like a jerk when I'm like escorted right out right after.
But also it's a race weekend.
And usually I have other places I need to be like this year after the New York City show.
I had to get to rehearsal.
I had to get to the finish line because we had broadcast rehearsals.
And I am curious, I guess, what your expectations are.
And feel free to reach out.
Send me a DM or a message or post in the Facebook group.
What are your expectations when you are part of a live audience during a race weekend?
Let's say, do you expect to be able to hang out after, do you expect to be able to chat?
Are you cool with just coming to the show?
And that's enough.
Like, you know, and I'm not saying that everyone in the audience is there for me.
Like people are there for the guests.
They're there for the experience.
They're there for the free sweatshirt.
I don't know.
Uh, But I want to make sure that, whatever your expectations are, I'm delivering on them as best I can.
So would be eager to hear your thoughts.
I felt old this year.
And that doesn't mean, oh my gosh, I turned 40.
I'm actually feeling way more about 41 than about 40.
40 is like kind of cool.
41 is like, oh, you're in your 40s.
So feeling some kind of way about that.
But I remember in Chicago and I think I've mentioned this as well that I saw this shakeout run that had well over a thousand people.
And it was hosted by Brett Chody, Brett's Bites.
And I'd never heard of her.
She's like a young, cool influencer.
And to be like, oh my gosh, there's a runner with a massive, massive following that people love.
And I've never heard of her.
Like, am I bad at my job?
I pride myself on being a part of the running community.
I feel like I'm pretty in touch.
But there were so many times this year where I discovered influencers with massive followings that I had never heard of.
So it made me think like, am I, am I aging out?
Um yeah, I think you know, we probably all experienced that in our lives or careers at some point of like I don't know.
I don't know.
I'm going to skip to the next one.
Uh, sub stacks are the new blogs, which I'm all for.
Like I loved blogging.
Um, sub stack culture is interesting.
Anyway, subscribe to my newsletter, allyontherun.substack.com.
Everything is video.
Podcasts are no longer just audio anymore.
Every podcast is a YouTube show and has clips and has reels.
When I go on Instagram most days, my entire feed is two people talking into microphones and it's just clips from their podcast.
And the thing is, I don't want to be on video.
And most of the time, neither do my guests.
Whenever I am booking an episode or a recording session, the guest almost always asks will this be on video?
Because they want to be prepared.
You know, I like to record in my bathrobe.
I'm wearing my bathrobe right now.
I live in bathrobes.
If anyone ever needs a gift idea for me, I love a bathrobe.
I love bathrobes.
I love a nice cozy bathrobe.
Not like a little flimsy one, like a nice fluffy warm one.
Anyway, I don't need more bathrobes.
I have so many.
I don't really want to be on video.
I don't want to have to like be camera ready and I know you don't have to like, you don't have to look a certain way you can be on video in your bathroom.
I don't really want that to be my thing.
I want that to be private me in my bathroom that I then tell you about.
So I don't know.
I again, I don't want to fall behind.
Uh, you know I hate AI like I cannot with AI and I know that it's a powerful tool that people are using and I don't want to fall behind.
I don't want to be the person who doesn't know how all these things work or who you know.
When every other podcast is on YouTube, I'm the one that's not.
And so I fall behind.
But also I'm not someone I have never in my life sat and watched a podcast.
That's my relation with my relationship with podcasts.
I listen to them when I'm running or walking, maybe when I'm going to the grocery store, not at the grocery store.
Obviously, I need to listen to whatever they're playing at Market Basket.
But I don't sit and watch people talk, but people do.
And so I know that I need to adapt.
I know that I need to stay with the times.
And this year, there were a lot of times where I was like, oh, shoot, like I'm falling behind.
I've also noticed that this year especially, and maybe it's because of the support squads Sometimes I just want to sit and yap with a friend.
I've also found that those are the other podcasts I'm most drawn to right now.
I'm always going to do the interview style episodes.
I'm not planning to change anything, but like whether it's Giggly Squad or Good Hang, I want to do that in addition to what I'm already doing.
I would love if one weekly episode was just me yapping with a friend, right kind of what the support squad episodes are but, like without all the bummer cancer talk, I don't know who that person is or if, um you know, does that mean bringing on like a weekly co-host for some episodes?
Does that mean having an episode weekly where maybe it's a returning guest but we're just chatting, instead of like, let's recap your race?
I don't know.
Uh, it's just something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Um, And I would be really selective, I think, about who that would be on the other side of the mic.
I've also been thinking a lot about how the Support Squad episodes make people feel.
I know why I'm doing them.
I know that they're valuable.
The feedback from people saying hey, they've helped me figure out how to support someone in my life going through something similar.
That's awesome.
And that's validating.
That's great. it's helpful.
Like I love hearing that.
But I have also.
I saw a comment over these past few days that someone sent I forget what it was in response to, but someone was like the support squad episodes make me sad because I don't have that support network.
And I obviously never want to do anything that's going to make people feel badly or feel sad.
And I want to encourage people to be really proactive in their relationships.
My friendships are not a result of happenstance.
Uh, keep in mind also.
A big reason that I have the support network that I have and that I'm leaning on them so heavily is that I I went through this, these years of cancer diagnosis, without one solitary partner.
Um, And that's not to say everyone has that.
Plenty of people don't have that.
But I don't have a husband, a wife, a girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever.
And that is a big reason that I've leaned so heavily on my friendships.
And I think that they've stepped up so much as I don't have the same person coming with me to every appointment.
I'm not debriefing the day with one person as we lay in bed at night sharing our highlights and lowlights from the day, and so I think that is such a yeah, that is sort of the the circumstance that we're making the most of, and I'm I'm grateful I have that it.
Also, it does require putting in some work.
I think when people say it's hard to make friends as an adult, I would say yes, and there are a lot of opportunities to pursue friendships and relationships.
You have to be willing to work at it.
It's not just going to just like any opportunity.
It's not just going to knock at your door and seek you out.
And so I want, I just don't want to make people feel badly.
I'm not like, oh my God, look how many friends I have.
It's not that.
It's, hey, here are different ways to be a friend.
Here are different ways to show up and support.
Here's what that can look like.
And just kind of sharing it in real time.
And finally, and I touched on this earlier in talking about likability and what it means to be something of a public figure these days.
But there is a or I feel, probably just for myself, but a pressure to stay relevant, to stay, you know, whether it's on top or to keep outdoing myself, whether it's with with live shows.
I think is a big part of it.
Um, not necessarily how do we make them bigger, but how do we keep making them better for me?
It's not a, it's not a numbers game.
It's as much as I'm like Oh like yes, in Boston this year we had the biggest live show ever, but I'm not looking to necessarily make them bigger, but I want them to continue feeling true to the alley on the run show and what we do here.
And also special, meaningful.
Uh, After Carnegie Hall last year, I think we meaning the team at New Balance and I we were like where do we go from here?
Like, what do we do that's cooler than Carnegie?
And then they found Jazz at Lincoln Center and Sydney was game.
And so it's not about bigger, better.
I think that is a trap that the running industry has absolutely fallen into, where it is a lot of the biggest shakeout run or the best, whatever it is.
And that's cool.
That's fine.
I think there's a place for that.
I think where my focus is, is how do we make each one feel unique and special?
So was Jazz at Lincoln Center the biggest live show we've ever done by the numbers?
No.
And Was it maybe one of my favorite events I've ever done in my life?
Hell yeah.
Those Florida ceiling windows overlooking Central Park.
Come on.
That was cool.
So yeah, I guess that should do it for... No, we're going to look back a little bit.
Let's talk about the goals that I set for 2025 and whether or not they actually happened.
Before we do that, this episode of the Allie on the Run show is brought to you by Lagoon.
As I talk about the brands that have made my work possible, Lagoon is at the tippy top of that list.
Ryan and his team have been so endlessly supportive of me and of this community and I am delighted to welcome them back to the Allie on the Run show in 2026.
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Okay, let's revisit my 2025 goals.
This is always a humbling part of the episode.
According to last year's State of the Alley on the Run show episode, these were the things I said I'd love to do in 2025.
Granted, I thought I was going into 2025 with a new lease on life.
I was going to be healthy, happy, was going to be great, was going to be great.
I said I would do two episodes per week.
That was going to be my sweet spot.
And yeah, for the most part, I did that.
I promised series episodes on Tuesdays and classic interview style episodes on Thursdays.
Didn't do that.
I committed to doing Ask Allie episodes once per month.
People weirdly like these.
I don't know.
It surprises me, but they do.
I did not do that.
I started out doing it.
And then once I got my diagnosis, I started doing support squad episodes.
And those felt sort of Ask Allie-ish.
They were different, but they felt personal and so I felt like doing support squad episodes in addition to ask Allie episodes.
That was too much Allie, I get sick of myself real quick and so I didn't do those, but I did do one in December.
So yeah whatever, I'm fine with that one.
The series that I wanted to bring back everything you need to know about did some of those pro parents.
I've been saying I'm going to do this series for like six years now where I'll interview the parents of professional athletes.
Haven't done that.
I've done a few, like Lori Hennis has been on the show, but not really.
Everyday Runner series, I haven't brought it back as a series.
I've just tried to work in some of those as regular episodes.
And I've always say I wanted to do like a long run episode once a month where, especially as people are marathon training this spring, wouldn't it be nice to have like a three hour episode for your Saturday or Sunday long run?
But then I'm like, do people want that much Allie on the Run show?
Or is it nice to do like one episode of Allie and then you switch to an episode of Does and Cara and then you switch over to Amy Poehler?
I don't know.
You tell me.
I said I was going to bring on new sponsors that you will love.
A little bit of that.
We mostly this year stuck with our same sponsors.
Ufos came on, which was great.
But beyond that, it was the brands you know and love.
I wanted to do a live show and at least two new to me cities, including Allie, on the Run Show.
Live International Edition.
I hosted a panel in London.
I did not do a live show, but I did host a panel for New Balance in London.
And I think the other new to me city I was hoping to make it to was Boulder, which unfortunately did not happen, but I tried.
I wanted to do smaller shows and events.
This was one of my heading into 2025.
This was something big that I was talking about with my partners of just doing more like okay, if the live shows are the heiress tour.
I know they're not, but just let me do this.
Remember when Taylor Swift would do her like listening parties.
I love the idea of doing something like that.
I looked back on just been reflecting on stuff.
And when I started doing live shows, I was most I was doing a lot with Tracksmith and I was doing a lot with New Balance and they were in rooms of like 50 people.
And it was so great because we would get it felt intimate and then we would get to hang out and chat after.
And I do still really want to do those.
And it's hard to.
I mean, those are hard for a being very big and showing that you can fill a room.
Um, I don't know.
I need to have more of those conversations, but I do.
I do still want to do smaller events that feel more intimate, where we get a chance to actually hang out a little bit more and still do the the big fun ones those are.
We're always going to do those merch next to it.
I wrote ha ha ha, ha ha clearly did not.
Well, I don't know.
Do the team alley sweatshirts count?
I had nothing to do with those and I know that they're not available for sale, which upsets people, but a lot of people got them at the New York City show, so that's cool.
Merch is on the list for this year, don't worry.
I said last year where are we at on YouTube?
Clearly didn't do anything with that.
I wanted to bring on more new guests, which I mean I brought on Almost 40 new guests, so that's pretty good.
I wanted to do my big runner fest idea, my big dance party race live show, amazing weekend.
We have so many ideas for this.
I just need to make them happen.
It would be awesome.
I have such a vision.
I have such a vision for what this could be.
And I wanted to do custom gooders, which I started conversations with them about and then unfortunately did not come to fruition, but maybe this year.
So, okay.
We looked back.
Congrats, Allie.
You didn't do anything you said you were going to do.
Score.
So we talked about what things looked like for me and for this show in 2025.
Now we can start to look forward.
Historically for this part, this is where I would read the results of my annual listener survey.
I used to be so good about putting together a nice Google form.
Thousands of listeners have completed this survey over the years and it really means a lot to me.
It means you're invested in this show just like I am and that's pretty awesome.
This year, again, I did not do a listener survey emotionally.
I would say I'm just not totally in a place where I can take a ton of feedback at once, especially feedback on what was a pretty challenging year.
That doesn't mean I don't value your opinions and your voice and your investment in this show.
It basically means I don't feel like I necessarily put my best work forward this year.
I simply couldn't.
I did my best.
I don't feel ready to take a ton of ownership of what like did or didn't go well.
I also don't feel ready to make real firm commitments about what the coming year might hold.
I have no idea.
I'm in active treatment right now.
I'm getting chemotherapy every three weeks.
Things are going well and I know that could turn on a dime.
So there are so many unknowns and I have certainly learned that it's just about showing up day to day and doing your best on any given day and the next day is a new one.
I am also you know this about me always going to be my absolute toughest critic.
There may be a few people who are tougher on me than I am on myself.
I've learned that.
But I'm up there.
I rank very high on the list of people who are hard on Allie Feller.
And I always want to do better.
So just trust that with or without an official listener survey, I am doing the best that I can.
I will always try to show up for you, for this community, for myself.
I care a lot.
Even if it didn't always look that way from the outside or if I was often reaching for those darn low hanging fruits.
But a girl can dream and a girl can plan and a girl can make lists.
And so, in spite of it all, there are still things that I am willing to put on paper or in a word doc or in a podcast episode.
And as I started that process, I put out a few questions on Instagram recently.
I really appreciate all of your very thoughtful responses.
They were super helpful and And I read through every single one.
So these were some key takeaways that I summarized and that I want to share with you.
I asked, why do you listen to the Allie on the Run show?
And this was really, this was very wholesome reading these responses.
Connection and community came up the most.
Authenticity came up a lot.
You like feeling like you're listening to friends talking.
A lot of you mentioned that listening to the Allie on the Run show is part of your weekly routine, whether you listen on your run, your commute or while getting ready for the day.
So many people said, oh, it's part of my Thursday.
It's part of my Tuesday.
And that's so cool to know.
And I have those relationships too.
The only way that I usually know that it's a Monday, a Monday morning, is because I have Fast Women in my inbox.
The Fast Women newsletter, you should absolutely subscribe.
Great outlet, great news source in running.
So it's really cool to know that I'm a part of your day, the way that certain podcasts newsletters shows, whatever it is are part of my day.
And you love learning about the guests, whether old or returning guests.
I asked what you want.
What can I do?
What do you want from the Allie on the Run show?
The most popular response was you want to be able to buy the Team Allie sweatshirts.
I know we're We're talking about it.
I'm not intentionally keeping those from you.
Just as with so many things, there's a lot of moving parts and logistics.
You want bigger live show venues.
I know it is such a bummer when there's a waiting list.
I mean, it's cool.
Don't get me wrong.
The demand is awesome.
Cool.
You make me feel so loved.
That's great.
I love that.
But I also know that there's a disappointment that comes with that.
It is really cool that these shows sell out so fast.
And I want to make as many people happy as possible.
I know I say this every year, but we're doing these live shows for the most part in major cities, in Boston, in Chicago and in New York.
And bigger venues come at a bigger cost.
It's so important to me to keep these live shows free.
I care a lot about that.
Race weekends are so expensive between the entry, the travel, the lodging, how much you spend on carbs in the course of the weekend?
I don't want there to be a barrier to entry for my events.
If you want to be there, I want you to be there.
Um, I don't want it to be another thing you have to pay for.
And so, in order to do that, that means the brands that I work with are fronting some real big costs, and and they do that, and they do it so generously uh, I think if shows are going to keep getting bigger, we are going to have to charge for them.
And again, I'd be curious your feedback.
I think I will always try to keep, especially the bigger shows, I want to keep them free.
But I'd be curious what are you willing to spend on a live show where maybe you'll get some kind of giveaway, but it's mostly for the experience.
I don't want it to be like, well, it's $50, but you're going to get a pair of shoes.
Like that's again, another huge cost for a brand.
And so, yeah, I would be curious to hear your thoughts on what you, if you would be willing to pay.
And it's totally fine to say, no, I'm not willing to pay.
I don't want you to.
I'm just, I'm curious, you know, consumer feedback is helpful.
So you want bigger live show venues.
You'd love to hear from more trail runners and more ultra runners.
You'd love to hear from runners who don't run three or four hour marathons.
So you want more Mid-pack, back of the pack runners, totally.
You want meet and greets before after live shows and you want more support squad episodes.
There was a lot of love for the support squad.
I have a lot of love for them too.
And then I asked one question that I thought would be interesting to hear from you is what has stuck with you.
What are some key takeaways?
Whether it's a random thing like Don't we all remember Ajay Wilson coming on the show years ago and saying that she takes a nap trackside before she races?
That's like something that I randomly remember.
And so I was curious whether it's a feeling or a particular story.
What are things that you, what are your takeaways?
What has stuck with you from the Allie on the Run show?
One that I loved so much is someone said I returned to the podcast postpartum and it felt like coming home.
Like, oh my God, I need to put that on a sign or something.
Life is hard, but I am not alone.
All the different ways to support someone.
How accessible you've made pro runners to us regular people.
Resilience.
Hope.
The power and humanity in community.
The standing ovation in Chicago and what that meant to you, but also to all of us.
Ooh, am I going to cry?
Hearing about your birthday, it stuck with me to try to live with so much joy and friendship.
The support squad, it made me more empathetic and a better friend.
It helped hearing you ask for help.
And because they are not all positive, one that said disappointed, you went political.
Need a safe space to go to escape some topics.
And I get that.
Like, I listened to Good Hang with Amy Poehler.
I've mentioned that a few times.
I love knowing that when I go and listen to that show it's pretty much just going to be fun upbeat, silly.
I'm going to laugh.
Great.
So in terms of, I guess, tempering expectation of what is the Allie on the Run show, and how does that fit into your listening rotation?
I hope that it is mostly fun, upbeat, enjoyable.
And I am a very real person.
I am a person who, like every single one of us, is in some way affected by politics, right?
I don't consider this a political show.
And when people say things like disappointed, you went political.
I would be curious to follow up on that and say what specific moment are you referring to?
I feel like it's pretty rare on the podcast that we talk about political stuff.
I guess in the Katie Couric episode we talked about Donald Trump sure, mostly if I'm sharing anything that's in any way, you know, political and I'm like pretty I'm, I would say I'm not all that outspoken or, I don't think, very controversial.
Usually if I'm sharing stuff like that or my thoughts, you know, if there's another mass shooting and I want to scream into the void, usually that's on Instagram and I'm asking for feedback on the podcast, which to me are, Of course they go together, but the podcast is its own thing.
Yeah, I'm curious, what are you referring to?
And also to me and I'm not trying to defend myself like that's fine that this person feels this way.
Did the show go political or did one guest one time say something about not liking Donald Trump?
Because otherwise I don't really think politics come up a lot.
I'm surely not remembering everything.
Uh, I will also say that in terms and I'm going to get to my little mission statement soon but in terms of what this show is and is not.
This show is human first.
Um, I am a human.
I am a very, I would say empathetic human.
I care about human rights.
I care about equal rights.
I care about, uh, gun reform.
I am not anti-gun.
I'm not saying you should not have a gun.
I'm saying that I think guns should be better regulated here in the United States.
I believe in kindness.
I believe that whoever is leading our country or whoever is leading on local levels not just our president and the administration I believe our leaders should be just that.
I believe they should be leaders and I want my leaders to be people who are respectful.
I want to feel really proud of our leaders.
I want to respect our leaders.
And here on the show, yeah, just what I said.
I care about I care about kindness.
I care about having empathy and compassion.
I'm very human forward.
I'm kind of just saying the same things over and over.
But those were some of the key takeaways.
So with that, I will now force myself to share some of my 2026 goals.
You know, you got to love the hypocrisy of me saying I'm so sick of myself.
Let me talk about myself and my show for two hours.
So here we are.
What to expect from the Allie on the Run show in 2026.
I do always feel the pressure of making these declarations about.
It's going to be the best year ever when truly, I have no idea what my future looks like.
None of us really do.
Right.
I don't know if I will still be going to chemo every three weeks for the duration of 2026, because that will drastically change a lot.
I don't I don't know if I will continue to get great scans or progress.
Not none of us can plan for that.
I can't plan for that.
And even with my sort of shaky at times reality, there are things that I would like to do or accomplish in 2026.
And this year I felt really tempted to not share these and to just kind of like keep them close.
Is it close to the chest or close to the vest?
I was planning on chest, vest, breast implants.
I'm keeping it close to all those things.
I kind of was like, maybe I'll just keep these close and just quietly chip away at them.
And then when they happen, I can share them.
I also am like, I don't know if I want to share my goals because what if someone else takes them?
Whatever.
I'm going to share them and let's see what happens.
And a lot of them.
I don't know how your memory is about my personal podcast episodes, but a lot of these are the same.
They carry over from year to year because I don't get them done.
So a rebrand.
I have not redone my logo or any of that.
My logo, my website.
I haven't redone that basically since it launched.
The problem with that is that in order to do a rebrand, I want new photos.
And I am not currently in a place where I... love what I see in the mirror or how I feel.
And so I don't want to take photos until I'm kind of in a different place.
And I don't know when that will be.
That's kind of something I wrestle with a little bit.
My website, terribly out of date, need to update it.
I still have video content question mark on here.
I think I need to decide what do I want to do.
I have all my recordings on video, at least the ones I saved correctly.
So I have them.
I could upload them to YouTube or I could ask someone to help me upload them to YouTube.
But I don't know.
I don't know if people want that.
I don't know if I want that.
So video content question mark.
This came up in the episode with New Balance's Ginger Gottschall.
I really want to host a focus group with New Balance where a group of us all go to the track and you get a tour of the sports research labs And you get to try stuff out and do a focus group.
I think that would be really fun.
And it would lend itself nicely to what I'm looking to do, which is more time face to face with a lot of you.
I think that would be a cool way to do it.
I want to plan trips to cities where the only goal is going and recording episodes in person.
I travel for work a small amount.
You know I go to the major marathon weekends or some other race weekends but I never do do trips on my own.
And there's nothing stopping me from saying okay this week on the days that Annie's with her dad, because I do have you know, as much as I wish she were here every day.
I do have that flexibility where half the time my child is with her other parent.
And so why am I not going to New York City and just lining up a bunch of interviews and recording in person?
Why am I not taking myself to Boulder and lining up a bunch of interviews with people who are there?
I love recording in person.
It's really fun.
I think it would be good for me in a lot of ways.
I just need to, I just need to work it into my chemo schedule.
Uh, but I think that would be a really great thing for me to do this year, both professionally and personally.
I think that would be a nice thing to do.
So how many runners do I know that live in?
I don't know?
Hawaii Greece, Italy.
Let's go to those places and record episodes.
I need to update a media kit.
That's not glamorous or fun or sexy.
I need to update my broadcast reel, my LinkedIn.
I'd like to come up with new sprint to the finish questions.
And hey, I'd love your feedback on this one too.
Are we still entertained by people telling me their favorite pasta shape, or do we simply not care that yet another person loves bucatini?
I think the reason I like asking that question is because it surprises people.
Like the guests are usually like, have you ever been asked your favorite pasta shape?
Probably not.
So it's kind of a fun one.
But I should probably freshen those up.
And I'd like to introduce a new set of Sprint to the Finish questions.
I think we can, you know, we're almost 900 episodes in.
I think we can freshen those.
Merch is on the list.
Don't worry.
Merch is on the list.
I don't think I'll ever do this, but I like the idea of having Zoom office hours, but with my friends.
So where I would say to all of my friends and I would just like send a mass email and be like hey, my office hours are like on Fridays from 11 to 12.
I will be in a Zoom room and anyone who wants to jump in can jump in and join us.
No pressure and like see who pops up.
And maybe we talk about work or maybe we just gossip or maybe we cry.
I don't know.
But that couldn't that be fun?
Office hours with friends.
I need to get new podcasting equipment specifically for recording episodes in person.
My stuff that I use at home is fine, but the recording stuff I use is pretty outdated and it's not the best and it dies way faster than it should.
And I need to get a better home office setup.
I sit here hunched over with my laptop and it's just not great.
I look like a croissant.
I look like a little shrimp.
It's not good for my spine.
I have an idea for a race day episode.
This has been something I have had on my little dream list for I think like three years now.
But I want to give you an episode that you will listen to on race day designed for a marathon.
It will be a very long episode featuring 26 different guests walking you through different stories, different things you might need to hear.
Yeah.
And I have the list of the guests that I want to get and the ideas.
So I want to do that.
And then why not throw some wish list interviews out there?
Michelle Obama, Nate Bergazzi, Nikki Glaser, Robin Roberts.
Let's see if I can get even one of those this year.
And then personally, I'd like to take a vacation with Annie.
I'd like to take another vacation by myself.
Doing that, I hadn't taken a vacation in so long and it was so nice.
I want to write Annie more letters.
I want to cook more.
That's always a list.
I want to make more fires in my house.
Last year, I was terrified.
I have a wood stove and I was so afraid to make a fire.
This year, I'm less afraid.
Still afraid, but less afraid.
And I want to continue making our home a warm welcoming cozy, peaceful place, which it currently is.
All right, time for the 2026 Alley on the Run show mission statement.
This one is consistent.
I pretty much stand by what I've said in the past, and each year I add to it or tweak it a little bit.
But let's do it.
I want the Alley on the Run show to be a place where runners of all levels and abilities can come together to feel inspired, encouraged and motivated.
The show is for all runners with a focus on women runners.
As the audience is largely female, identifying the guests and conversations will likely reflect that.
I want your experience to be in some way mirrored on this show.
I want you to feel represented here.
I want professional athletes to feel like coming on the Alley on the Run show is fun and in some way beneficial to their careers.
And I want all guests to know that this is a safe space.
My main goal here is storytelling.
It's sharing the stories of those of us united by running.
And I want to continue striving to do the best interviews with athletes that I care about.
Best to me means my best interview, not the best way Katie Couric or Robin Roberts or Oprah or Chris Chavez or Carrie Tollefson or Let's Run or Lewis Johnson interview someone.
I want to be the best Allie that I can.
That will always mean listening.
It will always mean growing.
It will always mean having enough confidence to pursue my big dreams and ideas and enough humility to know that I may fail or mess up along the way.
It means owning all of those truths and being better for them.
It means continuing to show up for myself, for my business, for this sport, and for all of you.
It means being honest, authentic, unapologetically Allie.
It means acting with integrity, owning my decisions and my words, celebrating the ones that land and learning from the ones that don't.
To quote the great Desiree Linden, it means to keep showing up.
That's what I've always done and what I plan to continue to do.
And I love to close this out with a quote from the equally great Taylor Swift, from my favorite song, Long Live.
Will you take a moment, promise me this, that you'll stand by me forever.
But if God forbid, fate should step in and force us into a goodbye.
If you have children someday, when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name.
Tell them how the crowds went wild.
Tell them how I hope they shine.
Long live the walls we crashed through.
I'm having the time of my life with you.
All right, and we'll close this out with some listener QA, because I did ask you in that aforementioned Instagram story question series of what do you want to hear about in this episode.
And I think we probably covered most of it, but a few questions to close it out.
Will 2026 be the year Annie gets a cat?
I don't know, guys.
I'm doing my best over here.
I don't know if adding another living being to the mix is the best bet.
I like the idea.
Okay, here's, I think I've mentioned this.
So this is a girl house now.
Me, Annie, Ellie, like it's a girl house.
And so if we're going to bring a cat in, I want it to be a girl cat.
But I want the cat to be sweet and snuggly.
And everyone says those are boy cats.
So what do we do?
Like, I can't believe this is a gender issue now.
I don't know.
You tell me.
How has your interview style changed over the years?
Oh, so much.
When I started this show in 2017...
I went into every episode with a list of questions and I read them.
Now I still prepare.
I still do the work, but I listen more than I talk, or at least I try to.
And if the questions go totally off script and it's not even really a script, I am absolutely fine with it.
So I think the key is confidence.
I think it's listening.
And I think it's Not feeling any pressure to make every question like oh my God, the best question ever.
I listen to some interviews where it sometimes feels like the journalist.
The interviewer wants the guest to be like.
That is the most amazing question I've ever been asked.
And don't get me wrong.
It's awesome when you ask someone a question and they're like, oh, that's a really good question.
It feels so validating even if they're just saying that to buy time before they respond.
I take it as a compliment.
We all should take everything as a compliment.
But I don't feel that.
I don't feel like I need to make every question be something or mean something.
I just want to talk to people.
And I try to remember in every interview, what am I curious about?
What do I want to know?
And, of course, one of the main rules of journalism is don't leave your audience alone asking more.
You can leave them wanting more, but I always use the stupid sandwich example, which is, if I'm interviewing a guest and I'm like oh, would you eat before?
Or they're just talking about their routine, and they say oh, and then I had a sandwich before I raced, I'm gonna go back, I want to find out what kind of sandwich you had.
So, just trying to do a thorough interview, have a.
What is one thing you're looking forward to for your show in 2026?
Seeing you all doing more live shows.
The live shows are the things that I look forward to the most.
So hoping that I get to do some more of those.
Who are your dream guests now that you got Katie?
Michelle Obama.
And you know what?
Let's let's let's throw Taylor Swift in the mix.
Let's throw Harry Styles in the mix.
Let's throw Mindy Kaling in the mix.
Let's throw Phil Dunster, who plays Jamie Tartt on Ted Lasso.
He ran a marathon.
Let's get him on this list.
What can we do to support the show?
Listen.
Listening is great.
Sharing the episodes if you like them, whether that's sharing them online or telling your running club hey, you should check out the Alley on the Run show.
Coming to events, showing up.
You can, of course, subscribe to my newsletter.
You either have the option of doing a paid subscription or a free subscription.
You get the same stuff.
The paid tier is just for people who have said, I want to support the show in some way.
And so you can choose to have a paid subscription.
My newsletter is allyontherun.substack.com.
You can still support on Patreon.
I'm not putting out designated episodes there.
But again, if you want to show your support in that way, you can.
You can follow me.
I'm allyontherun1 on Instagram.
And yeah, just be a hype person.
I love that.
Will you do more West Coast events?
I will be honest with you.
West Coast events are hard for me.
They're especially with everything that's been going on with my treatment schedule.
It's hard for me to get out to the West Coast and get back and not have it totally rescheduled, affect me and wreak havoc on my body a little bit.
So yes, I would like to get out there more.
I love the West coast.
It's not, you know, I just wish you were closer.
I wish we could just smush us all a little closer, but yeah, I would love to get out there.
I'll let you know.
If you could pick a third Epic location for a New York city marathon live show, what would it be?
Well, yeah, we've done, we started at the, we started at the run center.
The New York Roadrunners Run Center featuring the New Balance Run Hub.
I believe that's the full name.
Started at the Run Center.
We went to the One Hotel.
We did intimate events there.
Then we made our way to Carnegie Hall.
Then we made our way to Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Yeah, what's the dream?
Radio City.
But I'm pretty sure I think I've looked it up before.
I think Radio City is like 7000 seats versus Carnegie.
Carnegie was 599 and I think jazz at Lincoln Center was like 450.
So it's a significant jump to go from the ones I'm talking about and I absolutely believe that we could fill a thousand person theater 7000.
I don't, I don't know and I don't want to, I don't want to talk to a big empty theater, uh.
But yeah, i mean radio city for this former little dancer girl.
Hell yeah, radio city or lincoln center.
Lincoln center, like where new york city ballet performs.
That would also be incredible.
We did jazz at lincoln center, which is at columbus circle, but uh, lincoln center, the like the state theater, the home of new york city ballet.
That would be incredible.
A favorite running moment of 2025.
Oh, it's so sad that I can't think of one.
Oh, running around London, probably.
Going for runs in London and exploring the city with Kristen and just getting to see all that it had to offer.
Yeah, running around London.
That's a good answer.
Good answer.
Good answer.
See, it all comes back to Family Feud.
What is your favorite episode of all time?
I get this question a lot and I always think of the first Ellie Kemper episode.
The live show with Ellie Kemper was great, but the first time Ellie Kemper was on the Allie on the Run show after she had just run the New York City Marathon and she was just so excited to talk about running.
I love that.
I love her.
What would you tell December 2024 Allie?
Enjoy the next few months because then you're going to get cancer again.
You got this.
I don't know.
She figured it out.
She didn't need future Ali's advice.
Would you ever do a subscriber only episode where you get into more juicy deets?
I'd pay.
What juicy deets do you want?
Do you want like running juicy deets or do you want me to like spill all the tea about my divorce?
Um, What are you looking for?
Either way, I don't think you're going to get it.
Um, but I'm curious when you say juicy deets, what are you talking about?
Uh, I know you can't, but would love a vague status update of life post divorce.
Why can't I, I can do whatever I want.
Um, I'm not interested in it for reasons that are because I have a daughter and um, She doesn't need all this information out there.
I don't need all this information out there.
I say this all the time.
I get it.
I get the curiosity.
I get wanting to know more details, because we are so invested in each other and because I do share so much.
But yeah, I mean, I think the important thing to know is that Annie is doing amazing.
Annie has loving relationships with both of her parents and that to me and she is happy healthy, safe and loved.
I think that's the only update that really matters and I'm doing okay.
What conversation of any in history do you wish you could have been a part of?
Um okay, my immediate thought was and I know you don't want this to be political I feel like I want to be a part of literally any conversation that the current administration is having and try to understand.
Like, I would love to understand some of the decisions being made right now.
I would love to understand.
I would love to be in a room full of people saying, yes, this is a good idea.
Yes, this is the right thing.
Yes, this makes our country better.
That's my initial thought.
But like the more honest answer is Taylor Swift coming up with her heiress tour set list.
Would have loved to have been there for that.
If there were a six part documentary made on one of your live shows, which one would you choose?
Oh, that's a really fun question.
It might be.
I mean it would either be the Sydney one, Sydney McLaughlin Lebroni, this year, last year with Gabby Thomas, or the year before with Ellie Kemper.
That was the first like really big live show that we did.
And that was the first time New Balance surprised me.
They had t-shirts made.
They had the go alley red t-shirts that I didn't know about.
And that was a great show and I loved it.
And, uh, so that, that would be up there too.
Mostly, I don't think there's enough content for a six-part documentary on one of my live shows, but I did just manage to talk about myself for about two hours, talked about myself to myself, so really the limit truly does not exist.
You tell me which show do you want a six-part documentary about?
And New Balance, if you're listening.
Get the camera crew ready, let's have some fun.
Okay, Are there any lingering questions by the end of this?
Alright, let's shut it down.
Oh baby, if you made it to the end here, thank you for indulging me on this one.
As always, I just kind of need some way to get this all out of my brain and somewhere that I can be held accountable.
And this always feels like a fit.
So whether you are a longtime listener or you're new to the show, I am so happy to have you here.
I'd love to know what you thought of this episode.
And if you have any 2026 goals and dreams of your own, let me know.
I'm on Instagram at Allie on the Run 1.
I'm in the Allie on the Run show, best running friends Facebook group truly the most lovely corner of the internet that exists.
And on my newsletter, Allie on the Run dot substack dot com.
If you want to kick off your year by showing support for the Allie on the Run show, those are some ways you can do that.
Follow along, rate and review the show on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode.
And yeah, here's hoping for all the best for all of us in 2026.
I hope that your year is filled with love and happiness.
And whether it is during the times you are celebrating or during the times you need a little extra Love and support.
I hope that the Allie on the Run show always feels like a place that you can come to for those things.
Thank you again to the sponsors and partners of the Allie on the Run show for this episode.
That means a big loving shout out to Lagoon.
Go to lagoonsleepcom, slash Allie to save, to take the sleep quiz to see if you're an otter like me.
And of course, Lagoon, thank you for being here for another year on the Allie on the Run show.
That is all from me.
Here's to you.
You're doing great, by the way.
You've got this.
Here's to 2026.
And thank you for joining me on the run.
