Running
Meet everyday running inspiration and Why I Run podcast host Erin Azar
Get to know the most relatable runner on social media and find out who she’ll be interviewing in the new podcast series that leads up to the Wings for Life World Run.
Erin Azar, the US mom whose honest and often hilarious journey into running launched an online community, is the host of a new podcast series from Red Bull, called Why I Run. Co-hosted by game-changing TV presenter Ayo Akinwolere, the podcast features an array of global guests who offer experience and insights from the sporting world and beyond. Their shared love for running is the springboard for fascinating conversations and ideas – and Azar’s upbeat brand of humour.
The podcast kicks off on March 3, 2022, with weekly episodes leading up to May’s Wings for Life World Run. You can listen to the episodes here and follow Why I Run on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
Ida Mathilde Steensgaard relaxes after the Wings for Life World Run 2019
© Jesper Gronnemark for Wings for Life World Run
Why Azar runs
A couple of years ago, Azar had given birth to her third child and was, as she puts it, mentally and physically in the dumps.
“Have you ever felt so sick of yourself that you just have to do something about it? You don’t know what, but you have to do something?” she asks rhetorically. She’d tried running before – several times – but never stuck with it. Still, something told her to give it a go, so she pulled her threadbare trainers out of the closet.
“I thought, ‘If this makes me feel the slightest bit good, I have to keep going,’” she remembers. “On that first run, I felt a little bit of relief from anxiety, exhaustion… all those things. And that was suddenly my ‘why’.”
Azar tried to find newbie runners she could relate to on social media. When nothing popped up, she decided to share her own runs: uncurated, with her glasses askew, and unabashedly slow. She called herself ‘Mrs. Space Cadet,” and one of the first runs she posted on TikTok got more than a million views.
“There are days when I wish I could be faster, or it could be easier, but it’s more about having fun, finding a community and having that community for other people to join,” Azar describes. “It’s so cool – they’re in the comment section supporting each other. Social media can be a little toxic, but if you find the right people, it can be life-changing.”
Azar thinks that one of the reasons running works for her now, and why so many people relate to her, is because she isn’t taking herself too seriously. “When I’m having a really bad run, I’ll film it and make a joke, because I feel like it's better to laugh than be really down on yourself about it,” she says.
I’m excited to share the Wings for Life World Run with my audience. It’s so different and for such a good cause that we have to tell more people about it
That lighthearted attitude has seen her finish her first major city marathon, New York in 2021, where fans waved Mrs. Space Cadet signs and asked for selfies. The social media star is now training for the Chicago Marathon, but in the meantime, on May 8, she’ll be running for those who can’t in the Wings for Life World Run, the charity run where participants around the globe start simultaneously, and 100 percent of entry fees go to research to cure spinal cord injury.
“I’m excited to share the Wings for Life World Run with my audience. It’s so different and for such a good cause that we have to tell more people about it,” Azar declares, pointing out that with its ‘Catcher Car’ format, participants can set their own pace and run any distance. “It just looks like so much fun. Some people wear costumes, and I love a good charity. So sign me up!”
Podcast preview
When Azar was asked to host the Why I Run podcast, she thought she might be out of her league, but it turns out she’s having a blast. She has clicked with Akinwolere, a record-setting swimmer as well as TV presenter.
Ayo Akinwolere and Erin Azar – hosts of the Why I Run podcast
© Red Bull
And then there are the guests. Each episode centres on a theme, such as creativity or the environment, and two guests – with very different backgrounds – describe what running brings to their lives. This leads to wide-ranging, sometimes surprising, and often motivational conversations.
Azar explains: “We aren’t only interviewing professional athletes.” The opener on March 3, for example, features Australian triathlete and ultrarunner Courtney Atkinson along with award-winning writer Helen Mort, who juggles running with the demands of her work and raising a three-year-old. Both find that running fosters their creativity, albeit in different ways.
“When you think of creativity, you might think of serious discussion, and there is that, but it’s mixed with learning and discovery and humour,” Azar says. “We keep it light.”
Courtney Atkinson running with the Wings for Life World Run App in 2020
© Adam Weathered for Wings for Life World Run
Episode 2 features Wings for Life World Run Ambassador Sandile Mkhize, and dancer Angyil McNeal, talking about how running clears their minds. Azar shares: “Angyil said that as her feet hit the ground, she pictures her stress cracking away. That really blew my mind, I’ve been using it since we talked.”
Other podcast guests include champion obstacle course racing athlete Ida Mathilde Steensgaard and BMX flatland icon Matthias Dandois.
“They bring really good perspectives that can be applied to many things in life, not just running,” says Azar. “I come away from each episode with a change in mindset – with really helpful things and super inspired.”
Taking part in the Wings for Life World Run? You can join the Why I Run podcast team here.
