Flagstaff Archives - Lindsey Hein

Episode 287: Matt Llano – 2:11:14 Marathoner & Newest Member of the Dark Sky Distance Team

Lindsey Hein — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 05:00:39 +0000

Matt Llano recently joined the Dark Sky Distance team in Flagstaff, Arizona and signed with Under Armour.

Matt grew up in Maryland and went on to run for the University of Richmond where he was an All-American in cross country and track and field. Matt was 9th at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m. Right after college he joined Team USA Minnesota and then moved Flagstaff, Arizona a year later.

Matt represented the United States in 2014 at the World Half Marathon Championships and in 2015, Matt finished 2nd at the USA Marathon Championships. After finishing 6th at the 2016 Olympic Trials in the marathon, Matt dealt with a few years of serious injuries that required three surgeries.

In this episode, Matt talks about coming back from injuries and running the Berlin Marathon last year, starting his coaching business, joining Dark Sky Distance, and his experience with having COVID-19.

This episode was guest hosted by Lauren Floris of the Up + Running Podcast.

Photo credit: Evan Barnes

What we talked about:

3:10- Introduction to Matt Llano

4:30- The decision to run for the University of Richmond and how his collegiate career lead him to run professionally

11:00- Starting his coaching business, Find Your Fast.

14:15- How many athletes he works with and what types of distances he helps train them for

16:40- Matt’s favorite thing about coaching other people

19:00- Recapping his Berlin Marathon race last year

24:00- His thoughts on the Olympic Trials race and coming off of the trials with everything getting cancelled

27:15- Joining Dark Sky Distance

32:30- The meaning behind the Dark Sky Distance name

34:40- His favorite Under Armour products

38:35- Matt’s experience with being diagnosed with COVID-19 and how he has worked with various doctors to figure out how to come back to training safely

49:35- Hobbies that he has picked up during 2020

1:04:15- End of podcast questions

Show Notes:

It Gets Better

GLSEN

The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

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The post Episode 287: Matt Llano – 2:11:14 Marathoner & Newest Member of the Dark Sky Distance Team appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Episode 274: Emily Durgin – Dark Sky Distance Under Armour

Lindsey Hein — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 11:09:23 +0000

Emily Durgin is a part of the recently announced Under Armour Dark Sky Distance team in Flagstaff! She ran for the University of Connecticut where she majored in journalism and communications. Post college she spent some time with the New Balance Development group in Boston while nannying full time.

During her time with New Balance Boston she lowered her 10K time, came in second at the Falmouth Road Race and was fifth in the U.S. 5K championship. Soon after she was approached by Stephan Haas from Total Sports Management and landed with a contract with Under Armour out in Flagstaff with this new distance team. The team is coached by both Stephen Haas and Shayla Houlihan. You heard from Shayla on this podcast in episode 270! Emily focuses on the 10k, and recently ran her first half marathon in 72 minutes, taking that time down by a minute just two weeks later to 71 minutes. Long term she does have her sites set on the marathon as well.

Emily’s career is in it’s infancy and the sky is the limit – it is so exciting to see what is ahead for her. We also learn about her first love of dancing, what she’s watching and most recently details on the Sunset Track Meet she competed in.

Photo Cred: Evan Barnes

What we talked about:

5:30- Emily’s recent races in California

10:30- Introduction to who Emily Durgin is and how she started running

16:00- Her passion for journalism

19:45- Deciding to run professional and the process of finding a sponsor and group post collegiately

28:50- Being able to train full time now without a part time job on the side and the positive effects it has had on her physically and mentally

31:20- What she likes to do outside of running

37:00- The decision to move to Flagstaff and train with Dark Sky Distance

40:10- Being sponsored by Under Armour and what she loves about working with them

44:30- Emily’s transition to moving to Flagstaff, Arizona

51:35- Being coached by Shayla Houlihan

54:10- Sharing her thoughts about the differences of being coached by male vs female coaches and she shares about some of the incredible coaches she has worked with

57:50- Emily’s big goals in running for the next few years

59:30- The mental training and tactics that she uses for races and training

1:02:40- When she will debut in the marathon

1:07:15- End of podcast questions

Show Notes:

Dark Sky Distance

Untamed – Glennon Doyle

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The post Episode 274: Emily Durgin – Dark Sky Distance Under Armour appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Episode 270: Shayla Houlihan – Professional Coach with Under Armour

Lindsey Hein — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 10:47:11 +0000

Shayla Houlihan is coaching a new Pro team out in Flagstaff with Under Armour. They’ll be announcing their team name and more info soon so make sure you look for it!

Shayla ran for the University of Northern Iowa and then ran Pro from 2010-2012 fro Team USA Arizona, Brooks and in 2010 was ranked the fastest steeplechaser in the US. She ended her Pro career after the 2012 Olympic Trials and started her coaching career.

She started as a volunteer assistant coach at University of Utah for 1 year after finishing her eligibility for running and working on her masters and then went on to be an assistant coach for Team Run Flagstaff 2010-2012…for the club team (everyday runners) where she coached 170 runners. From there she coached at the University of California, Berkeley as the Head Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track Coach for distance. In 2017 her women’s team made the NCAA championships as a team for the first time in 6 years.

In the episode Shayla shares with us a little bit about her own running career and then why she choose coaching. We also talk about what her recruiting process was like, what it was like to coach both the Women’s and the Men’s team and why she decided to be. part of this new Pro group in Flagstaff with fellow coach and agent Stephen Haas.

What we talked about:

4:00- Talking about her family

9:30- How she started running

10:20- Walking on the team at the University of Northern Iowa

13:25- Her college career and starting the steeplechase

19:30- Running professional and the process of starting coaching

22:45- What she learned from Coach Kepler at the University of Northern Iowa and University of Utah

24:30- Her professional steeplechase career

26:40- How she started coaching

30:30- The difference of coaching a walk on compared to a national caliber recruit

31:45- Cultivating a culture where each athlete feels important

33:30- Transitioning to coaching professional teams