Athletics Ontario Running Podcast · John Shep

EP 190: Christine Marinho - The Healing Power of Running: An Incredible Journey to the World Marathon Majors

·44 min·2 clips

At Lanzarote, she had a panic attack in the water before finishing the triathlon on the back of the pack.

1. Athletics Ontario Running Podcast EP 190 features Christine Marinho and her road from healing through running to the World Marathon Majors. 2. Host John Shep interviews Christine Marinho, who is a VP of marketing at the ADECO group and an adult endurance athlete. 3. The episode asks how Christine moved from a bad divorce and a fear of swimming to Berlin Marathon training. 4. Christine says a divorce in her late thirties turned running into therapy, and 30 minutes a day helped her feel like herself again. 5. She says a doctor prescribed antidepressants, but she did not like how they made her feel and later stopped them. 6. Her first race was a triathlon through the ADECO group’s Win for Youth program, not a road race. 7. Christine says she had feared swimming since age 16 after nearly drowning in Florida during Hurricane Andrew. 8. She learned to swim later in life, worked with a swim coach, and also had company coaching for running and biking. 9. In Lanzarote, Spain, she entered the water and had a full-blown panic attack before focusing on one buoy at a time. 10. She says the water was the worst the organizers had seen in 10 years of the Win for Youth triathlon. 11. Christine says she kept using self-talk, Kobe Bryant motivation, and visualization to complete the race with a Canadian flag. 12. She says crossing that finish line proved she could do hard things and showed that age did not block new skills. 13. Her next steps included duathlons, the Toronto Half Marathon, and then a full marathon after a friend challenged her again. 14. She finished her first full marathon in 4:48 and later improved to 4:29 at the Chicago Marathon. 15. A Chicago lottery email at work made her scream because thousands of people apply and she did not expect to get in. 16. She describes the New York City Marathon as an experience race, including the Verrazzano Bridge, the boroughs, and friends made on the course. 17. The conversation stays conversational and reflective, with John Shep reacting to her age, her fears, and her training choices. 18. Christine’s tone is practical and candid, while John’s questions keep the pace easy and supportive. 19. Listeners interested in endurance, women’s health, and late-start racing. 20. Skip if you want race recaps without personal health context.

As heard by us

Berlin Marathon prep opens into a wider talk about adapting, aging, and staying in the game.

Christine Marino's road to Berlin gives the episode its hook, but the conversation is really about what it takes to keep running when life and body are not cooperating.

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Want marathon prep that sounds like real life?

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