Shandi’s love of running began when she was very young, and throughout her life, it was something that always helped her to cope with stress and anxiety. However, as she got older, she became consumed with the idea of proving something to others, and the pressure of the pursuit caused her to have a nervous breakdown during the 2013 Boston Marathon.
During this episode Shandi shares more about how she got into running, how running the NYC Marathon changed her life, especially the second time she ran it, when she ran a Boston qualifying time of 3 hours and 12 mins.
After qualifying for Boston, she set herself the goal of breaking a 3 hour marathon. Shandi put a lot of pressure on herself to perform well.
Unfortunately things did not go to plan, she realised early on she wasn’t going to hit her goal, but she still managed to cross the finish line, where she was immediately ushered to the medical tent. Her body had finally given in and later on she would find out that she had had a nervous breakdown.
*Please be advised that in this episode, we will be discussing the Boston Marathon bombings, which took place on April 15, 2013. This event resulted in the tragic loss of three lives and injured hundreds of others. We understand that this topic may be sensitive and triggering for some listeners.
Our guest, Shandi, will be sharing her personal experience of being at the 2013 Boston Marathon, and the impact it had on her mental and physical health. If you feel that this topic may be difficult for you, we encourage you to prioritise your emotional well-being and listen at your own discretion.
Shandi shares more about the aftermath, how she needed to heal her body and mind.
She did this by making big changes to her life; from leaving her job as a television producer and moving to be closer to the mountains. She also started to freelance as a creative producer.
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Show notes
Who is Shandi
Working as a producer
Being based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Having a passion for the outdoors
Getting into running at a young age
Feeling good while moving her body
Growing up in Canada and being taught to ski by her mum
Switching to snowboarding in college
Being drawn to the snowboarding lifestyle
Starting her career and making big changes
Work for ESPN (Entertainment & Sports Programming Network) in Bristol, Connecticut
Studying broadcast journalism at college
How her career goals have changed
Finding a love for editing
Figuring out what she wanted to do
Advice for women who want to get into production
Find people who want to support you
Get experience and keep going
Being away from the mountains and spending more time running
Deciding to do her first marathon
Running NYC Marathon and loving the experience
How the race changed her life
What running the NYC Marathon is like
The power of putting your name on your shirt
The amazing support from the crowds
Wanting to qualify for the Boston Marathon (3hr 35) and following a training plan
Shaving 30 mins of her marathon time and running 3hr 12 mins
Tactics to running a fast marathon
Breaking up and feeling depressed
Respect and love to the past boyfriend
Having a year and a half to train
Working with a run coach and wanting to break 3hrs
Having lots of goals and wanting to do well
Dealing with severe anxiety and not being able to sleep
Not being well on the finish line at Boston Marathon 2013
Being in the medical tent when the bombs went off
Going though a nervous breakdown
Managing to find her dad
What happened afterwards
Going on medical leave for 6 months
Being in the “push through” mentality
Needing to make big changes in her life
Healing her body and mind
Deciding to move to Seattle and become a freelance producer
Using Yoga to help heal her nervous system
Her mentality now being more attentive to her mental health
Why nothing is more important than her health
Figuring out what is the most important to you
What do producers do?
Being a creative producer
Outessa Summit
Mini documentary with Rachel Collet - Reflect and Reset. Watch on YouTube
How to connect with Shandi
Needing to update her website with her latest projects
Plans for 2023
Final words of advice
Social Media
Website www.shandikk.com
Instagram @shandikk
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