This episode is an interview with former elite Canadian runner, Rachel Cliff. Rachel is the former Canadian record holder in the marathon and half marathon, and she also represented Team Canada at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships in the 10k and 5k respectively, the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the 10k, the 2018 NACAC Championships (she was the bronze medalist in the 10k), and the Pan Am Games (she was the bronze medalist in the 10k). She is currently the elite athlete advisor for Hettas and mom of 2.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How she discovered running as a kid growing up in Canada, and how the Canadian high school running scene differs from the US
• What it was like growing up with a mom who was a dietitian, and how her mom stepping in when she lost her period in high school played a big role in her long term health in the sport
• Her transition from high school to collegiate running, how she struggled for a bit running slower than she did in high school while her body shifted, and how trusting the process allowed her to come back stronger
• Why periodization and prioritizing weight gain in the off season has been key for her, and how she found herself struggling in the years she didn’t do that
• Her transition to elite running, and how getting left off the Olympic team led to her going all in on training
• How pushing herself too hard towards her Olympic dream led to a mysterious career ending injury, and how she had to advocate for herself to get to the bottom of it

If you would like to keep up with Rachel, you can find her on Instagram at @raecliff

This episode is a Q&A episode where I answer questions that have been submitted by listeners.

Questions for today’s episode include:

• How do you know if you’re eating enough when you’re recovering from RED-S? Is getting your period back the only way to know, or will there be other signs?
• I’m a marathoner and have a family history of Type 2 diabetes. My A1C has been increasing, and I’m not sure how to balance managing my A1C and weight with fueling for performance. Do you have any advice?
• I just finished my high school senior track season and am getting ready for cross country in the fall, but I have a break between seasons. Should I fuel differently during this time or should I keep my intake up?
• I’ve been struggling with chronic IT band issues. Do you have thoughts on some nutrition changes I could make to better address this issue?

Thanks so much to everyone who has submitted questions so far! If you would like to submit a question for future episodes, you can do so on my website HERE or email me at fuelingforwardpodcast@gmail.com.

This episode is an interview with professional runner for Saucony, Vanessa Fraser. Vanessa grew up in Northern California where she discovered and fell in love with running through Girls on the Run. She went on to run at Stanford University where she became a 10x All-American and the PAC-12 champion in the 10k. While at Stanford, she received her bachelor's degree in symbolic systems and her master’s degree management science and engineering. After college, she went on to run professionally, signing a contract with Nike and joining Bowerman Track Club right out of college. Vanessa has competed in multiple US championships in the 5k and 10k, and has a 5k time of 14:48. In addition to running professionally, she also works full time as a partnerships manager at a health care tech company.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How she found the sport of running through Girls on the Run and what her progression looked like
• How an assignment to track calories from a middle school health teacher led to hospitalization, and what she learned from the experience
• What it was like going through periods of weight restoration and why she’s thankful her coaches, parents and doctors put her health first
• How she ended up running for Stanford, her dream school, despite not earning a scholarship right away
• Her transition to becoming a pro runner and advice for being patient during periods of lack of progress and injuries
• How increasing her carb intake has been instrumental to her success, and why fueling on long runs has been a big part of that
• Why working in addition to being a pro runner has helped her mindset around the sport and finding life balance

You can keep up with Vanessa on Instagram or TikTok @nessafraser.