Robyn Godfrey: Running the World: A Runner's Odyssey of Struggle and Triumph in the World Marathon Majors

Robyn Godfrey is an accomplished runner, pacer, RRCA Certified Level 1 coach, and motivational speaker who began her running journey at the age of 47. 

What started as a personal quest to improve her health and overcome her relationship with alcohol soon evolved into a remarkable achievement: completing seven marathons, including the prestigious World Marathon Majors — London, Chicago, Berlin, Boston, New York, and Tokyo.

A dedicated member of the Wilmington Road Runners Club since 2013, Robyn has made a significant impact by coaching and pacing runners, helping them unlock their potential and reach their goals. In addition to her coaching, she has volunteered with organisations like Girls on the Run, empowering young girls to grow both physically and personally through running.

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Show notes

• Who is Robyn
• Making a change in her life at 47
• Starting running for 30 seconds on a treadmill 
• Facing serious life hurdles over the years
• Reinventing herself
• Chasing after her dream
• Her early years and not being sporty
• The why before making the change
• Not being able to stop over indulging 
• Continuing the journey 
• Starting to run outside and why it was such a different experience 
• Run the 10K Cooper River Bridge Run
• Training for a year to run a 10K
• Getting hooked on running 
• Why motivation isn’t enough 
• Starting to think about taking on a marathon 
• Running the London Marathon for her 50th Birthday 
• Getting a place through a lottery ticket
• How the structure of marathon training fitted in well with her mentality
• Breaking down big challenges into smaller more manageable goals 
• Not being a fast runner, but enjoying the process of marathon training 
• Fitting in training around life and work
• Carrying a fork 
• Being a party girl and drinking 
• Being social and not needing to drink a lot of wine to do that 
• The Tokyo Marathon
• Following strict cutoff times
• 27.8 miles….
• Recovering after running
• Core work and conditioning 
• Strength training for women