Matt Billotti - "Do hard things."

Matt Bilotti is retired U.S. Coast Guard. His running started in 2003–2004 with a "Boot Camp" gym class at the WVU football stadium (Law School Hill sprints and 120-some stadium steps) to get ready for Coast Guard boot camp.

Today he is a vocational trainer for a personal fitness training program with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Department of Justice).

He teaches the ISSA Certified Personal Trainer course — 10 to 12 weeks, about 120 hours, two classes a day — to incarcerated men, who leave with a certification ISSA backs with a job guarantee. His students call him "Coach B."


Matt Billotti - https://www.facebook.com/matt.billotti


Races Mentioned
Coast Guard Marathon
Canaan Valley Half Marathon
Pittsburgh Half Marathon
Olympic-distance triathlon
Moonlight at the Falls
JFK 50
New York City Marathon
Turkey Trot

Shout Outs
Dave McDonald

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:15

Hi Runner Story Family, this is Alison Gilliard with Runner Story where every story needs to be heard. And all I can say is buckle up for this one, guys. The timing could not be more perfect to hear the story of Matt Bilotti. What an incredible individual, what a heart of gold. His theme is empowering men who are incarcerated. And you guys are gonna hear an incredible story in how he inspires future runners, personal trainers who have never experienced a gym, working out, or miles. And just the whirlwind that comes with that. Matt is also a retired coastie. So thank you, Matt, for your service. To all of our men and women in uniforms, thank you for this. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for your stories that you share. Guys, all I can say is it's it's a good one, and you guys are gonna absolutely love Matt and his run story. And it saves the perfect timing because fueling our podcast this month are our friends from IBY6, which means I Got Your Six Golf Coast and their benefit, their 5K mouse for heroes. We are so excited because this is more than a 5K. And those guys from I Got Your Six, they're doing an outstanding job. And it's been really fun to see this come together the way it has over the years. It's about honoring the men and women who have served our country, supporting our first responders, raising awareness around mental health and civic prevention, and reminding our heroes that they are never alone. So again, thank you to anyone who has served in any capacity. You are heroes, you are amazing, and we hope this is one way that we get to get back. I got your sticks as a promise of support, connection, and looking out for the person beside you. Because sometimes the strongest thing we can do isn't to run faster, lift heavier, or push through another mile. Sometimes it's simply showing up. So I understand that we have people from all over the United States and other countries who listen to this. So you may be going, well, I don't live locally. Well, reach out and see how you can get back to your local I Got Your Stick chapter, or how you can get back to veterans, or find something to think of first responder. Find a way to think of veteran and to remind all of those that serve that we've got your back. And we really appreciate you. It's because of you that we get to run. It's because of you that we get to show up into races. Support your veterans, support your first responders, reach out, ask how you can be involved. And if you are local, come run miles for heroes.k. So we're excited. You can find out more online at run sign up. There's a sign up there, but you can also find out more on that runner story page. I also encourage you to show the I Got Your Six page. You'll learn a lot in what those guys do. So thank you to the board of I Got Your Six Golf Coast. You guys believe in runners, you believe in the run story, and what you guys are doing is absolutely amazing. Again, I'm getting in my trouble just because it is the perfect time to share Matt's story, and you guys were so inspired. And all I can say is thank you to Matt for sharing her story. Thank you for what you do for the community as a whole and what you do for those that are incarcerated, reminding them that this is just a chapter. This isn't defining who they are, and they're so much to who they are. Such a beautiful reminder, Matt. And again, thank you for all that you do. And with that being said, lace up the running shoes, guys. Get ready, get set, and go run with my friend Matt and we're running story. Thanks, Matt, for being on the podcast. I am so excited because I have a couple of questions for you, which I'm very, very excited about. Because you do something with running that is very unique, which I absolutely love. And I think it's so I didn't even realize I'm gonna be that person that says I didn't even realize that that was needed, if that's the right way to say that. But I love this and I cannot wait to hear your story. And one of the things we're gonna talk about is that you do empowering men who were incarcerated. And again, so many questions. The first question is how did you get here? How has your run story began? How do we come up with empowering incarcerated men?

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Wow, that's that's a great start. Yeah, from where I started to where I'm at today, it's been it has been a very long story. I've got a few chapters in the book, but I think it started somewhere around my running, where I actually started feet on the ground running was somewhere in 2003, 2004, as I was preparing to join the United States Coast Guard. So I made that decision to serve the country. I picked my branch of service where I wanted to spend my time, and I really liked boats and water, so I started prepping for that, and I joined a local gym, had a class called it was actually called boot camp, and I took it to prep for Coast Guard boot camp. So I got into that and it was a lot of bodyweight workouts. I've always been a gym rat, so I was always moving weight around and clanging iron and all that good stuff, but this was completely different. It was a lot of calisthenics, a lot of running, things like that. And this was three days a week, Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. And we met at the WVU. I'm here in Morgantown, West Virginia, so we met at the WVU football stadium, and we would work out outside and we would do body weight stuff, and we'd run around the actual football stadium around the outside. The workouts were about an hour long or so, and I would get done with these workouts, and I realized, man, I just ran three or four miles. I've never done that before. So I kind of kept that with me. There was an area there actually called the Law School Hill. It was just this straight up hill that they would have the football players run, and then beside of it is a set of steps that's about 120 some steps down and back. So we were hill sprints down, running, and then the combination of all the bodyweight workouts it really got me fit and ready to join the Coast Guard. So I spent six years of duty in the Coast Guard. I continued running through there. I mean, we had to do our yearly PT test and things like that. You just kind of had to stay fit for service. I always kept up running 5K here, a couple miles here, just enough to kind of pass the PT test. And then from there, I dabbled in 5Ks and things like that. And then I continued on with my fitness journey. I continued on serving my country in a different capacity. I separated from the United States Coast Guard in 2010, and then that brought me to my current job now was is just with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the Department of Justice. And my title is a vocational trainer for a personal fitness training program. So all of this ties in together is because, well, I've had to stay in shape, I've made running part of my life, and I've managed to spread my personal joy of love for running through everyone that's crossed my path along the way, from co-workers in the Coast Guard to co-workers now to even the inmates that I that I teach now, the incarcerated males that are in my class now. It all ties in together, and since then my running journey has just kept on going on and on and on.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

That's incredible. Wow. What is it like to teach a class at the prison?

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Yeah, it's almost like a it's almost like a college class. I mean, I'm I teach lectures about six hours a day to two different classes at a.m. and a p.m. Guys sign up, they enroll, there's prerequisites. If they meet those, then I enroll them. It's about a 10 to 12 week course at about 120 hours. And I teach the ISSA certified personal trainer certification, which is ISSA, that's the International Sports and Science Association. I teach their certified personal trainer course, which I obviously I am certified personal trainer. I am also a certified running coach, nutritionist, and tactical condition specialist are the current credentials I hold. But the class, yeah. So 10 to 12 weeks we go through everything from the psychological effects of fitness to biomechanics, energy systems, cardiovascular training, program design, resistance training, CPR first aid. We go through all of that. I prepare them to take an exam and they pass it and they get certified to be personal trainers and they go out and work the field. They got a job as personal trainers in your local gyms, your YMCAs, things like that. I I actually work with kind of low-level criminals that are there for a short period of time. So we offer a whole lot of programs. Mine being one of them, being a vocational program where they can actually get a certification and leave with a hard copy certification that's worth value to out the civilian world. So they can go right to a job. And with ISSA, the agency we certify them with, they guarantee a job. So these guys are walking right out and getting jobs. Some of them are actually some of my prior students are actually entrepreneurs where they've gone out and now they they started entry level, now they own their own gyms. So some of the stories that that have have been great. I had a gentleman who took my class and went on to there's actually an article about it where a gentleman went out and he he would come to my class every day. He would take every notes, I would teach classes, I would teach wellness classes, I would teach the personal trainer class. He would take notes, he would actually come back and he would type up in a typewriter, an old school typewriter, all the notes that he took from my class and just different things that I would say that may have not been in the textbook that kind of struck him as as something that would be important, and he would type it all up and bring it back in case I wanted to resource it. This gentleman went out and got a job at YMCA in Muncie, Indiana. He taught a few classes, and next thing I know, they asked him to be the instructor for the Live Strong force, which is a training force for cancer patients or surviving cancer patients. So it was very humbling for him, and it was also very humbling for the feedback to me to think that he thanked me for everything he had learned because he had no fitness base coming in and everything from running to resistance training to working out to lifting, everything he learned was from me and my class. And he went out there and and got the opportunity to teach this class. It all comes back full circle and gives me all the warm and fuzzies.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Wow, that's incredible. Because I my my follow-up question was gonna be like, so what is it like to see them fall in love with running or fall in love with working out or finding their niche? Because we know not everybody wants to be a runner, everybody wants to lift weights or that sort of thing. But like you just said, some of these guys, this is their first time to ever have this experience into this world that we so easily have access to. What is that transition like for them?

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Yeah, sure. So a lot of them have never even ran when they come into the setting. Me being a runner, I can kind of influence that on them. So I come in and I get to tell my stories about my races, things like that. They hear me talk about it. They even know if I've mentioned I might have a race coming up or I'm sure, or they'll be like, Coach B, how many miles did you run today? How many miles did you run? So they're feeding off of my energy and and I bring every single day to work. I don't change who I am. They know that I've either already clipped off a few miles before I got to work, or I have something like that. So that's usually a question that I hear, but I think that energy just flows right into them. I got guys that just start walking and then they're like, hey, I ran my first five cabinets. We have a track that's just shy of a quarter mile track, it's packed gravel. So they they can actually get out there and and put the miles in there. Uh I've got guys that are training now for a marathon. And another story, I got a I had a message I received the other day of a gentleman who he was a little overweight, and I was like, hey man, why don't you start walking and then just start picking it up a little bit and try running? Just run for a minute here, run for a minute there, listen to your body, give it a try. You've got time. Go out there and have fun with it, be outside, breathe the fresh air. He messaged me the other day and said that he had opened a nonprofit in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and that he's been hosting for the last three years a 5K event for his nonprofit, and it was all because I got him started in running. So that was just great. And then I even saw the videos. I mean, they've got the MC and they've got the swag bags and they've got everything. And he said, I would have never started if it running if it wasn't for you. So that was just it was just great to know that I'm making an impact somewhere, and it all ties into running and fitness and taking care of yourself and taking taking advantage of the great running community that we have out there.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Absolutely. Wow. Matt, what are some lessons that you've learned from all of this? Normally we ask, what are lessons that you've learned from running? But this is a little different. What have you taken away from this part of your chapter, the part of the story?

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Well, not just myself, but everyone has a story. Everyone has a story, and with that, I think you just need to be patient, enjoy the process, enjoy your life. Take each day at a time. Not every day is gonna be great when it comes to running, we're gonna have good days, we're gonna have bad days. Things are gonna hurt. We have to adapt to that. Everyone can do it if they just put the work in and they're patient. Like I said, this guy is now hosting a 5k event. Never even thought about running before until I mentioned, hey, let's let's let's pick up the pace a little bit. You can do it. You're young, get out there and do it. And now he's hosting a 5k. I think that everyone has the ability to do it, but everyone should do it if they can and just enjoy the process and be patient and enjoy the lot take in the community.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

That is beautiful. Have you seen a difference from those that not only because we see it every day in ourselves or in others that are brand new to running? But obviously, if somebody is in your class, it's there's a lot of layers there. It's not just, oh, I want to show up and run or work out today. With that being asked, have you seen a mental switch, a mental change in some of them to be like, wow, I didn't know that I could do this? Like I'm I realize that I'm capable of more than what I was.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Well, absolutely. I think as far as running goes, some of the guys that they don't see life beyond a 20-minute treadmill run or an occasional 5k. And they also don't know of the really big popularity right now of these running clubs. So I think I can provide that information from being hands-on out here in the real world. I come back, I talk about the things, and I share them. It gives them something to look forward to. Did you know that in your neighborhood that there's a running club? They don't know that. So I bring that information to them and it brings a little bit of excitement. I tell my stories about my races, experiences that I had, and it gets them all excited to go out and sign up for races. And and they're doing it, I hear about it, I see it, they're going out there and they're doing it. I think me providing some of that information gives them a little little light at the other end of the tunnel. And I also think there's always been a stigma of as far as my class goes and them getting a certification. I also think there's been a stigma of there's no jobs for felons, no jobs for prior felons. Well, in this case that there is, because you've learned, you received a certificate, and there's jobs out there waiting, and the majority of their time is spent working out. So they didn't they do get to learn a lot about themselves, about fitness, about taking care of themselves, nutrition, things like that, and they can come out and provide that service to any gym goer or anyone who can't.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

That is amazing. So, speaking of how you talk about races, do you have a favorite race?

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Oh, I do, I do. I just finished the Coast Guard Marathon back in April. With with my love for my service to United States Coast Guard, there's not a better race for me. I mean, I've I've been out of the service since 2010. I still miss it every day. And I and I can go back to Elizabeth City. I think this was the third year of the race. I ran it in 23 and I ran it in 26. I can go back every time and run into old shipmates that I served with back in eight, 2007, and then I'll just run into them. And it's been almost 20 years later, and I'll go to this race and I'll run into old shipmates there at the race that are still in the service. That's good. I love the fact that it's a flat course, the weather is beautiful there in Elizabeth City. You got the flyovers, and just the whole part of just being back and involved with my service. That's always gonna be my number one race. So we we did that this year. My wife got her first half this year, and I PR'd my marathon there this year. What I thought was gonna be a race case and actually turn into a business trip because we went down there and we handled business. My my wife crushed absolutely crushed her half. We both had goals, and we both absolutely crushed our goals. So it was absolutely a great, great race weekend for us. We uh my daughter was supposed to go with us, but she's busy being a teenager and she didn't make it. I had signed up to do the 5k the day before, and then the marathon on Sunday. So my wife ended up doing the 5k also on Saturday, and then the half on Sunday. We were gonna go into it as just kind of a shakeout run for our Sunday. And she ends up PR in her 5K and I and I did pretty good as well. And it was casual. I think it's just we train here in West Virginia and we have all these hills, so I think getting somewhere flatter and close to sea level, it just does make it a little bit easier. She did not intend to PR her 5k, but she did PR 5K, and like I said, she had a goal of her half, and she crushed that. The goal for my marathon crushed that, and the Coast Guard Marathon will forever be my number one. And then I've got a couple other that are too far behind, but the Pittsburgh half marathon is absolutely right. This race is so much fun. So that is a close second, but my love for my service and the marathon, the Coast Guard Marathon is definitely it.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Okay, alright. On the flip side of that, do you have a race that you're like, I wish I could go back and redo, or you know what, that just took everything I had. I don't ever care to do that one again.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Running race, not not so much. I did a triathlon in in Virginia once, and it absolutely chewed me up. Quad cramps, just I just know I could go back and absolutely do a lot better, but that that race took a lot out of me. As far as a running race, no, I just I like them. They all they all created memories, they all added chapters to my book. There was a half marathon in it's called the Canaane Valley half marathon here in West Virginia. It's in the mountains around the ski area. That was 2025. It was probably 40 degrees and in the monsoon rainstorm blowing sideways.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Yeah, to the point where my my I had an earbud in and it actually ruined my headphone because the water from the rain shorted out my headphones. So that that was a bad that was a bad one, but I would say that I would almost say that that would be one I didn't want to do, but guess what? We went back this year and we PR'd it. I've been having a really good year this year. The training's been good. I I think actually I think getting certified as a running commission. Prior to that, it was just look online and buying a plan. I added my own system to my training plan this year, and just we've had a great year, and and there's not too many races that I wouldn't go back and do again.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

I love them all.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

Sure, yeah. I there's always lessons to be learned in something. And I I have a triathlon experience that I have been doing triathons for for years and years, and it was just this one experience that I was like, that was trash. Like, I'll never care to do that with a kid. So I totally get that. Totally get it.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Well, yeah, being that I've I've done so well with my races this year, I've PR'd mod. Full, I've PR'd my half, PR'd my 10K in a training day, PR'd my 5k back in June last month. I almost want to go back and revisit this triathlon, Olympic business triathlon in Virginia, because I've got the ish now because things have been going my way, and I'll never forget that race. I want to get past that part I remember of these cramps that happen. I want to see if I'm gonna do this race again and not have these cramps happen. Might revisit that in September this year.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Okay. All right. Matt, let's talk about because you do have experience and knowledge with a nutrition. So let's talk about pre-race routine. What does that look like for you? And then how do you feel prior to your races?

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Yeah, so pre-race routine. Top tall out of the bed, usually four in the morning, something like that. I have this weird routine for where I go into burpees right as soon as I wake up. This is just race day. I'll get up and I'll knock out a few burpees, five or ten burpees, and then we usually start fueling with some caffeine, coffee, or some type of caffeine, bagel, bananas, peanut butter, something like that. Nothing real specific. It's just what's accessible. And I kind of just have an idea in my mind of roughly what I need to put into my body. Now, the Coast Guard Marathon this year, I don't think I fueled all the way properly. I could have done a little bit better because at mile 10, I was absolutely starving. So I think there's always with the stories that that we're writing as we're racing and training and things like that, I think we can always add pages and chapters to this book. But and even being a certified nutritionist, I you'd think I'd have it down, but I don't. I mean, every every time I'm trying something a little bit new, but not too far off, I just make sure I get carbohydrates, a little bit of fat, but it usually looks like a bagel, but peanut butter, something like that.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

For your longer run, like for your marathon, do you take gels or is there a certain kind of gel that you like to take with you?

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Oh, absolutely. I am trial and error, I'm completely loyal to the SIS. Okay. So I'm in sports, there are isotonic gels with caffeine, without caffeine. I use the really good gels and their Go electro also. And then this year for my marathon prep and race, we added him the famous nerd gummy clusters.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Yes, yes. It's different, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Strawberry punch, juicy strawberry punch. We kept those on rotation. And honestly, I think with the marathon, when I got to mile 10 and I was starting to feel a little hungry, I think that might be what saved me. I just happened to have a bag of those in my pocket. But I decided to train with those this year because I did look at the numbers and compared to a gel, really not ball that far off. So kept those with me. They were fun, they were exciting, they have a little bit of crunch, and those new ones, the juicy ones, they got that little bit of gel in there. I enjoyed those this year in the training. But everything I use is SIS. But I tried the goose, I tried the honey stingers, um, you name it, I've tried it, and it was trial and error. And and these are just a little more liquidy, so I like them a little bit better, they're a little easier.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

That's awesome. I'm Tony, those clusters, they just hit different. It's like you said, it's like a little treat along the way. You're like, Yes, I finally get to eat this, you know. Like they make me feel useful. I love that. That's awesome. I love that. Okay, Matt. So you cross the finish line. What does post-race routine look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Well, this year, across the marathon line, I was ringing that PR bell, so that was exciting.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Cross the finish line. Probably this year I was laid out, so actually full of my race good way, full of emotion, happiness, tire. I laid down, I grabbed the closest piece of grass and laid down and just kind of took it all in. Whenever I get up and I'm ready to move around again, I'll just kind of watch that finish line and kind of look for some familiar faces that I may have seen throughout the race, cheer for them, and then I'm looking for the coldest, closest beer around. That that's post and just kind of taking it all in. If there's vendors, limp around and walk around, and kind of check those out and say hi to people that maybe met the course. I am a talker, so if I'm on a course and we're running close to each other, I'm probably gonna engage in conversation. Yeah, that that's one thing I do love about racing, and that's why I said I can't look back and think of any that I don't that I wouldn't want to do again because we all have memories, they all have stories. I mean, even from that triathlon I was talking about in Virginia, I met people there that I still talk to, but met somebody at a 50 last month that I talked to. Every place I go to, I tend to meet people and and stay in contact. So I do like that part of just kind of lingering around post-race and kind of just taking in the whole vibe of of the race. And then, like I said, I'm I'm gonna look for a beer and I'm gonna socialize and take it all. So I do these race cations. I make sure that I take in a full weekend of these and and just go out and enjoy myself. So post-race, that's all part of it. I'm going dinner, I'm going to the local brewery, and I'm gonna have a sandwich and fries and their best craft beer.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Is that post-yeah?

SPEAKER_00 27:47

That sounds great. Matt, what is your favorite running shoe?

SPEAKER_01 27:55

You just open the can of worms, Alice.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

I'm so smart.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

I I'm a full-blown sneaker head, and then it's a problem.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

Oh, sweet. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

Yes. Actually, the link up my guy does it, Dave, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Yeah. I would love to chat with you about shoes. Yesterday I put in five miles in the uh DVA nine show pure. Um I was on the porch, slapped them on, went about five miles on those. Not bad. But currently, I'm enjoying the Chinese running shoes. I'm enjoying the Antas and the Lee Nings. Okay. So that the Antas 2, I'm liking that. And the the Lee Ning red hair ultra dot is absolutely a blast to run. It's so much fun. But I got a shoe for just about everything. I like to try them out, and then I use them for a little bit, and I either donate or resell. It's kind of my hobby, but I absolutely love shoes. Functional shoes, something I can wear, put some miles in, and then onto the packs. I've got all my shoes that I that I wore for my races this year. I ran the marathon in Hookah Mach X3. That was enjoyable for the marathon, no issues at all. I ran the new balance supercomp elite v5. My fastest shoe that I absolutely love is the Adidas Adios Prof. That is a fast, fast shoe. So I love that. And then you can't go wrong with the Adidas ERSL or a lot of a lot of the I don't think ASICs makes anything bad, but large collection of ASICs from the super blast to the mega blasts. But yeah, I can I could do a whole podcast with shoes. I absolutely love the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

I love that. That's awesome. Let me let me ask you this on a side note, for those that you teach, where do they get their do they are they allowed running gear? Like, do they get running shoes? Like, how does that work?

SPEAKER_01 30:07

Yeah, so they have a commissary there, so just essentially a store, and they'll put running shoes in their store and they can go and buy shoes. Uh I think right now they have a pair of their Nikes. I want to say they're the Win Winflows or Winlows or something like that. They're they're Nikes, they look kind of like the Vermeros. So if you're familiar with the Vermero teams, they kind of look like that, but they're step down. There's a lot of rules and stipulations with the shoes and things that they can buy. It can be over a certain price, things like that. So there's a lot that goes into that. I mean, I think they're running in underarmors and Nikes, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:47

Okay, true. Okay. What is a running item, Matt, that you will not go out the door with? Like you must have this item to go run with.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Item. Well, shirt rate monitor. I want to say okay I want to say my chest strap, my Garmin Pro chest strap. I can run without it, but I think it's more of a peace of mind thing and not tell a story with such you ask about that tool. But the heart rate monitor, I was I just feel like a comfort's almost like a comfort pillow. And in 2019, I had a little heart issue. And ever since then, I've been really, really, I guess, heart sensitive. I always want to make sure I have that peace of mind that I'm running in the right zones or I'm not spiking it too high for too long, things like that. It's just it's more of a just a peace of mind to have it. I mean, I can run without it because I know how I feel. I can I can run off of RPE or obviously aligns. Most of the time, your heart rate so it's I don't need it, but it's just more of that piece. You run in West Virginia, we have all these hills. I'm holding good pace, I could get into these hills and spike my heart rate, things like that. But yeah, I had uh in 2019 I had atrooflutter, and ever since then I've been a little sensitive to that, and that actually is one of the many reasons why I got into endurance and running a little bit more was 2019 because that heart issue. So I would say heart rate monitor chest strap, the Garmin Pro. And I recently added the one of the waistbelts or you can put stuff in there, and I just have that for my phone and debit cards, and then obviously my nurse clusters are in there somewhere. But I found that those belts actually put everything really nice and tight to the bodies before I was just running with my phone and stuff talking. So I guess I've kind of upgraded a little bit. I've got the waist belt and I'm wearing path tights now, and so and I I couldn't imagine a run without these three, but if I don't have them and I'm I'm scheduled to get a run done, it's it's still I'm gonna run without I'll figure out a way to make it happen, even if it's without the heart rate on it, the chest straight after that. I can get the job done either way.

SPEAKER_00 33:05

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

No belt tights.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

We can negotiate it.

SPEAKER_01 33:13

Yeah, we're gonna get it done, but so and I've been known to forget a thing or two.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

That's fair. That's absolutely fair. Matt, let me ask you this. Do you have a memory that when you think back on it, it makes you laugh or it makes you go, oh, I love running? Do you have one of those memories?

SPEAKER_01 33:29

Wow, let's see. So many. I mean, I actually it makes me laugh. I have a friend say, Matt, why is it every single picture of you running, you're smiling or laughing? They're like, that looks miserable. And you're always smiling and laughing. I just think back to that triathlon that I did in Virginia. There was just a lot of stories of that. And I had two cramps during the 10K. One was at rated a half a mile in. I started getting what felt like somebody jabbing a knife into my quads. And then one mile in, I was off the side of the course on my hands and knees. There was a lot of ups and downs with that, but the smiling part was making me laugh. Was just before the race, my wife and daughter came up to me and they said, Hey, this guy is checking you out. And she's like, Do you know him? I said, No. And they're walking by, oh, he's looking at your age. Which I was like, What do you mean? I forgot that they wrote your age in the back of your life. Like, he's checking you out to see if you're in his age room. And so, so the whole time I was just like, I gotta, I gotta get this guy, I gotta get this guy. And between a bike issue, and I and really I just thought my my wife and daughter were just trying to get in my head and mess with me. That whole race was absolutely miserable, painful, funny. I mean, it just had all the emotions tied into one. And then another one where I was smiling the entire time, that Pittsburgh half marathon. That one I didn't even put in music for that race. So 13.1, no music, no nothing, just taking in all of the vibes of beautiful city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And it was absolutely electric. I got halfway through, I'm at mile seven and a half, and I get to the west end of Pittsburgh, and it's an absolute party. People are standing on top of cars. I mean, they're blowing horns, they've got kegs, they're handing out beers, and I was like, is this beer? And they were like, Yeah. And I remember shooting a beer, and I was like, what an electric city. This is absolutely phenomenal. And I just you just smile the whole way. I mean, I think my my cheeks hurt more from smiling and laughing than than my body.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Yeah, yeah. I just take it all in. I've ran into somebody on the mid-course that I knew, and we're having conversations. He's introducing me to his daughter. Obviously, maybe I'm not running hard enough, but most of the time I'm there, I'm there for the vibes. And if a good outcome happens, then that's that's great. But if we impacted somebody's life or made a new friend, or we exchanged a story or something in that race that made it all worth it.

SPEAKER_00 36:28

That is phenomenal. I love that. That is so cool. You mentioned listening to music. So, what is your playlist sound like, Matt?

SPEAKER_01 36:36

Wow, that that's it's all over the place. But in the last, I mean, I love I love love music. I love almost all types of music.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 36:45

My favorite genre of music ever is definitely 90s RB.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

You can't be it.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

They're having trouble duplicating it. But in the last handful of years, I really have kind of changed my music. I I've always been into hip-hop, rap, RB, things like that. And just the last few years, it's just turned me away. And I found a new genre about I don't know, five to ten years ago, something like that, a handful of years ago. Really into the whole reggae vibe. I'm really into the positive music. Kind of like the it's like Cali Roots reggae. The genres stems from 311s, Sublime, things like that. But what's on my playlist is a band called The Bumpin' Ugblies, Bally Who, The Elevators, Stick Figure. I don't know if you've heard of any of those, but it's just it's all, and then there's some solo artists that I really enjoy. But it's very, very peaceful. It talks a lot about just love and enjoying life and being healthy and being outside. It's referred to also as beach rock. We call it East Coast Americana. Chesapeake Bay reggae is another term that's been used, but I also like a little bit of country. There's still some rap that I like. When I get tired, I can go straight EDM, get more beats per minute that I'm hoping my cadence. I hope at 180 beats per minute, I hope I'm getting 180 steps per minute. My music right now has just been kind of beach vibes, just the beach reggae vibes. And that's it's just positive. I found that I'm a better person, I do better things, my mind's different when I'm listening to more positive. So I've kind of limited anything. Even nowadays, that the new country, I want to like it, but just it seems like it's all talking about beer and this and that and the other, and it's just like all right. One they're kind of all sound the same to me, but I love all music. Yeah, I love going to concerts, things like that. But like I said, Pittsburgh half, I didn't listen to one song the entire time. And actually, when I got done, I said, if you ran this race and you listened to music, you should have to run it again. Wow because you missed the whole race. Yeah, you missed 13 miles of people just cheering, having a good time. I don't want to miss that either. When I'm on the trail, I don't listen to music on the trail. Sure. So bump packing miles on the West Virginia mountain trails and things like that. I've got a lot of Appalachian Trail miles under my belt. I've got probably over a hundred some miles of running on the Appalachian Trail. Wow. I probably didn't listen to one song there because I want to hear the leaves, I want to hear the sticks break, I want to hear the birds, I want to take it all. I want to hear the creeks, I want to hear all of that. So that's my music when I'm in the trail.

SPEAKER_00 39:43

That's amazing. Okay, yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 39:46

But I love music.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Let's switch to recoveries. Do you have a favorite recovery tool?

SPEAKER_01 39:52

My go-to recovery tool is always going to be the foam roller and the crossball. They're easy to travel with. And like I said, a lot of the races I do, I make race cations. So I'm packing, I'm getting in the car, we're going somewhere. The foam roller, I'll take one of the hollow ones and just kind of put that through the strap of my bag so it's easy to carry. I think every bag I have from my work bag to my gym bag to my suitcase, they all have a little crossball in them. So I can usually hit and kind of take care of what I need to with those two tools. Depending on how big the race is, if they have a recovery zone or recovery tent, I might go there and hit the trigger gun or something like that. But I can probably get everything I needed to get with the stone roll and the crossball. So those are my go-to.

SPEAKER_00 40:37

Okay, that's awesome. Let's talk a little bit about cross-training. What is your favorite cross-training activity?

SPEAKER_01 40:43

I'm a gym rat, so I love lifting weights. However, post-race cross-training recovery, I'm getting in the swimming to me is very, very relaxing. I can kind of get my body just to kind of relax and calm down. And it's probably one of my proudest, most rewarding sports done, self-taught. So every time I get in the water, I always just remind myself you did this. You know, you did this, you taught yourself this. The the YouTube videos, the practice, the time in the pool, you did this. No one else taught you. And and and I don't think it's easy. Even somebody who lives in the Coast Guard, it's not an easy, it's not an easy thing when it becomes to swimming for sport. It's a little bit different than jumping in the pool and swimming sports. That's probably my favorite swimming. It's probably the most rewarding, most relaxed things like that.

SPEAKER_00 41:42

Awesome. It's funny, being in the water is I agree, even if you're and you can sweat in the water, don't get me wrong. I've I've had to be in the water before for a workout, and I was like, good golly, I'm already wet, but like the the workouts you do in the water, they can hit different. But man, it just being able to put in some laps, you feel accomplished. You're like, okay, I did this.

SPEAKER_01 42:03

Yeah, absolutely. Here I train at the West Virginia University Plotics Center, and they actually have three different pools. And depending on what time you get there, you might have to go to whatever one's open, and they all have different water temperatures. Whoa. So okay, that's what maybe only the dive well's open. Well, it's 80 some degrees and you're swimming laps in the dive well, and then they have the long course competition pool. Well, that one's colder, the coldest of the so that sometimes you'll have to get in the community pool. There's a few laps in there, and that one's pretty warm as well. So, yeah, I'll get in there and get a couple laps in, and then I'm like, wait, is this water or is it sweat? Right, you're right. Why am I so dehydrated? Well, the water is 82 degrees and been swimming for half an hour. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:49

Matt, what is advice that you would give to somebody who wants to start running? What is advice that you tell the guys that you teach? If somebody comes up to you or they're listening to this podcast, what is something that you wish somebody would have told you when you were starting to run?

SPEAKER_01 43:03

Slow down. I've heard that on your podcast many a time. Slow down, slow as pro. Oh and the whole saying of to get faster, you have to run slower or whatever it works. I mean, I've in personal training, I realized that you are your best client. So you try these things out yourself, and they work. You you have the the experience to share, but just slow as pro, enjoy the process, enjoy the whole journey, take it all in, meet new people, make new friends, keep smiling. Oh my gosh, you can't smile enough. That's gonna lower your heart rate right there. And just make it part of your life. Find a plan that you enjoy, something that you can stick to and be consistent. Have fun and run slow, run fast, mix it all up. Up for the race. Sign up for the race. Because you'll make your memories and you're gonna be creating your story.

SPEAKER_00 44:06

That is awesome. Oh, that's so good. You've been accomplishing a lot here. What are goals looking like for you now, Matt?

SPEAKER_01 44:13

As far as running running races, I kind of let the races come to me. Our motto is simperparatus, which is always ready. That slogan stays with me at all times. So I try to be ready for a lot of things. If someone wants to give me a call and say, hey, let's go to Nashville and run this race. Let's go to New Jersey and run this race. I want to be fairly ready at all times. 20 27, I think I'm going to prioritize my half-tire day. I think I am gonna prioritize that for next year. This year I think there's something coming up in August. There is a it's called Moonlight at the Falls here in West Virginia, and it starts at 10 p.m. and goes till eight in the morning. And it's a half a full and you can run the entire time. So depending on how I feel and how training goes for the next couple weeks or so, I might hop on that and shoot for my first ultra.

SPEAKER_02 45:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 45:22

Yeah, well it's on the road, it's on a golf cart path road. Well, I've always had the thought of doing an ultra, but here in West Virginia, the terrain, all these ultras are on the trail, and the terrain here in West Virginia is just gnarly. The elevation's high, there's lots of rocks, and I don't always recover the best from those. So if I could find an ultra that puts me on the road, I'd like to I'd like to get there with that. I do have I'll be 50 in a couple years. So I do have 2027, I'll be 50. So on my list of things to do, I do have a JFK 50 for what would be for my 50th birthday. That's in Boonesboro, Maryland. It's actually the oldest, I believe it's the oldest ultra marathon in the United States. And that's close to here in West Virginia. So I've got that on my list. Big races. I would love to find a way to finagle my way into New York Marathon, New York City Marathon. That's that's up there on the list. Just more destination races, really. But just throw a dart, see where it goes, find a race, go do it. I'm always doing that too. I'm always looking at races and seeing what's around that I can take a trip or slide into some race. Past Thanksgiving, I was in New Jersey visiting family, and I saw a friend post that he was doing the turkey trot in Jersey City, so I was just like, why not go run with a friend and do a race? Any friend, anybody, new straw of a friend, whoever got a race for me that's in a nice destination that I can make a vacation, hit me up, I'll do it.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

I love that. That's awesome. That's very, very cool. Matt, when things get hard, I know that you have this, I'm gonna keep smiling to get through it, but do you have a mantra? Is there something that you tell yourself to get through to the next lap or the next mile?

SPEAKER_01 47:16

I do a lot of talking, I do a lot of talking to myself. I would say everyone that every runner that on the that's been on the podcast before that I feel like as I listen to the podcast and I'm like, oh, that's going through my head. That's that's one of my mantras. That's one of the things I say. But it's I think as runners that we're all kind of thinking the same thing. I'm like, I always say do hard things, do hard things. So I kind of live by that. I don't want anything that's easy, I don't want to do anything that's easy at all. So do hard things is definitely up there. I I mentioned it before, I use the Coast Guard motto of always ready. So I tell myself always ready, always ready, be ready, do the training, so I'm always ready. And then and these are all thoughts that are running through my head as the race sucks, right? So this mantra is these are all repeating through my head, and and always think of for for those who can't do it for the ones that aren't able to get out there and run, whether it's sickness or disease, or they're just unable to currently do it. Somebody who's thinking about it that's on the fence about trying to run or starting to run, and then they don't think they can do it. Show them the way. And fitness shouldn't add to your life. It shouldn't make it part of your life, it should just add to it. So I just think that not being overweight with all the things that come along with fitness and running and just making it part of your life and just letting it kind of fit in as it works. All of those things kind of go in through my mind forms of morder and uh running there just going through my mind over and over and over. So I just I'm staying on pace pushing extra hard. Do hard things, Matt. Keep pushing. There's there's people that can't do it. Do it for them. Let them see you.

SPEAKER_00 49:05

Oh, that's good. I like that. Matt, do you have a favorite link to run, whether it's race day or it's a training run? This is the mileage that when you see it, you're like, yes, I get to go run this today.

SPEAKER_01 49:18

That's changed over the years, but now I probably say it's definitely the half.

SPEAKER_00 49:24

Wow, okay.

SPEAKER_01 49:25

Yeah, years ago I would have thought longer distance or unbuilt for speed. So give me 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, or give me 20 plus miles. No, and I settled on the half. It's it's definitely the half. I usually think about 10 miles, things for me really start to suck. So I really gotta lock it in. I can knock out the half, regardless of kind of how my fueling is. So I guess if I haven't fueled properly or I'm not hydrated properly, I can still get into that half distance, get that accomplished, and probably have have a decent run. So whether it's training or whether it's a race, I've really been enjoying that 13 week lately. That's probably just been the last year or so. So between the Pittsburgh half of last year, and then some of my training runs leading to my marathon and the valley half that I did this year. Those were all great distances, so I'd have to lock that one in and absolutely have to.

SPEAKER_00 50:30

Okay, that's awesome. Matt, what fuels you when you're not running? What are you passionate about?

SPEAKER_01 50:38

Obviously, fitness in general, helping others. I do have a side business where I do some personal training called EdFlow Performance. I only take a few clients. They're mainly all friends. And and the reason why I do that is because I want them to find fitness. I want them to find running. So I'm I'm obviously passionate about teaching and coaching my family that are up there. We have a lot of fun, we do a lot of traveling, concerts, fitness in general, shoes, all of those things. All of those things when I'm not running is part of my life, and and absolutely love them all. It's probably all of the things that I'm interested in. A lot of traveling to concerts. They take in my music, I take in their music. Wherever we're at, I'm I'm stacking miles, I'm talking to strangers, out running in neighborhoods. I mean, there's nothing I love more than to travel somewhere different, run miles in some area neighborhood that I've never been to, meet somebody along the way, exchange straba information, socials, and next thing you know, you got a new friend. Yeah, I I I do it quite often, so I absolutely love that. So traveling family fitness are all up there.

SPEAKER_00 52:04

Yeah. Oh, that's amazing. Matt, this has been so much fun, and I'm so grateful for what you do and for seeing a need and and fulfilling that need and for being the advocate that you are. Do you have any final words of wisdom for everybody?

SPEAKER_01 52:21

Just enjoy the process. Stay consistent. Write your story, write your own story, because everybody has start wherever you're at. You're just getting started on your journey. Just be okay with where you're at. Enjoy find the joy in the entire process, from the training days to whether you're meeting run clubs or race day. Find the joy in all of that. And I guess the last thing is the coach and the teacher in me is to decide just keep learning. Learn about yourself, learn about the sport, just keep learning, keep educating yourself. Just kind of take it all in. What could you have done better? Did you fuel properly? Things like that. And make your adjustments, read other people's stories, read their posts, and that's that all contributes to keep learning. Make sure you're an enjoyment along the way. Enjoy your life.

SPEAKER_00 53:23

Matt, you are amazing. Thank you for everything and for all the wisdom that you gave us. And uh man, we cannot wait to see what else you accomplished, my friends.

SPEAKER_01 53:32

Yeah, maybe we'll make our way to Alabama for that.

SPEAKER_00 53:37

You don't have to twist my own or such a good story. Thank you, Matt, so much for what you're doing for the running community. Thank you for what you're doing for those that are incarcerated, to reminding them that they are more than this. They are more than this chapter. And again, for all the knowledge that you drop, to always be ready, be okay with where you're at, the reminder to do it for those who can't. Go lift heavy for those you can't. Go run that mile for those who can't. Just to take it all in. Make a friend, smile, sign up for that race, and just slow down. It's slowest pro. Oh, it's so good. And just to enjoy the journey, enjoy the process. It's hard, it's complicated. Some days are harder than others, but enjoy the process. And if you guys can hear, Coast Guard Marathon. Oh, it's on my bucket list. I really want to do this race. That's how I actually met Matt. So I hope that you guys, if you're listening and you're looking for a marathon that you do, go check out Coast Guard Marathon. I follow them on social media and they always seem to have a great time at this event. So Coast Guard Marathon, guys, sign up if you're looking for one, looking for something to do, definitely go check them out. Again, a special shout out to all of our coasties. I know you guys sometimes feel a little overlooked. So I just want to make sure that our Coast Guard, that you know that you are important, that you guys do such an outstanding job that gets overlooked, or sometimes only when bad things happen, do people call the Coast Guard? So thank you for showing up day in and day out. Thank you for all that you do. For every person who serves, thank you. You are amazing. And again, I cannot say it enough. We get to run and do what we do because of you. And there's no other country that we get to have the liberties that we have. And it's because of the two served. So thank you, thank you for your families that serve. You guys sacrifice so much more, and we can never truly understand what you guys give up. So thank you for that. Thank you, Matt, again for changing the world, literally, and just being the human that you want to do so much to come with your story in your heart. And I'm just incredibly grateful to know you. Absolutely honor for that. And again, thank you to our guide from I Got Your Six Golf Coast, putting on Miles for Heroes 5K. If you've not signed up for this race, please do. It's gonna be so much fun. The race director Mark is doing an outstanding job of trying to put all these little little tidbits that people are gonna not even really notice. But he is pouring his heart and soul into this race, making sure that every runner, walker, every veteran has an extraordinary experience. Definitely check them out. Again, if you're not local and you're like, oh, I'd love to give back, but I can't find a way to think of veteran. Find a way to give back to your community, to honor them, and to do better. We can do better, guys, because we get to do what we do because of our veterans and those who serve. So I got your six miles for heroes. Thank you for believing in this podcast. You are just incredible people. I've gotten to talk with them a few times, and I'm always impressed by them. They just have such a heart for service and they're such a special, special breed. That's all I gotta say. I got your six Gulf Coats and Melts for Heroes 5K. Get involved. That's all. It's it's gonna be amazing. And keep doing what you're doing, guys. We're doing an outstanding job. And thank you to Greg Gilliard from Filler Tech Services who edits, does our website, and also build us an app. And guys, you can listen to this podcast on the app. You can check out our partners like Miles for Heroes 5K. I got your Facebook codes, you can check them out, you can check out people that we've signed affiliates with so that way we can save you money, you can we can learn all kinds of things about the running community, and we hope that that expands, we hope that we grow to where we can better serve our running community and our community. So saying all that, if you need a website redesigned, if you need a website dreamed of, if you have no idea where to start, definitely reach out to Craig Gilliar from Gail Tech Services. He is the man who did such a great job and he's always updating websites, he's doing all the things and we would not be where we are without him. So thank you from Gail Your Tech Services, we really appreciate you. As always, thank you to the trio of Run Your Story, which is Scott, Dave, and Stefan. You guys do such a great job. If you've not read Dave's blog, please check that out. He does such a great job either explaining shoes, playing hero, or explaining a runner's life. Just 10 out of 10. Does such a great job. And to Scott and Stefan, they're always keeping me on my toes with booking and their LSU comments, but they do a great job of booking up our calendar, so we would not be where we are without these guys. They're not only part of Runner Story family, but they are also Patreon family members. So they support this podcast. And so we love them, we adore them, and we are incredibly grateful for these guys being a part of Runner Story. Just like we're so grateful for our Patreon family members, we again, we could not have gotten this far without you. We are preparing to celebrate our fifth season, which is wild. But it is such a gift, and we're incredibly grateful to each and every one of you. So thank you so much for believing in this podcast, for believing in runner story, and for sharing, liking, commenting, doing all the things to make sure that these stories get heard. And we're incredibly grateful for that. And that being said, guys, go run your story, because every story needs to be heard.