Dr. Zachary Criswell of Saratoga Surgical Podiatry is the surgeon who performed haglunds surgery on my right foot back in February 2023. Fast forward to today I have run both the Hudson Valley over the River walkway marathon and The mohawk Hudson River Marathon and qualified for both the 2025 and 2026 Boston Marathon. I was recently accepted to run the 2025 Boston Marathon! Please enjoy this episode and all the good information in it especially if you are a runner and suffering from Achilles pain caused by a haglunds deformity.

For the past 10 years I have been plagued by pain in my right foot Achilles area. Two MRIs taken five years apart revealed that I had torn it 20% in on the insertion point on the back of my ankle. Both times I was advised to go into a boot for 6 weeks and rehab from there. In 2019, even though I was feeling and running well, I decided to take a proactive "prehab" approach and see Dr James Kelley at Malta Sports Medicine in order to prevent the problem from recurring. His advisement kept me running well long into 2020 and the pandemic. Eventually however things went downhill again due to the presence of a haglunds deformity which ultimately needed to be removed with surgery. This episode of 5run8 chronicles the discussions, advisement and alternative treatments which occurred on my journey to being referred to a surgical solution to a problem that affects many runners. Enjoy the info and happy holidays!

Noreen recently took 2nd place at the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon. She is a graduate of the University at Albany and a former member of their America East Championship winning track and field team. A special announcement of an upcoming podcast series for this winter is included in this episode.

Olivia Beltrani is one of the capital districts top female distance runners. In this episode we talk about the Freihofers run for women, winning a marathon in Italy, her dog Linus and her pathway to running success.

I caught up with Shaun Donegan who lives near me in the town of Malta.  I had recorded this episode long before he recently ran in the Malta Mile in a blistering 4:32…not bad for a busy high school teacher and father of twins.  We talk trails, future goals and my hope of one day being able to keep up.  Enjoy!

H2H happened on a hot day this past April…and who did I notice crossed the finish in 17th place but Jeff Goupil.  Jeff used to run with team fleet feet and the ARE racing team before moving to MA.  He now runs with the Boston Hares, a tracksmith supported USATF team.  His ties to 518 are strong and you might know someone he coaches.

Cara Udvadia is a recent graduate of the University at Albany. She has won the Stockadeathon twice in back to back running years of 2019 and 2021. She recently ran in the Trials of Miles half marathon with other professional athletes. Kick off this new 2023 year of running with Cara Udvadia's episode of 5run8!

I caught up with Lou Serafini after he won the Stockadeathon.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Enjoy this special edition of the Legends of the Fall series.

Joe Sullivan is a local masters runner who recently competed in the Kona Ironman World Championships.  He also ran 2:44:58 at the Boston Marathon earlier this year.  Find out what has lead to all of his endurance success in this Legends of the Fall episode of 5run8.

Ryan Udvadia is a recent graduate of The University at Albany and an alumni of their Cross Country and Track and Field programs.  He has established himself as a top contender who once held the school record in the 5000 meters and has recently run 2:27:36 in his first marathon.  In this episode of 5run8 we talk about training, injuries, nutrition and future plans for 2022 into 2023.  This is the second episode in the "Legends of the fall Series."  Enjoy!