Shandi’s love of running began when she was very young, and throughout her life, it was something that always helped her to cope with stress and anxiety. However, as she got older, she became consumed with the idea of proving something to others, and the pressure of the pursuit caused her to have a nervous breakdown during the 2013 Boston Marathon. During this episode Shandi shares more about how she got into running, how running the NYC Marathon changed her life, especially the second time she ran it, when she ran a Boston qualifying time of 3 hours and 12 mins.  After qualifying for Boston, she set herself the goal of breaking a 3 hour marathon. Shandi put a lot of pressure on herself to perform well.  Unfortunately things did not go to plan, she realised early on she wasn’t going to hit her goal, but she still managed to cross the finish line, where she was immediately ushered to the medical tent. Her body had finally given in and later on she would find out that she had had a nervous breakdown.  *Please be advised that in this episode, we will be discussing the Boston Marathon bombings, which took place on April 15, 2013. This event resulted in the tragic loss of three lives and injured hundreds of others. We understand that this topic may be sensitive and triggering for some listeners.  Our guest, Shandi, will be sharing her personal experience of being at the 2013 Boston Marathon, and the impact it had on her mental and physical health. If you feel that this topic may be difficult for you, we encourage you to prioritise your emotional well-being and listen at your own discretion. Shandi shares more about the aftermath, how she needed to heal her body and mind.  She did this by making big changes to her life; from leaving her job as a television producer and moving to be closer to the mountains. She also started to freelance as a creative producer.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.  Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media especially in relation to adventure and physical challenges. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you.   Show notes Who is Shandi Working as a producer  Being based in Salt Lake City, Utah Having a passion for the outdoors  Getting into running at a young age Feeling good while moving her body Growing up in Canada and being taught to ski by her mum Switching to snowboarding in college Being drawn to the snowboarding lifestyle Starting her career and making big changes Work for ESPN (Entertainment & Sports Programming Network) in Bristol, Connecticut  Studying broadcast journalism at college How her career goals have changed Finding a love for editing  Figuring out what she wanted to do  Advice for women who want to get into production Find people who want to support you  Get experience and keep going  Being away from the mountains and spending more time running  Deciding to do her first marathon  Running NYC Marathon and loving the experience  How the race changed her life What running the NYC Marathon is like The power of putting your name on your shirt The amazing support from the crowds Wanting to qualify for the Boston Marathon (3hr 35) and following a training plan Shaving 30 mins of her marathon time and running 3hr 12 mins  Tactics to running a fast marathon Breaking up and feeling depressed Respect and love to the past boyfriend Having a year and a half to train Working with a run coach and wanting to break 3hrs Having lots of goals and wanting to do well Dealing with severe anxiety and not being able to sleep Not being well on the finish line at Boston Marathon 2013 Being in the medical tent when the bombs went off Going though a nervous breakdown Managing to find her dad What happened afterwards Going on medical leave for 6 months Being in the “push through” mentality  Needing to make big changes in her life Healing her body and mind Deciding to move to Seattle and beco