The Extra Mile - The Official Charity Miles Podcast

COVID-19 is impacting every facet of our lives, including our charities. All of our charity partners have had to cancel their major spring fundraisers and are hustling to adapt. Who better to speak to about this than @DavidHessekiel, the founder of the Peer-to-Peer Fundraising and Cause Marketing Forums? Just weeks before contracting COVID-19 himself, David led his annual Peer-to-Peer Professional Conference in Austin, Texas. Hundreds of charity professionals from around the world came together to discuss the latest trends on how to empower people like us to make an impact. Of course nobody predicted what would happen with the coronavirus. In this interview, David shares his insights on how the charity landscape has been changing already, how COVID is both a major challenge and catalyst for more needed change, and how some things-- the fundamentals-- never change. This is also the FIRST interview I have recorded that was not in person on a walk or a run. Naturally, COVID has given us opportunities to try new

On this episode of The Extra Mile, I'm joined by my buddy Lars Rasmussen as we take a noisy run through the very cool Brooklyn Navy Yard. Lars is the co-founder and CTO of Weav Run, an app of adaptive music who’s unique technology seamlessly adapts a song's tempo between 100-240 BPM's — all without lessening the quality of the song. This new music format allows artists endless possibilities in designing how a song should sound, feel, and respond to a listener's movements.  It’s perfect for running.  Simply put, the faster you run, the faster the music plays to match your steps. It holds a library of 400 songs from artists like The Backstreet Boys, Chainsmokers, Mariah Carey, Camilla Cabello, and hundreds more. Weav also works with artists and their labels to make sure the music works at different speeds and always sounds good.  The app started in the bedroom (don’t worry, we keep it PG) when Lars and his wife brought in a metronome to enhance the...activities. A bit bored by the monotonous tick-tock, Lars - a

On this episode of The Extra Mile Podcast, I finish up the last of our 2019 New York City Marathon series on a walk with my new friend Bishoy Tadros. Bishoy ran the marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with a goal of raising 100K for the organization. He has run multiple marathons, triathlons, and even written a book. But his greatest feat is beating Leukemia as a child, including needing brain surgery at 13 years old. Bishoy was born in Egypt and diagnosed with Leukemia at 3 years old. Upon receiving his diagnosis his parents quickly packed up their home and emigrated to the US with the hopes of finding the best possible treatment for Bishoy.  Growing up as a sick child in a foreign country was really hard for young Bishoy. He never felt like he fit in in any capacity. As a result, he developed a mindset and mantra that would carry him through his loneliest times, through graduating from college in the midst of the 2009 financial crisis and wanting to work in banking, and through completing his f

Today on the Extra Mile, we’re back at the Javits Center in New York City where I spent some time with my buddy Brian Kendrick as he stepped into his first Marathon Expo for his first-ever marathon run. As I’ve mentioned previously, this year I trained for the marathon with an awesome group called The Brooklyn Track Club, which was where Brian and I met. If you don’t know The Brooklyn Track Club and you’re a runner in New York City, I highly recommend you check them out. Training with them was so fun and kept me focused, motivated, and making awesome new running friends like Brian.  I knew that I wanted to interview someone for the podcast who was running their first marathon. I’ve been wanting to capture that buzzing feeling of stepping into the Expo, getting your first number, and experiencing the energy of the space for the first time. So when I asked if this was anyone in our group’s first marathon and Brian raised his hand, I thought, “Great! Mission accomplished.” Turns out Brian has a really interestin

This past weekend was one of my favorite events of the year, the New York City Marathon. As usual, the spirit and energy of the weekend were amazing. Today’s episode of The Extra Mile Podcast takes place at the Marathon Expo where I got to hang out with some old friends, some new friends, and a lot of Charity Milers. It’s always incredibly inspiring to meet with Charity Milers from all over the globe who have logged thousands of miles with us. While at the Expo, I decided to turn on the recorder and catch some of my conversations with a medley of marathon all-stars that I think you’ll really enjoy hearing from. Some I knew well- like the Izzo Brothers who were on the show back in January and who ran 150 miles each over the weekend! These guys are amazing and if you didn’t hear their last episode I recommend you go back and listen to it so that you can get the full scope of how awesome they are. Others, I was thrilled to finally meet in person despite feeling like I’ve gotten to know them well through Charity

To celebrate the NYC Marathon this week, today's interview is with the legendary Bill Rodgers, 4X winner of the NYC Marathon, 4X winner of the Boston Marathon, former American record holder, and so much more. It’s hard to imagine what the sport of running would be like without Bill Rodgers. Bill started running as a kid, the way most of us do-- naturally, and just for fun. He ran cross country in high school and was "recruited" to Wesleyan University by none other than Amby Burfoot.  While at Wesleyan, Bill's roommate was Jeff Galloway who, as Bill notes was not the Jeff Galloway, at the time.  He was just Jeff Galloway. He also roomed with Burfoot the year that Burfoot won the Boston Marathon. To me this is like the Beatles, Stones and Dylan all living together in college, not realizing what they were creating. Even Bill did not realize it at the time. He didn't foresee that he would someday run in the Boston Marathon, let alone win it 4 times... and win the NYC marathon 4 times... and win an American record

This is a very unique and special interview. Bobbi Gibb is the first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon. A literal trailblazer.  But also so much more than that. Bobbi is a true Renaissance Woman. She is an author, artist and lawyer. She is very spiritual, and passionately interested in a wide range of subjects including economics, politics, natural systems, science and the phenomenon recursive consciousness.  All of which we get to talk about! I met Bobbi in Rockport, Massachusetts where she lives. It's a small seaside town outside of Boston. Just what you'd picture a small seaside town outside of Boston to look like. Very Americana. We walked through the town and along the beach. You'll be able to hear the ocean and seagulls, which perfectly complement so much of what Bobbi has to say.  It's simply perfect.     At the end, we also get a special treat by visiting her art studio where she paints and sculpts.  Bobbi has been commissioned by the BAA to create a sculpture of herself running the Boston Maratho

On this episode of The Extra Mile Podcast, I flew down to Dallas, Texas to visit the headquarters of a new addition to the Charity Miles family, the Susan G. Komen Foundation. While there, I had the pleasure of speaking with an amazing woman, breast cancer survivor and employee and advocate for Susan G. Komen, the incredible Nikia Hammonds-Blakely.  First of all, the energy at Susan G. Komen is amazing. But visiting the office, and more importantly, speaking with Nikia, was incredibly enlightening. Hearing Nikia’s story added a new dimension to my idea of disease-focused organizations. When I think of organizations like Susan G. Koman I usually just think of research. But they do SO MUCH MORE.  Nikia’s story is extraordinary. At 16 years old she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. After a botched surgery, the resulting disfiguration was difficult on young Nikia at the time. Though it was a difficult thing to talk about and process, the experience of facing her mortality gave her a

Today on the Extra Mile I’m thrilled to bring on a good friend of mine and an expert in the charity and tech space, George Weiner. George is the first person I talked to about Charity Miles and he’s been an integral part of our success. For this episode, we took a beautiful walk along the water in Brooklyn, New York, where we dug into how tech can most effectively be used to help nonprofits succeed. George is the Founder and CEO of Whole Whale, a digital agency that leverages data and tech to increase the impact of nonprofits and for-benefit companies. He is also the co-founder of Power Poetry, the largest teen poetry platform in the U.S. For 7 years George was the CTO for DoSomething.org where under his leadership the organization became an innovator in social media, mobile technology, and social causes.  I first came to George with my postcard idea and every day that I worked on that project I was reminded that I should have listened to him. So when I started Charity Miles I knew that I needed to get his in

On today’s episode of The Extra Mile, I’m thrilled to bring back a past guest, and my friend, Nir Eyal. Nir is a behavioral designer, author of two books, has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Design School and sold two technology companies since 2003. As a behavioral designer, Nir helps design products that build healthy life habits. Nir’s first book, Hooked, was about how to create a habit forming product. His recently released second book, Indistractable, is helping us regain control of our lives and become less distracted by diving deep into the psychology and root causes behind the things that chip away at our time and procrastinate our goals.  Nir and I have become good friends and I have gone to him often for guidance on improving Charity Miles. Many of you know that we have been making lots of changes to the app and a big reason behind those changes is to make it easier for users to form the habit of using Charity Miles. The process has been enlightening, to say the least, but we’

This episode of the Extra Mile Podcast is possibly the most unreasonable one I’ve ever recorded. Today my guest and I take a walk in Central Park through rolling thunder and a torrential downpour. But who better to do it with than the Founder and CEO of The Unreasonable Group, Daniel Epstein. The Unreasonable Group is a multi-media company, a private global network, and an investment firm that was created out of the desire to have the greatest impact possible on the world’s toughest challenges. From the onset, they have believed that entrepreneurs building rapidly scalable businesses are the best bet for solving these challenges. To this end, the mission has always been to partner with and support world-class entrepreneurs positioned to bend history in the right direction. Daniel himself has achieved many of his own “unreasonable” dreams including being named one of Forbes’ Top Impact Entrepreneurs (of any age) and The White House Impact Award’s Top 100 Entrepreneurs in the US under age 30. But his passion fo

On this episode of The Extra Mile Podcast, I went on a walk with my buddy, Kenneth Chabert, in beautiful and bustling Central Park. Kenneth and I met about 6 years ago and we instantly clicked. So, I was incredibly happy to bump into him recently at a conference and hear about all of the amazing things he’s been up to.  Kenneth is the founder and “choice architect” of The Gentlemen’s Retreat. The Gentlemen's Retreat takes young men from the inner city and puts them in novel environments and situations while stepping back and allowing them to go through cognitive dissonance, so they can truly figure out what being a “G” means to them. The exposure of being in different spaces, learning how to adapt, how to connect with people from different backgrounds allows them to develop new skill sets and teaches them the art of being a gentleman. Kenneth’s story is powerful. Having grown up in the Bronx, he faced the duality of valuing education and wanting to build a successful life for himself while also navigating mai

On this episode of The Extra Mile podcast, I take a walk on a beautiful New York City day with the founder of Project Purple, Dino Verrelli. Founded in honor of his father who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008, Project Purple was created to raise awareness, support patients and families affected by the disease, and fund research efforts to defeat pancreatic cancer. Through their fitness events, Project Purple has made a massive impact on patients and their families and has funded over $1 million in pancreatic cancer research. I love how Dino is honest about absolutely hating running at first. But when he got the idea to make Project Purple’s first major event series- 13 half marathons in 13 months- he just knew he had to commit to it. Flash forward to his current passion for running (and more importantly running for a cause) and his story is even more inspiring. It was an honor to walk with Dino and I am thrilled to welcome Project Purple into the Charity Miles family. Thank you for your amazing wo

Today’s interview is with a guest I’ve previously had on the Extra Mile, Julia Vitarello. If you haven’t heard that episode, I urge you to. It is one of the most moving episodes I have ever recorded. In that episode, which was around two years ago, Julia told us the story of her daughter Mila, who at age 6 was diagnosed with an extremely rare and currently incurable neurodegenerative disease called Batten Disease. At the time, Julia was embarking on funding a very expensive clinical trial to try to slow the progression of the disease. Until then, there was little-to-no research or any resources for Batten Disease. And even less about the unique type that Mila has.  Julia went on to start Mila’s Miracle Foundation to Stop Batten and set off a series of fast-moving and ground-breaking innovations in research and medicine which have begun to pave a path for treatment for hundreds of similar neurodegenerative diseases.  You won’t believe this story. When I first heard it, it hit me very hard. And it has hit me ju

Today on the Extra Mile I'm thrilled to share an interview I did with someone who I've admired for a very long time, Founder and CEO of Oiselle, Sally Bergesen.  Oiselle is is a Seattle-based by women, for women athletic apparel company. They have some things for men, too, and I love my Oiselle t-shirt and hat. But more importantly, they are a brand, and Sally is an entrepreneur that I truly look up to. Oiselle's mission is three-fold: make a great product, improve the sport, and build the sisterhood. I really admire how they have built their community.  I was in beautiful Seattle, WA to visit family and thought I'd reach out to Sally to see if she might go on a run with me and along the way share some of her wisdom with us.  I'm so grateful that she was able and willing to chat with me as well as take us on one of the most spectacular runs I've ever been on, on the shores of Lake Washington. It was absolutely stunning!   #EveryMileMatters #RunLoveWins Get your Oiselle gear here. Follow Oiselle's blog here. F