Finish Lines and Milestones

SandyBoy Productions

Details

Every runner has a story. Finish Lines and Milestones is a podcast that celebrates the everyday runner. If you run, you’re a runner. Join host, Ally Brettnacher, every week as she shares these runner stories.

Recent Episodes

SEP 11, 2026
Episode 173: Jared Ewing - The Grand Slam of Ultras as an Adaptive Athlete
Jared Ewing and I connected through our mutual friend Christi Dee (EP 3) after they met at the 2026 Boston Marathon (and again in Cape Town, South Africa). During this episode, sponsored by Huug, we talk about: [8:00] Finishing Leadville 100 in 24:40, just nine days before we recorded this — well under the 25-hour cutoff for the race's coveted "big buckle" [10:00] Finding pacers and why his parents have been his crew since day one [20:00] Meeting fellow adaptive-athlete community members at Boston, including Jason Noel (who Christi Dee was guiding that day) [39:00] The night of December 7th, 2018, when a drunk driver's car hit a bollard and sent concrete shrapnel into his leg, nearly costing him his life [1:05:00] The synthetic skin material from PolyNovo that helped save his leg, and the decision he had to make between amputating it or keeping it without his calf muscles or Achilles [1:10:00] Rebuilding his entire running form around his quads and hamstrings with no calf muscles or Achilles [1:25:00] Running a marathon just ten months later — after doctors told him he'd never run again [1:30:00] Being 27 states into his 50 States Marathon Club goal [1:31:00] Becoming a Six-Star Majors finisher and running on six of the seven continents (Rio next June to complete the set) [1:38:00] His frustration that most major marathons still don't offer qualifying times for adaptive athletes [1:43:00] His mantra, "Now We Go," and the drunken Cavs-game night it came from [1:45:00] The Grand Slam of Ultra Running — running four of the nation's oldest 100-milers within 14 weeks, with Wasatch 100 as the finale on September 11th 🤯 [1:46:00] The documentary he's raising money for, The 400 Mile Attempt [1:48:00] Running the Indianapolis Marathon this November — I'll get to meet him in person! Previous Guests Mentioned Christi Dee - Episode 3 Jason Noel - Episode 62 Steve Gilbert - Episode 160 Sponsor Details Huug - Use ALLYB for 15% off (combinable with Buy 3 Get 1 Free) Other Links Support Jared's GoFundMe for The 400 Mile Attempt documentary Watch the "No Categories" trailer Follow Jared on Instagram @jrod4513 Follow me on Instagram @allytbrett_runs Subscribe to Finish Lines & Milestones weekly newsletter This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
110 MIN
SEP 4, 2026
Episode 172: Chris Jones - Stay Obsessed
⁠Chris Jones⁠ and I first connected online, and got to know each other over coffee before this conversation. Support Chris's inaugural Big BO 50K (5K, 10K, 25K, 50K) on 10-10-26 During this episode, sponsored by ⁠Kila⁠, we talk about: [00:07:00] Playing goalkeeper for five years in college soccer [00:12:00] Signing up for the Indy Mini Half Marathon with zero training at his wife Fiona's request [00:16:00] The accidental progression that followed: one marathon (Monumental), a 50-miler he signed up for without ever running a 50K, and a 100-mile finish at the Indiana Trail 100 [00:20:00] The complete stranger who paced him the final 20 miles of that 100-miler [00:02:00] His work as a physical therapist and running coach at Divergent Rehab + Wellness in Carmel, where 90% of his caseload is runners [00:05:00] Why he refuses to tell an injured runner to just stop running [00:13:00] Meeting his wife Fiona in sixth grade — and the two mutual friends (now his best friends) she dated before him [00:09:00] Moving to Washington state during COVID, then back to Avon for family and free childcare [00:37:00] Building Running Coach Chris on Instagram and how the name stuck from a childhood nickname [00:42:00] Training through the middle of the night to prepare for Prairie on Fire, and why headlamp practice matters more than people think [00:48:00] Last year's Prairie on Fire, getting sick mid-race, and still covering 71–72 miles before calling it [00:34:00] Launching Stay Obsessed with his friend Joe — the lifestyle brand behind a brand-new race [00:24:00] The Big BO 50K debuting October 10th in Speedway, with 5K, 10K, 25K, and 50K options [00:54:00] His go-to ultra fuel: mashed potatoes and broth, and rice with soy sauce and pineapple [00:59:00] His mantra "if I just run faster, it'll be done sooner" — and the healthier one he actually leans on, "just move forward" [00:51:00] His daughter "playing ultramarathon" around the house, and teaching his girls to love the sport the right way Previous Guests Mentioned: ⁠Chris Jones⁠ - Episode 13 ⁠TJ Dailey⁠ - Episode 68 Sponsor Details: ⁠Kila⁠ - Use ALLYB for $50 off your first order Other Links: ⁠The Big BO 50K registration⁠ Follow me on Instagram ⁠@allytbrett_runs⁠ ⁠Subscribe to Finish Lines & Milestones weekly newsletter⁠ This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
63 MIN
AUG 28, 2026
Episode 171: Carolyn Coffin - Inspired Soles
Carolyn Coffin and I met through the SandyBoy Productions podcast network — she hosts the Inspired Soles podcast and just celebrated her 300th episode. During this episode, sponsored by Kila and Huug, we talk about: [01:32] Learning to embrace milestones without ever feeling like she "knows what she's doing" [06:00] Life in Winnipeg, Manitoba [13:00] Growing up "dabbling" in running and hating a childhood 5K her parents made her run every spring [15:00] The wild story of how her mom found out she was having twins from an X-ray days before Carolyn and her twin brother arrived [24:00] Her brutal, untrained 4:17 debut at the 2000 Marine Corps Marathon — and why it sent her underground on marathons for 15 years [28:00] Getting coached by her brother in her 30s and dropping from a 48-minute 10K to sub-40 almost overnight [30:00] Her path from physiotherapy to health coaching to becoming a run coach, and why that background still shapes how she coaches today [37:00] Meeting her Inspired Soles co-host Kim Sankey and building the podcast from a list of just 50 potential guests [49:00] Coming back in 2015 to run a 3:21 PR at the Vermont City Marathon [51:00] Turning 42 and launching "42 at 42" — the ongoing quest to run her fastest-ever marathon at her current age [52:00] Raising money for a 2020 Chicago Marathon that got cancelled at the last second [54:00] Getting pulled off the course at the halfway point of the 2022 Manitoba Marathon because of extreme heat [59:00] A near-perfectly paced 3:23 at CIM that reignited her belief a sub-3:21 was still possible [60:00] Hiring a two-time Canadian Olympic marathoner as her coach [63:00] The 2024 Chicago Marathon bathroom emergency that cost her a PR by about three minutes [65:00] Winning the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas 10K outright — and wearing the finish tape out on the town that night [70:00] Discovering The Marathon Project — the pandemic-born race in Arizona — and DNF'ing it despite a great training block [81:00] Coaching 15 women toward a sub-1:40 half marathon and a client chasing a sub-44 10K this September [82:00] Her rhythm and fight mantras, including the one she saves for the finish: "it's go time" Previous Guests Mentioned Whitney Heins - Episode 163 Lindsey Hein - Episode 100 Sponsor Details Kila - Use ALLYB for $50 off your first order Huug - Use ALLYB for 15% off your order (combinable with buy 3, get 1 free) Other Links Follow me on Instagram @allytbrett_runs Subscribe to Finish Lines & Milestones weekly newsletter This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
85 MIN
AUG 21, 2026
Episode 170: Jeanette Ray - The Dunk Club
Jeanette Ray and I met when I sent her a DM about sponsoring a live event and we've been friends (and Dunk Club members) ever since. During this episode, sponsored by SWTHZ and Kila, we talk about: [04:00] Getting walked into an office and laid off from her 10-year hospitality career during COVID — and the line she told her bosses on her way out the door [05:00] Starting her weight-loss journey in February 2019 and losing over 120 pounds [24:00] Why she can't finish the Indy Mini without crying, and FaceTiming her mom every year at the finish line [26:00] Her dad Jim's glioblastoma diagnosis — discovered after he couldn't keep rhythm on the drums and dropped a Diet Coke can without noticing [35:00] What contrast therapy actually is — a private suite with an infrared sauna, vitamin C shower, and cold plunge — and the science behind it [41:00] The "Dunk Club," the county rules around dunking, and why Sweat House studios are technically licensed as public pools [58:00] Her upcoming HYROX debut — a doubles simulation race in October with her district manager, Shane [1:03:00] The tattoo from her grandma's last birthday card, sent days before she passed Previous Guests Mentioned Lindsey Hein - Episode 100 Jason Noel - Episode 62 Colleen DeRyckere - Episode 48 Karen Kirkpatrick - Episode 162 Sponsor Details SWTHZ - Use code ALLYB5 for $5 off your first session Kila - Use code ALLYB for $50 off your first order Other Links Follow Jeanette / Sweat House on Instagram @jraywellness Follow me on Instagram @allytbrett_runs Subscribe to Finish Lines & Milestones weekly newsletter This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
72 MIN