Rd Real Talk - Registered Dietitians Keeping It Real

"I've done a lot of work trying to unpack the ''faster is better, or faster is the only way to run...it sounds so silly saying it out loud, but it's just been like, weighing on my consciousness." Cate Barrett shares about this process, of unlearning the one and only way she knew how and was trained to run, as a competitive collegiate athlete and finding her post college stride. She ran an Olympic marathon trials qualifying time in 2018 at CIM, and ran the 2020 Olympic Team Trials Marathon in February 2020. Soon after that, she was pregnant with her first kid, and a year after that, she was pregnant again.  Now, with 2 and 4 year old kiddos at home, she's continue to navigate this season of life, and what it means for her running.  "I didn't realize before I had to take such extended breaks how much of a role running was playing in my self care. I think I was just like, well, it's just what I do, but, it was multiple things rolled up into one." Tune in for a relatable, but not-as-often-widely-shared story of h

"Okay, no one on your team is fueling. But, what if you're the person to set the example?"  Caila Yates is a sports and eating disorder dietitian based in Boulder CO, in private practice (Steady State Nutrition). She started running in college because one of her friends was doing it, and the rest is history. For her, running was supportive to her own eating disorder recovery, though we know that's not always the case. Now she works with runners at various levels of the sport, and knows the ins and outs of running culture, disordered and restrictive eating, and how hard it can be to stand up to or stand out from what your teammates are doing. So, we talk about that!  Go to steadystatenutrition.co to find ways to work with Caila.  To find and work with a women's health and sport informed clinician from the Lane 9 Project Directory, go to lane9project.org/contact to get in touch! @Lane9project on IG Lane9project.Substack.com for our regular newsletter and essays

"When I was in college I saw a lot of people struggling, not just myself, because it's just a very difficult time."  Tessa (Tess) Barrett won the 2013 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship as a senior in High School. She was featured on a billboard in her hometown! The highs were high, and it could seem like everything was going well at the time. But she was also struggling with her own health, and with a sick parent. She went on to compete at Penn State, grieving the loss of a parent and navigating the often-fraught world of collegiate athletics, with a lot of eyes on her.  Tess eventually moved to Washington DC where she trains and competes with Georgetown Running Club, and had a huge year on the run in 2024. She won a couple of local races, including the Marine Corps Marathon with a personal best of 2:39:38. We talk about all of the above, and how Tess balances running with working, and having a life, on this episode.  Follow Tessa Barrett on Instagram @tessabarrett_ and via the Georgetown Runnin

Hello 2025! The year we are connecting female-bodied athletes to the clinicians and coaches who are trained and equipped to support their fully body health—menstrual, mental, and physical wellbeing that keeps athletes in their game(s).  Tune into this short n' sweet episode to hear from Lane 9 Co-founder, Heather Caplan, about what we're up to this year and how to work with us.  For more about the Lane 9 Directory—how to find a clinician or how to join us if you ARE a clinician—go to Lane9project.org / contact.  Or DM us on Instagram: @lane9project. 

"I think making two Olympics was easier than trying to figure out what I want to do now." Jourdan Delacruz has been competing as a weightlifter for ten years, from training as a highschooler at the US Olympic Training Center, to multiple international competitions, to both the Toyko and Paris Olympics. Meanwhile, she completed her degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, on her way to becoming a registered dietitian with the hopes of working with athletes like herself.  We caught up with Jourdan at the end of 2024, as an Olympic year winds down and she reflects on everything she's accomplished to date. She's in a time of transition, without clear next steps, but excited about a variety of possibilities. We loved hearing more about her training, competitions, Olympic experiences, and how she's already supporting athletes with nutrition resources via HerAthlete.  Follow Jourdan @herathlete on Instagram.  Lane 9 is working to improve the menstrual health of female-bodied athletes at all levels of sport and through var

" Own what you're doing. And, if you're really riding a wave of inconsistency or doubt, remember that you're always on your own side." Georgetown athlete Fiona Max, running Cross Country and Track & Field in her last year of NCAA eligibility joins us on the Lane 9 Podcast.  Fiona competed for, and completed her undergraduate degree at Princetown University from 2020-2024, then transferred to Georgetown to pursue her Master's in Sustainability and compete again. She wrote a blog post for GU Energy Labs titled "Practice over Perfection" about her experience with performance anxiety and struggling with perfectionism while competing within and studying at an Ivy League school. We talk about her experiences in collegiate athletics thus far, and what she's scheming for her post-NCAA life.  Read Fiona's post for GU here.  Lane 9 is working to improve the menstrual health of female-bodied athletes and reduce REDs by sharing athlete stories from all levels of sport and various seasons of life. We're also building

Rachel Drake is a professional trail runner with Nike, co-host of The Trail Network Podcast, mom of 2-year old Lew, and a newly-minted medical resident in Salt Lake City, UT. A few weekends ago, she ran, won, and broke the course record for women at the JFK 50 Miler in northern Virginia—a huge accomplishment on its own, but especially considering all of the above.  We talked to Rachel about her time as a collegiate athlete, finding trail running and a close community of friends in that space when she moved to Portland OR, and eventually getting back to racing on the trails and roads (and doing it well!).  And she shared the full story of her postpartum running process, getting a sacral stress fracture soon after she got back into high volume training. "We don't hear about the struggle, and I think the struggle is the predominating experience," she said, when we talked about her injury and how she felt like she wasn't seeing as any stories about setbacks. How so often, what's shared is centered around the wins

Dr. Sarah Lesko is MANY things—a runner, parent, practitioner, and a staunch advocate for female athletes of all ages, devoting her work to getting and keeping girls in sports. We couldn't have been more excited to chat with her, getting the story of her days as a collegiate athlete, why she took more than 15 years off of running and how that actually felt, what happened when she came back to running and met Oiselle's founder Sally Bergesen, and everything in between. Sarah is now the Executive Director and Board President of the incredible nonprofit, Bras for Girls, which started within Oiselle in 2017 and branched out as its own 501(c)3 in 2021. They have donated over 60,000 sports bras just THIS YEAR to young female athletes, and have even bigger plans for 2025. Come for all of the things Sarah has done in the sport of running and for female athletes up to this point, but stay for the hot takes, and unfiltered reality checks, on what really needs to happen within the NCAA to protect female athletes and kee

Melissa (Mel) Lodge was a collegiate track and field athlete who had multiple bone stress injuries, and a few providers in her corner that knew exactly what to do to help her navigate REDs. She took her personal experiences and funneled her drive into studying the prevalence of and interventions that may actually help prevent and treat REDs in all levels of sport. She takes time out of her day as a PhD candidate to translate the research into digestible bits on her popular and informative Instagram account, @FED_Collaborative.  We talked to Mel about her athlete journey, and how it's informing the work she's doing now. Tune in for some well-informed hot takes, relatable anecdotes about working with providers, and the latest in her REDs research.  Love this episode and the work we're doing at Lane 9 Project? Leave us some good vibes in the reviews! Or stop by lane9project.org to learn how to work with us.  Follow @Lane9Project on IG, or go to Lane9Project.org/Contact to get in touch. 

Emma Kertesz won the 2024 Bayshore Marathon in 2:37, a three and a half minute PR for the seasoned marathoner and Boulder CO resident. She's from Toledo OH, and ran for the University of Toledo. While she describes her collegiate athletic experiences as "tricky", she had a few lucky experiences with a supportive assistant coach that helped her steer clear of disordered eating habits or chasing the thin ideal (especially at the time). She went on to train with the Hanson brothers, and eventually moved out to the mountains. She has a full time job in early education, and is very intentional about her training, nutrition, and periods of rest. She trains with the The Track Club in Boulder, gave a shoutout to Caila Yates of Steady State Nutrition, and keeps a low profile on social media.  We talk about all of this, including what's up next for Kertesz as she trains for Houston 2025, in this episode.  Read more about Emma in the "9 Miles With Emma Kertesz" post on our Substack.  For more about the work Lane 9 Proje

We talked to Ann Arbor-based physical therapist, Eliana Lin DPT, about her experience as a collegiate athlete, completing her doctorate in physical therapy with clinical rotations in Division 1 Track and Field programs, and her clinical practice philosophies on strength training for runners, and running while rehabbing some injuries (if it’s safe, of course!). Bonus (IMO): This episode includes a deep dive into the world of Pole Vaulting! Somehow I had never spent much, if any, time thinking about what the workouts, warmups, and track meet experience of a pole vaulter all look and feel like. But, we’ve got that for you in this episode. Eliana Lin DPT, a former pole vaulter turned distance runner and triathlete. Witnessing numerous runners sidelined by preventable injuries, Eliana is on a mission to ensure athletes stay in the race. Having experienced the frustrations of injury firsthand, she's dedicated to transforming your running experience. At Up and Running Performance, Eliana's passion is improving runn

Melanie (Mel) Sulaver RDN, aka Nutrition by Mel (@nutritionbymel), is here to talk about her sport story from soccer to running, parenting to postpartum, and everything in between. We chat about what happened during her collegiate soccer career that led her to leaving the team, and how that was an early lesson in advocating for herself and her own wellbeing.  Mel is now a sports dietitian speicalizing in work with female-bodied athletes, menstrual health, and supporting birthing athletes through pregnancy and postpartum. Mel brings her signature Big Uterus Energy to this conversation, and her work. We talk about that! Work with Mel: NutritionbyMel.com  The Lane 9 Project is working to reduce REDS and improve menstrual health for female-bodied athletes at all levels of sport. Find more of our work and how to work with us at Lane9Project.org. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at Lane9Project.Substack.com. Full transcripts are available for all episodes.   

Dietitian Serena Stewart, aka Serena Marie per her IG account, joins Lane 9 Project to talk about her experiences with adolescent body changes, how it impacted her body image, and how it led her to running. While her early experiences in sport were part of an effort to change her body, her relationship to running has evolved and changed. She recorded this episode with us at 37 weeks pregnant, on the brink of a major life transition! We know that parts of her story resonate with a lot of our Lane 9 community, and appreciate the helpful information she shared in regards to adolescent nutrition support, sports nutrition trends, and more.  Get in touch with Serena via SerenaMarieRd.com and/or via @runnergirldietitian on IG.  The Lane 9 Project is working to reduce REDS and improve menstrual health for female-bodied athletes at all levels of sport. Find more of our work and how to work with us at Lane9Project.org. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at Lane9Project.Substack.com. Full transcripts are available for a

On this episode we talk with Heidi Strickler, a dietitian who checked herself into eating disorder treatment in 2020 (at Opal) after years of struggling and running through it. Heidi planned on being a collegiate soccer player but transitioned to Track and Field, and then Cross Country, and has been a competitive and accomplished runner ever since. She talks about the many years of work she has done to untie her identity from her achievements in running, and find ways to play in the mountains, have fun, and be out there for the joy of it.  Find Heidi at @hstrickler_sportsrd on Instagram.  The Lane 9 Project is working to reduce REDS and improve menstrual health for female-bodied athletes at all levels of sport. Find more of our work and how to work with us at Lane9Project.org. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at Lane9Project.Substack.com. Full transcripts are available for all episodes. 

"I did not have a period. It's not unrelated that then I had a series of five stress fractures." Nancy Boyd, former D1 collegiate runner and now DPT with a practice specializing in providing pelvic floor physical therapy, joins the Lane 9 Project for this episode.  Nancy shares her experience with late puberty onset, i.e. primary amenorrhea, at the age of 20 competing in D1 athletics. She developed an eating disorder, and experienced a series of five stress fractures. She had surgeries, a lot of time off, and some not-greaet experiences within the healthcare system. She went on to get her doctorate in physical therapy, to help athletes and humans at all levels and abilities get back to movement in whatever ways are accessible to them.  We talk about:  Nancy's story: late puberty, stress fractures, an eating disorder, and finding new ways to enjoy running as a parent and person The impact of low estrogen levels on various parts and systems within the body Everything you need to know about pelvic floor physica

"What I'll see in PT {with REDS} is delayed healing...." Dr. Leada Malek, whom you may know as @drmalekpt on Instagram and TikTok, joins Lane 9 co-founder Heather Caplan to chat about what it really takes for athletes to get and stay "healthy" for the long term.  We talk about her athletic story, how she starts every assessment with active clients, the most common injuries and inquiries from runners, why strength training is a key component of running fitness, and what to actually do about stretching.  Her book, "The Science of Stretch" is available wherever books are sold. And if you haven't yet, check out her Instagram and other social channels for accessible, and very helpful, short physical therapy-focused videos and content!  Lane 9 Project is working to reduce eating disorders and REDS in female-bodied athletes at all levels. Check out our upcoming events and resources via Lane9project.org and subscribe to our weekly newsletter at lane9project.substack.com. Follow along on Instagram @lane9project  

"As someone who already felt like I was such a big fish out of water... I was like, well, that's what other people are doing to get faster. Maybe, maybe that's what I should do." Morgan Voight, a registered dietitian based in Salt Lake City, Utah, who's focused on the intersection between movement and eating disorders, with specific research focused on the prevalence of eating disorders among the LGBTQ plus population, joins us for a Lane 9 Project conversation.  We chat about Morgan's early experiences as a middle and high school track athlete, and then joining the Quinnipiac Cross Country and Track and Field teams as a D1 competitive runner. Between her junior and senior year, she had to take time off to begin the process of treating her disordered eating, but she was able to get back to competition before graduating.  Morgan talks to us about her relatoinship with running now, what may have been helpful to her as a younger athlete, and why she's not ashamed to be using loads of Body Glide!  Reach out to Mo

In this Lane 9 Project v2, we need your help. Listen to learn more about big things coming up—like our first event in Ann Arbor, where we're hosting the Global Trail Running Film Festival at Cahoots, on Thursday Aug 1, and a workshop for high school athletes in the works—and to get the scoop on what this relaunch of Lane 9 involves for us, your co-founders. We appreciate you tuning in, and continguing to support this work in whatever ways work for you! The links:  trailfilmfest.com/tour (Ann Arbor, August 1!)  Lane9project.org for our content like athlete stories, our contact form, and other ways to get involved (i.e. work with us to bring Lane 9 workshops to your team!)  @lane9Project on IG Our Substack: Lane9project.substack.com, where from July 1 to Aug 1 you can help us with our ReLaunch Lane 9 campaign.   

"Running served as a place where I could feel like I was holding on to my mom, and that is like what I needed more than anything when I was grieving." Emily Halnon's debut book, "To the Gorge: Running, Grief, Resilience, and 460 Miles Across the PCT", is a story that weaves together the deep and transformative grief of both losing her mom to cancer in 2020, and running the fastest known time (FKT) on Oregon's 460 miles section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Emily is an avid and prolific ultra-runner and writer. And she writes often about her experience with running as a love language, thanks in no small part to her brave, wholehearted, joyful mom.  We talk about finding balance and sustainable routines when training for ultra-marathons, about cultivating community and connection through running, and navigating Big Hard life things while keeping joy for the things and people you love.  For more from and about Emily, visit EmilyHalnon.com. Buy her book from you local independent book store! Follow her on IG @emily

"When you can perform through this kind of lifestyle,  it makes you not think that there's a problem. And I think that's where, we have to be careful." Andie Cozzarelli, semi-professional runner and running coach/owner of Run for a Cozz coaching, is back on the Lane 9 podcast! Listen for updates about what Andie has been up to running, training, and coaching-wise since our last episode together in 2018/2019.  Follow Andie on IG @run4acozz  The other links:  @lane9project on Instagram lane9project.org to get in touch with! and lane9project.substack.com to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter Want to hire Lane 9 Project for your run coaching needs, or to provide a workshop to your athletes or staff? Reach out. We'd love to chat!