27: From Single-Working Mom To 2x World Marathon Champion with Becca Pizzi

Hello, friends, and welcome to Grief Guts and Green Smoothies. I am your host, Melissa Dugalecki, and I am so excited to be here with you all to chat about ways in which we can all get through different adversities, challenges and loss and how getting outside of our comfort zone and maybe having a green smoothie or two can help us do so. We will cover different topics, ranging from interviews to recipes, to sharing my own stories of my grief journey and the loss of my daughter, Layden. Honor to be able to share her light in hopes of helping you spread yours. Now, let's dive in. Today's guest, Becca Pizley, is world Marathon Champion. If you aren't sure what that means, you are not alone. I had no idea until I first heard Becca's story at a Boston Children's Hospital Marathon team training run. And I love that because I really like to consider Laden's light having led me to Becca. As you will find out for yourself, she is an incredible light within all that she does and continues to do with her main motivation, her daughter, something I very much relate to and her goal to inspire and support others. Again, something I very much relate to. But she does it in a completely different way that I do, and I think that is amazing. What a powerful reminder that we all have the ability to chase our goals, to pursue our dreams, and to do so in a way that's authentic for us. Becca is going to share her story, her advice, her tips, and I guarantee when you are done listening to this episode, you are going to remove at least three or four limiting beliefs and you are going to replace that with some action steps for going out and getting your goals. So let's dive in. All right, Becca, thank you so much for joining on the podcast. We're so excited that you're here.

Thanks for having me. Yeah.

And this has been. We've tried a few times. Right. And I think it's a great example that life is crazy and we don't need to force it. Right. And so when it works. And I'm just really excited that we have time to chat. So for those of you who don't know Becca, Becca Pizzey is a good friend of mine. And just a few years ago, though, she was a stranger to me, I didn't know who she was. And I talk a lot about how Laden Light has led me in different directions and really being open to different opportunities and signs. And, you know, we talk a lot about back in something we've talked a lot about as well. Like if something resonates with you or something kind of. You're drawn to a certain energy to lean into that because there's something there. Right. And there's an opportunity for growth or learning or connection. And I really feel that, you know, we've experienced that because we met. It was. Becca was our guest speaker at a Boston Children's Hospital marathon team training run. And so I didn't know who Becca was at this point. I was training for the marathon to run for my daughter Layden for Boston Children's Hospital. And Becca was there to speak to share her amazing story. And it's one that is so inspiring. She's so humble. She's definitely going to downplay herself. So I'm going to have to probably interject here and there. But, Becca, why don't you go ahead and just tell, you know, your story and what you accomplished and in your running career and your personal career and everything.

Yeah. So my dad. I started running with my dad when I was six years old, and he took me to the local Belmont race, and it was a five miler, and I was six years old, and people were like, that's abusive. And I thought, this is so much fun for me. This is what I want to be doing. And I remember winning my age group because I think I was the only one in my age group, but I liked that feeling. So I ran through all through high school, through college, and started. I'm currently running a marathon in all 50 states. And I read about this race called the World Marathon Challenge, which was seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. So I became addicted and drawn to that. Like, I want to do this. I want to make history. How many opportunities do we get to make history? This would be so awesome. It was really important for my daughter, Taylor, that she was on board with this, because this would be me giving up a lot of time to train for this over the year. And I said to my daughter, what do you think about this? And she said, yeah, Mom, I believe in you. You can do it. And I never looked back. So it's been an incredible journey, and having the support from my community and our town and the world really just. It led me to where I am today. So it's been so fun and inspiring.

To me, and I love that. And that point that I made for everyone listening, that Becca was going to downplay it. Here we go. So just, like, revisit seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

So it had never been done by American female before, and I thought that was so cool. To have been given this opportunity to make this happen. The training for this. So it was about 100 miles per week for a year. CrossFit personal training. My motto became, get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and you will make it. And so running at all hours of the day, eating healthy foods and listening to my body and putting myself first, things that I wasn't used to all played huge roles into crossing the finish line.

And can you just explain how there's other things that you haven't even mentioned yet that I can't wait to share about this. And can you explain how the seven marathons in seven days and seven continents works, like, just logistically? Because I don't think anyone listening can really wrap their head around that.

Yeah, and that's the thing. Like, people would be like, I'm gonna follow you because I'm gonna follow your story. I'm gonna follow you because this is impossible. I have to see it to believe it. I'm like, how about you follow me because you believe in me and you wanna see me make history and finish first? And so it was seven days. We chartered a plane. So we were on. We essentially lived on that plane for seven days. And it was run, eat, sleep, fly, repeat for seven days. So I knew the toughest marathons would be five and six. So I trained really hard over the year to see what that would be like.

Unbelievable. So, you know, I've run isolated marathons, right? I've done Boston, and then I have completed Boston. I. I, like, take three weeks off. You know, I take, like, a month off. I waddle the next day, and I sit in, like, my little pity party of, like, oh, my body needs so much rest. And I can't imagine as a marathoner, running a marathon, hopping on a plane, and then getting off the plane to go run another marathon and doing that for seven straight days. I mean, so you ran a marathon in Antarctica?

I ran a marathon in Antarctica, But I was prepared for it because I went to Canada to train for it. I bought a sauna. Like, who buys a sauna? I bought a sauna for my house. When they delivered it to my house, they said, we've never delivered to this residential. We usually deliver to, like, gyms and stuff. And I thought, I'm doing something that I don't even want to tell you what I'm doing because it's so hard for me to tell you. So we laugh. It's been. It was incredibly fun, you know, and being in Canada, I would say to the front desk, if I'm not back in four hours, come find my body because it's negative 15 degrees outside, and I'm not used to running in those conditions. I'm not used to sweating it out in a sauna for 45 minutes. This was all new to me, really. You know, I knew. I knew that the hardest part of this whole thing was traveling, you know, and being away from my daughter. And it wasn't the running, because when I was running, I'm like, okay, this is my comfort zone. This is what I know how to do. It was really like sleeping on planes, eating whatever you could find to eat. You know, like, those type of things were really hard.

That's so amazing. And I love how you know something that you do without even trying to do it is you take excuses for everyone off the table without, like, you're not judgmental, you're not criticizing, you're not putting anyone down, but you're basically like, no, there's always a way. You know, Figure it out. There's always a way.

Yeah. You know, this goal was really important to me. And when I do a lot of motivational speaking, I end it with find your world Marathon challenge, whatever it is that you're passionate about, because my goals are not your goals. And every runner can be so different. Every person can be so different. But I have a hard time when people say to me, I would love to do what you do. I would, but I don't have time, you know, because if it's important to you, you'll make the time and you'll find the time for it. And that's what I believe is most important. If you're fighting for goals that are. That you believe in and that are important to you, you'll do it.

And that's something that you've taught me. And that really resonates a lot with me. You know, I talk about this a lot. I actually reference Mel Robbins, who talks about this a lot. She always says, instead of saying, you don't have time, just say it's not a priority and just own it. And that's okay. Right. For example, I have no desire to run the World Marathon Challenge or Championship. I've.

But.

And that's okay. Right? But I wouldn't say it's not because I don't have time or there's no way I could do it. Right. It's just this. Not a way that I personally want to use my energy yet I am so inspired, amazed, and just baffled by how you do it. You've done it now twice, correct?

Yeah. I've done it twice. And, you know, I think that so many people rallied for me. Like, when I crossed the finish line, I had 5,000 emails. And I think that people were like, she's totally relatable. She's the mom. She owns a daycare. She manages an ice cream shop. We can relate to this girl. You know, we like her. We can relate to her. And so I spent, like, the next month emailing people back. And the biggest compliment that you can give me not. It's not the Guinness Book of World Records. It's not anything that It's. You've inspired me, because I feel like at the end of the day, if I can inspire you, I've done my job.

I love that so much. And you just touched on a little bit. But I want to share with the listeners. I mean, you were. How old was Taylor when you did your first one?

Eight.

Okay. And you had been training for a whole year. So you had a young daughter in school. You were a single mom because you had gone through a divorce not too long ago. Right. From Taylor Swaddle.

Right.

So not only had you gone through divorce, you were a single mom. You were raising your daughter. You were running two different businesses. Right. The daycare and the ice cream shop.

That's right.

So you're doing all of that, and you still managed to train for the World Marathon Championship.

Yeah, because I thought, if I can do this and you can do anything you put your mind to, if I can just cross the finish line after seven marathons in seven days. And, you know, I've given up my whole. Really, my life for this seven days. But the last year, not finishing this race was not an option for me. It was. It was $40,000. I had to find race entry fee people to help me, people to. So I didn't have the right to show up, you know, And I kind of thought, like, it kind of put things into perspective to me because I would be like, I don't have the right to call. This was my job. I don't have a right to call out of work. You know, if I'm sick and tired, people are relying on me to get there. You know, when I had a couple emails like, I lost my husband. You've given me something to do over the last month. And that was, like, meant so much to me. I quit smoking because of you. Those are the things that inspired me to perform at the level that I could perform at, you know, and to put. I had a completely torn groin on the first marathon. And you Know, like I said, I didn't have. I couldn't be like, you know what? I'm kind of hurt, and I'm not gonna make it in today. I had to figure out. I had to regroup. And I still. To this day, I still. Things happen in my life, and I have to regroup and figure it out. My daughter gets sick. She's my number one priority. Nothing is more important to me than I don't go. I put her first, you know, So I don't get to run that day, or I don't get to whatever. Whatever I had planned. So it all came back into perspective for me.

I love it. And what you haven't shared is not only did you run this, you actually won it.

I did. I came in first place. And I thought, I. Not only. Now I got a little greedy. I thought, okay, all I have to do to make history is to cross the finish line. But then I'm like, wait, no, I want to do. I want to set the bar high. You know, I want to just not do this. I just want to set the bar as high as I can set it. So that's why I think the harder, the faster I ran, the more my body was just running on empty, you know, like a car. Like, my body was just literally running on fumes. So I tore my groin and regrouped and figured it out. And that's how I became friends with TB12. I was, like, laying on the ground at Dubai thinking, I have a completely torn groin. I did not come this far just to come this far. And that was a quote that Tom Brady said about the New England Patriots. So they contacted me after I finished the first one, and they said, we think we can train you to run this race faster and better. And I thought, you guys are football players. What do you possibly know about running? But if they know about the human body in your brain? And I went in and I did multiple sessions with them and worked with them with that, and was a lifelong experience. And I crossed the finish line the second time injury free.

And you won again. The second time, won again.

And I set the bar even higher, you know, and it was just. It was like, just so the support from the community and TV 12, Lululemon. I mean, the list goes on. It just was. It was humbling.

And so in order to win the world Marathon Championship. So you're a world marathon champion two time. Is it the total of all of your marathons combined?

There's two records. It's from start to finish. And that was the six days, 8 hours 11 minutes and then it's your overall time. So that was like 3:55:11 per marathon. So the Guinness Book of World Records is actually. They only recognize from start to finish, which was the six days, 11 hours.

So amazing. So not only. And this is again where I am just going to point out, you're so humble and I love that so much about you. You immediately, you deflect to what you're grateful for and what really matters to you and what your priorities are and everyone else who supported, but you not only trained through some very unideal circumstances, you won the world marathon championship twice. Yeah, yeah.

It's something that I'll have forever. I worked really, really hard for it. And I thought, this is over in seven days. Just raise the bar high. Make your country proud. I got to represent our country like draping myself in an American flag. There's no better honor for me having my daughter finish the last hundred yards with me and having her whole school do homework based off where I was and getting. She got to. When I crossed the finish line. She got to come out of the classroom and go to the principal's office and say to the class that the whole school that I've made history, you know, and that's something that. That was like her greatest moment, you know, and it's been awesome. And she's got her own sport. She's unbelievable gymnast. And it's just so fun, you know, it's really fun.

I just got teary thinking of Taylor getting how exciting that must have been for her to go to her principal's office and make.

Yeah, there was a war throughout the school and everybody was high fiving her. And I was in Australia and it was like just. It was so awesome to have that.

Yeah. One of the things that you alluded to that I'd love to touch on more is, you know, when I work with people in mindset work or in coaching work, I talk a lot about pursuing what's important to them for the right reasons and trusting that other opportunities will present. Right. And staying open to them and just detaching from anything other than what's important to you. Right. And for you it was seeing what was possible. It was, you know, showing your daughter anything was possible. And so, you know, that was what you were so focused on. But all these other opportunities have kind of come from that. You mentioned TV 12, you mentioned Lululemon. Would you mind sharing some of like the more exciting opportunities that you probably never even expected when you started training?

Yeah, I never. I, like, when I told. I started telling people that I was doing this. I always say if my. If my dreams don't scare my parents, they're not big enough. So the second I told my parents I was gonna do this, it was literally during the heart of isis. My dad was like, they're gonna decapitate your head and send it home. And I'm like, okay, I don't think that's gonna happen. But it's. We were so close on a map, bird's eye view of where ISIS was happening. He's like, I'm a marine. I'm just telling you my feelings. And I had to. I had to. Like, the fear of going through this, putting my dad and mom through hell, you know, I mean, it was. It was a lot, you know, and then. And then, like, the abuse. People were like, I hope you die of cancer. I'm like, really? Like. Like, this is hate mail mail. And I'll never forget the one day that I was just.

Had.

Had it. Like, people just are jealous. They're crazy. They're. You know, and I'm getting hate mail, and I mean, obviously one percentage of the. Of the hate mail happens to come through, and you just kind of get fixed on that. I'm like, you hope I die. I can't. Okay. Like, that's a brutal thing to say, and you just. You can't. So the cyber bullying, like, that was like, I kind of used it as fuel, and I'm like, well, you know what? This. These aren't your dreams. These are my dreams. So the problem with this type of event is you lay your dreams out there, and people aren't going to love your dreams. They're not going to support them. They're not going to. And that's okay. But the other side of that, like, Fenway park calls me, and they're like, do you want to throw out the first pitch? I'm like, I have. You have no idea what this means to me. I got to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park. And, like, I could. Nora O' Donnell called, and Ellen DeGeneres, and the phone just kept ringing. I was like, I can't believe you guys care about me. Like, this just means so much to me because these, my goals and my dreams are everything that I've worked so hard for. So it's been really fun. Really, really fun. And Joe Biden. I had lunch with Joe Biden, and I could just keep going on and on, and it's been just so awesome.

It's absolutely amazing. And for anyone who doesn't know, Becca, I mean, you just. You as a human, you haven't changed through all of it. Right. You're just. This is just what you do, and it's what you love, and you're grateful for it, and you're just so humble. And I think. I love how you pointed out that it's not just everyone supporting you. And so many people, I think, maybe hold back on posting something on social media, or they hold back on saying what their dreams are out loud because they envision that 1% that's a credit.

Right.

Maybe even 10% sometimes, who knows? But when we don't give weight to that 1% or that 10% and we give the weight to that 99% or that 90%, that's when it's powerful and we don't give a vote to those people. And we also have to let go of the expectation that everyone's going to be supporting us the entire time, because it's not realistic.

Right. And that's the thing. And if I thought, you know, my dad's like, I know that you can do this. I believe in you. I. But what if you don't? I'm like, what if I do? What if the. What if I could never. If some American female ran this race, and I. I would regret it for the rest of my life. So I think life's about taking chances.

Yeah, I love that.

Yeah.

And seeing what's possible. Right. Leading with that energy of, you know, those listening. No, I always reference energy and vibes and leading with that high vibe. Right. That higher vibe of curiosity about what's possible, rather than the fear of what's going to go wrong and how life changing that can be.

Mm.

And so, I mean, I have. Our relationship has grown as I've gotten to know you. I asked you to speak at the former place where I worked, and have you come in and inspire that group. Now, I want you here on the podcast. But I remember I was with a friend at an event. It was the Globe's, and I had met you before, and we'd been in touch, and all of a sudden I look up and you're there on stage with David Ortiz, and, you know, just smiling away. No big deal. And that must have been absolutely amazing. And, you know, then you're at the TB12 working with them, and there's just so many amazing things. I just think it's such a nice testament to the opportunities that you may not even dream about when you're pursuing your dream.

I don't care.

And like you said, find your world marathon.

Right.

I don't care if someone's dream is, you know, a relationship, a new job, pr, and a race that they're training for. Gardening. Right. But all of these opportunities that can become true or that can present based on just your pursuit of something that's really authentic, really pure, and really meaningful for yourself. And I think, you know, that you're such a powerful, you know, very visible example of that.

Thank you.

Yeah. And so in one of your speeches that I got to hear, I'll never forget when you were talking about how you just figured out, you're like, sometimes it means getting up and running at 4 in the morning. And I was like, ooh, would ever do that? And then, like, six months later, I'm getting up to run with you at 4 in the morning.

Yeah. Mm. It's inspiring. We all inspire each other, you know, even anybody that just lays themselves out there. And, you know, if you say you can do it, we believe in you, we support each other. It's our job to help each other through life.

And so do you want to share about the track group that you started?

Yes. So I was at a race in Waltham, which is just four miles away, and I ran into a friend, and he said, who do you run with? I said, because I'm so fearful, I have to get all my. Again. It was when my daughter was, like, two, so I was a single mom, and I had to get all my training in on a treadmill so I could listen to the walkie talkie in case she woke up. Like, the baby monitor in case she woke up. And so I'd go, like, three hours on a treadmill, two hours on a treadmill. And then as she got older, my parents would listen in, and I thought, I really want to start running on a track. So my friend said, I can't. The friend from the race, he said, I can't keep up with you, but I'll come and run alongside, like, on the track with you and for safety. And I thought, well, that's awesome. Let's meet at the track at 5:00am he's like, 5:00am. I'm like, yeah. What time did you have in mind? He's like, eight. I'm like, well, that will never work for me. And he met me at five. And we. And we have. And then the track just. It just kept. And as we were running at the track, we kept meeting people and inviting people to run with us. This is our Track group, the Belmont Track Club. Just come run with us and it's free and it's for anybody. Like any. You can walk, you can run, it doesn't matter. And we've had some an amazing time and it's been so much fun. And we turned it into, we have the track Tuesday track, we have Thursday Hills Saturday long runs. And it's so fun to have the community run together and friends of all walks together. But I'm proud to have started it. You know, I mean, it means so much to me that we have Boston qualifiers, we have first time qualifiers, we have first time. It's just so awesome.

And I think there's so many little lessons in that one. Like you can just start something within community, right? There's something you're doing, like just sharing it, being like, hey, I'm join. And the next thing you know, you have this growing community of really close enough people. And I had the privilege of being a part of Belmont Track Club, though I'm kind of an alumni now. Since I moved, I haven't been able to get there. But you guys still accept me in.

Yeah, yeah.

And like you said, all different speeds and all different lengths of races, but it's just everyone showing up there together. And I also just think, reminding and opening any listeners up to thinking, like, there are groups like this that exist everywhere, and people that I work with are searching for healthier friendships or relationships or places that, you know, bring a little bit more productive time into their life rather than some of the routines they may have fallen in. And so I just think this is a reminder, like, just look around. Like, there's so many things. We just got to get curious and, I don't know, maybe head to a.

Track at 5am, try something new. It's so inspiring. You'll never regret it, you know, you'll never regret doing something. It's always a learning experience. Even if you go and it's not for you, you'll know at least. Yeah.

And so at this track group, the Tuesday morning 5am, it's typically a speed workout. And there was something that struck me immediately when I was there and I think about all the time now, you're always smiling and cheering everyone on, but you're pretty competitive, right for yourself and you want to do well.

Yeah.

Everyone out there, they cheer you on, whether you're behind them or whether you pass them. And I think a lot of times in life we have people cheering us on, whether we're running or whether it's just in life, right? When we're behind them, then when we catch up to them and we pass them, they turn internally. They can't really show up to support us and they're not cheering us on anymore. Maybe they even want us to slow down so that they can catch up. But at this track group, this is literally a culture that wants everyone to go as fast as they can and they're genuinely happy for them. Can you talk a little bit about that? Just culturally?

And I am most proud of this track club because exactly what you just said. We have each other's backs, we look out for each other. We're together in whether it's 80 degrees or negative 15 degrees, supporting each other. We've become a huge family, you know, and we are all walks of different people, you know, and that's what I'm most proud of, is when you pass somebody, you are, or you're passing somebody, vice versa. You're cheering for each other and then you're following up. Good luck in your 5K. You know, it's just, it's so awesome to have that this day and age. Like, genuinely proud of the person I'm most proud of that with this track team, it's 20 group of like unbelievable athletes. And we keep it fun, you know, and it's always, always really hard to get up at 4:30. You know, I've never in my life been a morning person, but that's the only option for me and it's worth it. And we go down there and we laugh and we work out really hard and it's, it's, at the end of the day, it's just, I'm proud of everyone's attitudes in the city.

It's so amazing. And I can vouch that you do show up. No matter the temperatures, though, I tend to steer clear of anything below 15 degrees.

Yeah.

Tend to dress with 18 layers more than everyone else, but yeah, it's okay. You guys slide.

Yeah.

So I just have a couple more questions for you, and this is just amazing to hear your story, but I would love to know what has been among the most, if not the most challenging experiences or aspects maybe to your training or even something specific in a race that you've run?

I would say balance, balancing. You know, for me, I kind of sometimes feel like not so much now, but in when I'm rallying for big events. I kind of feel like rocky when I'm so defeated. But I have always learned, get up, get out of bed and do what you can do, you know, and just say, I'm gonna go run for two miles, and it turns out to be 10 miles, you know, and just never give up. Just 100%. Be all in. Do what you can do, Try to do better than yesterday. That's kind of like how I've always lived my life. And I have gotten it so wrong in my life, in my marriages and some races, and I can't dwell on those. You know, I know that those are all learning experiences for me, and I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for those moments defining me.

I love that you share that. It's something I talk about a lot. Like, everything's just feedback. Right. And of course, there are things I'd redo. I'm sure there are things like you said you'd redo or I'd do differently now, but we can't.

Right.

So you just know that you did the best that you can in any given moment. And then what can you learn and how can you grow from whatever that experience was? And if we learn and grow from whatever that experience was, like, it's not a failure. Right. It's growth, opportunity. Yeah. I love that. I think it's so powerful. I mean, you know the thing. Right. On my website. Right. Adversity is inevitable. Growth is optional, you know?

Yeah.

Now on those runs, and, you know, you are human. So imagine there are times where you want to quit, you don't want to run. You know, maybe you don't want to push that speed workout. Do you have something that you say to yourself? Some type of mantra or anything that you find really inspiring? Something you envision?

So Chelain, Flanagan. I remember her saying, I do some work with her with the John Hancock. And, you know, I remember her saying, are you doing everything you can possibly be doing right now to finish this race or train for this event? Or when I ask myself that, are you doing everything you can possibly be doing right now to win this race, to pr. To be a better mom? I always then step up my game. I'm like, you know what? I should be playing cards right now with my daughter. I should be doing this, or I could be doing, you know, that I find myself asking myself, are you doing everything you can possibly be doing right now? And the answer is, I can do better. You know, how can I do this better? And. And I'm not so hard on myself. You know, I try to. I am stretched then. So I try to do the best I can do, but I. I think I do best under. Like, I tend to do well under pressure. My whole life, you know, like, if I had a thesis due tomorrow, I'd probably start it, like, one or two days in advance. And I've always just been like that. I've always strived on little sleep and little. But that's me. That works for me, you know? And that works for me. Yeah.

Amazing. I love that. And that. That is. I mean, if we're showing up the most powerfully we can to whatever we're committed to. And sometimes it's a rest day, Right. And sometimes it's like, you know, being aware. A lot of times it's being aware of, like, when we need to push and when we need to pull back. But I think that's, you know, that's the best we can do, which is amazing.

Yeah.

One of the four agreements. I love four agreements. And one of them, the four agreements is just always, do your best.

Yeah. Do your best. And, you know, and I like to stay away from negative people. I have some negative people in my life. Not that they're in my life, but I think. I think it'. I step away from them sometimes, and it's a breath of fresh air, you know? And I love these friends, and I love these. But they're a pain. Sometimes I just kind of, like, step out of there, regroup, and come back in.

I literally just put a post up yesterday about that. It was specifically on, like, negativity and gossip and how if you're around it, it's becoming a part of you. You're absorbing it. It's going to become a part of you. It's energy you're taking in. And so being really mindful about boundaries that we put up or time that we limit, and, you know, you can actually be around it and put a boundary up. You know, you can put up, like, invisible energy wall. Like, that's not coming in here. Right. But I think you're right. Like, when we're around it so much, you know, we do, we gotta, like, step away and protect ourselves and put ourselves.

You know what? You know who gave me the biggest, the best advice ever? Dave McGillivray. You know, he's the race director of the Boston Marathon. He said, stay in your lane. You know, I was asking him advice about one thing, one time, and he's like, you know, we got to. We've become good friends over time. But his advice is stay in your lane. And I really like that. I'm like, maybe I just need to stay in my lane. That's not my business. That's not my concern. That's not my. I'm stay in my lane, you know, and I like that. You know, whether it's out in training or it's in real life, I tend to go back to, are you staying in your lane? I think you should stay in your lane so it works for me.

It's like my hero, Bill Belichick. Right. Do your job, do your job.

Stay in your lane. Like these are like, these are like our buddies, you know, These are like our very simple.

Right. We over complicate it so much.

Yeah.

Now you mentioned that your next one of your next goals and I'd love to know if you have anything else on the horizon. But also just fill us in on this 50 states goal and where you're at and how long it's been going on.

Yeah. So I have three goals. I'm finishing the 50 states. So I'm 34 states in and that's been like a six year journey. So I did. I've done all the fun states. Hawaii, Alaska, everything out west, everything up north. Now I have like the Middle east and I mean the Midwest, I mean. And so I have to kind of knock out those states and just get them over with. But after I finish the 50 states, Tokyo will be my sixth major, which I'm really excited about in February. And I just signed off on a kid's book, so I'm so excited to be writing a kid's book. It's been a two year dream for me. Talk about being like uncomfortable. It's. I never imagined that I would have Arthur next to my name, but I'm like, it's kind of crazy to think about like I'm an author, you know, that's so cool. But going in and reading to sick kids is something that I've been wanting to do for years. And so I finally just signed off with mascot books and that's been really exciting for me. And then I'm gonna run across the US and go after that world record and see where it takes me.

Unbelievable. Like, unbelievable. You're talking the world record of running across the country.

Yeah. And you know, it's. That's probably one of my biggest fear, you know, it's not a fear, it's a goal. And it's 54 miles a day, which means there's no room for error. So I have to figure out how to run 54 miles a day for 56 days, you know, and like, you know the track team that I'm sure that we'll get some good ideas and bounce. How do you do that? I don't know. But I'm drawn to world records and the ultimate test of endurance and strength. So the next two years, I'd like to give that a try.

So amazing, so inspiring. I mean, to just look at the opportunities you've created, the goals you keep going after, and the way you do it so humbly, so gratefully, and no excuses, right? Whether you're having a sauna brought in or going to Canada to train or getting up at 4:00am, like, you've just found a way. And I just. That is a really powerful example for anybody who feels like, you know, they're stuck and they don't have to go run a world marathon, you know, to become unstuck. It could be in their job, it could be in their relationship. But whenever someone listening has that feeling of like, I'm stuck, there's no way out. There's always a way, right? And you live that. You prove that.

Find a way.

Yeah. So as we wrap up, what advice do you have for anybody listening?

My biggest advice is dream big and take chances. I think that everybody should have two goals in life. Two totally different random goals. Things that you. Maybe it's a bucket list, maybe it's anything you know, and that will motivate you and inspire you to do better. Dream big and take chances. Because I find that when you do those two things, anything is possible.

That is absolutely amazing. Becca, where can people find you? Because if they are smart, they're going to start following your journey more. So where's the best places for them to find you and keep up with all of your happenings?

I'm on Facebook, just my name, Becca Pizzi, and on Instagram.

Awesome. Yeah. And you guys can follow along because I certainly will be following Becca along so you can find out her latest races and all that info through my stuff as well. Becca, thank you so much for taking time. And I know it's. No one knows we're recording this late on Monday night and you're getting up in just a few hours for your chat group. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thanks for having me.

Isn't Becca amazing? I just absolutely love spending time with her, being around her energy, as we talked about, the energy of the people you are around is going to impact you. And I just feel so lucky and grateful to be in the energy and influence and sphere of Becca. Not just because she's a world marathon champion or doing these amazing other crazy things. Guinness book of world records, 50 states, and so much more, but because she's A kind, compassionate, humble, giving human who wants to use her time in this world to make a positive impact. And for her, that's through running. And I think that is absolutely amazing and can encourage each of us to think of what's our way of making an impact, because we all have one and they're all different and they should all be celebrated. As you know, my goal through this podcast is to make an impact, to help anyone trying to reach their goals, feeling stuck managing loss, whatever it may be, wherever we are in these journeys, to feel their very best and to feel the power of that and to allow my daughter Laden's light to help them in doing so. Because that, for me, is the way I want to and I feel privileged to make impact in this world. So thank you all for being a part of this journey. Thank you all for tuning in. As always, thank you. If this resonates with you, if you want to help spread the work that we're doing to get these messages out there to empower others, just take a minute, go ahead onto itunes, rate, review, send it off to a friend, whatever it may be. In doing so, hopefully we're making this world a little bit kinder, more compassionate, more curious, and of course, shining Layden's light a little more brightly. Thanks again for being here and we'll chat soon.