Denny Krahe grew up playing various sports but always hated running. In college, he ran enough to try to keep his weight in check, but never enjoyed it. Over the years, he continued to run for exercise and started to enjoy it a little more. After his first marathon, in January 2010, he swore he would never run marathons again. The next year, he ran the same race again, and became hooked. In July 2014, he launched his podcast, Diz Runs Radio, and it changed his life. He’s now a full-time running coach, an author and speaker.
What is your proudest running achievement?
I think my proudest running achievement is setting two new half marathon PBs in the same day. I had signed up for a half marathon that started at 10pm many months before the race, and when I found out our town was going to have a half marathon in town on the same day (but in the morning) I decided to run both races. To that point, I had achieved a new personal best in every half marathon I’d run, so I set the goal of keeping that streak going, and I did it!
What has running taught you about yourself?
Running has taught me about the power of consistency and the value of patience. If you keep showing up and training intelligently, you’ll continue to grow in the sport. It just might take a little longer than you would prefer.
What is the most ambitious running goal you’ve ever considered?
Qualifying to run the Boston Marathon is definitely an ambitious goal. I still have a lot of work to do to bring it into the realm of possibility, but if I can just get 25 minutes faster and 20 years older, I should be good!
How far in advance do you plan your running races?
I’m pretty laid back when it comes to planning for races. For a full marathon or 50k, as long as I have a month or so of notice I’m good to go. Occasionally I’ll plan out a race schedule more than a few months out, but not often.
What is the most miles you’ve ever run in a week?
My highest volume week was about 45 miles, thanks to a 26.2 mile training run on top of a mostly normal week of training. I set a goal for myself in 2019 to run at least one marathon distance run per month, and for the months where I wasn’t running a proper race I didn’t really pull back on my regular weekly volume before or after my long run.
What is the longest period you’ve ever trained for a race?
I don’t know that I’ve ever really trained for a specific race for longer than three or four months? I try to keep my fitness at a level where I can run, though not race, a marathon with minimal build-up time. As such, I don’t usually get serious about training more than four to six weeks before a race.
What has been your most serious running injury?
My most serious running injury was in the final stages of the build-up to my second marathon, and I had a raging case of ITBS. It happened for the most obvious of reasons: all I did was run. No foam rolling. No stretching. No strength training. As the miles crept up, the pain got worse. I still finished the race, but was limited to little more than a walk for the second half of the race. Since then, I’ve pretty much been injury-free.
What cross-training exercises do you commit to?
I’m definitely committed to my strength training and yoga. I’ve fallen off on my spinning though, and that is one area I’d like to improve going forward.
What would persuade you to work with a running coach?
I would consider working with a coach if I felt like I had reached a plateau that I simply couldn’t get past on my own, either in terms of a lack of progress, a drop in motivation, nagging injuries, or anything else.
In one sentence, what does running mean to you?
Running is important to me because it makes me better in every aspect of my life.
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