In 2023, Polow suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm while out on a run.
He woke up in the hospital days later, spent weeks in the ICU, and had to relearn how to walk before he could even think about running again. The first attempts back were brutal tears, panic, fear that it could happen again, and the question of whether he would ever feel like himself as a runner again.
Eventually, he kept showing up.
Polow talks about the emotional side of recovery, survivor’s guilt, therapy, the first runs he couldn’t finish, and the moment running finally started to feel normal again. He also shares how the experience completely changed his relationship with training, ego, sleep, recovery, and what it means to actually take care of himself.
We also get into Run N Brunch, the Atlanta running community he built around making sure nobody feels left behind, his return to 13.1 at SeaWheeze, and why his next challenge means more than any race he has done before.
Now, Polow is training for the New York City Marathon in support of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.
For him, getting to that start line is about much more than 26.2 miles.
“It means I made it.”
Chapters
00:00 Surviving a Brain Aneurysm & Returning to Running
01:57 The Fear of Running Again
03:58 The Day Everything Changed
08:00 Waking Up in the ICU
11:56 Learning to Walk Again
16:07 When Running Finally Felt Normal Again
19:59 Working From a Place of Rest
24:03 Building Run N Brunch & Running for the Back of the Pack
28:08 Leaving Ego Behind & Returning to Racing
33:04 The Road to the NYC Marathon
Follow Polow:
instagram.com/polizzy/
Support Polow’s NYC Marathon:
Polow is running the NYC Marathon in support of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. You can support his fundraising efforts here:
https://fundraisers.nyrr.org/polow-lynn
Follow The People Run Podcast:
instagram.com/thepeoplerunpodcast/
Music: instagram.com/mech__beats/
