How Slowing Down Long Runs Helped Her Go From Just Finishing a Marathon to a Princess PR an Interview with Christina Bowler

Season 3 of Running to the Castle Podcast w/ Dr. Ali Marty

Episode 214 How to Shave Minutes Off Your Half Marathon Time to Get a Sub 3 Hour Half Marathon runDisney Races

In this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali talks with Christina Bowler about how she went from a self-proclaimed non-athletic Disney fan who could barely run the mile in gym class to a runDisney runner who completed multiple race weekends, finished her first marathon, and then cut her pace enough to hit a huge goal at Princess Fairytale Challenge. 

Christina shares how she got started because of her love for Disney and rare characters, how the Jeff Galloway plan helped her finish her first races, and how things started to fall apart when she began pushing her long runs too fast during marathon training. 

She opens up about the panic of dealing with knee pain before Marathon Weekend, the mindset shift of slowing down when it felt completely wrong, and how trusting the process helped her heal, finish her first marathon, and later run a 13:30 average pace at Princess after doubting it was possible.

The conversation also dives into fueling, race day execution, speed workouts, and why slow and back-of-the-pack runners absolutely belong in the runDisney community.