Nell Rojas is an American triathlete, long-distance runner, coach, business owner, and winner of the 2019 Grandma’s Marathon. She is also the fastest American woman at Boston Marathon in 2022 and 2021. In this episode, we were joined by Nell and her father/coach Ric Rojas, who has been a professional runner and himself ran the Boston Marathon 3 times. Nell and Ric talk about their training methods, nutrition, and more with our host Vikas Singh.
Episode Summary:
00:30 – About this episode
02:19 – Welcome Nell to the show!
03:02 – How did Nell Rojas start running — her athletic background
09:45 – Nell’s experience training with her father, Ric Rojas; The father-daughter relationship vs coach-athlete relationship
11:55 – Ric joins the conversation — Ric’s take on training his daughter
13:44 – Ric’s experience as a coach at Boston Marathon 2022
15:24 – How did Nell plan for the Boston Marathon 2022?
18:12 – How have Ric and Nell seen a change in coaching and the importance of a coach
24:12 – Speed workouts vs. Tempo/threshold runs
29:56 – How did Nell’s training look like for the Boston Marathon 2022; planning for the race and executing it.
38:39 – Ric’s emotion when Nell completed the race.
40:12 – Nell’s nutrition
45:56 – Nell’s plans ahead
48:24 – Ric and Nell’s advice to runners
Guest(s) Profile:
Nell is a world-class marathoner, running 2:28:06 to win Grandma’s Marathon. She recently finished 9th at the 2020 Marathon Olympic Trials in her third marathon ever. She ran Division I for The University of Northern Arizona where she was a 3-time Big Sky Steeplechase Champion, 5k Big Sky Champion, and All-Conference/All-Regional in cross country. After college Nell competed as a professional triathlete and more recently professional runner. She is passionate about coaching and pushing athletes to reach their potential.
Ric was ranked in the top 10 United States High School Milers by Track and Field News while he was in high school. He still holds the 1600m, which he set at UNM Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ric is a decorated coach and a proud father!
Nell’s timings in Boston Marathon 2022:  2:25:57
To connect with the Rojas, go to rojasrunning.com.
About Vikas Singh:
Vikas Singh, an MBA from Chicago Booth, worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, APGlobale and Reliance before coming up with the idea of democratizing fitness knowledge and helping beginners get on a fitness journey. Vikas is an avid long-distance runner, building fitpage to help people learn, train, and move better.
For more information on Vikas, or to leave any feedback and requests, you can reach out to him via the channels below:
Instagram: @vikas_singhh
LinkedIn: Vikas Singh
Gmail: vikas@fitpage.in
Twitter: @vikashsingh1010
About the Podcast: Run with Fitpage
This podcast series is built to bring science and research from the endurance sports industry. These may help you learn and implement these in your training, recovery, and nutrition journey. We invite coaches, exercise scientists, researchers, nutritionists, doctors, and inspiring athletes to come and share their knowledge and stories with us. So, whether you’re just getting started with running or want to get better at it, this podcast is for you!
This podcast has been recorded via Riverside.fm.