WEBVTT

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If running or cycling used
to be a passion of yours,

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or if you've always wanted to run a race

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but haven't done it yet,
those plans don't have

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to change after vision loss.

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In this episode, Hadley
member Keith Hodder

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and Connecticut chapter
director Erin Spaulding join us

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to discuss how Achilles
International can help you achieve

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your athletic goals.

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I'm Ricky Enger, and
this is Hadley Presents.

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Welcome to the show, Keith, Erin.

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Good morning, Ricky.
Good

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morning. Thanks for having me.

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I am delighted to have you both.

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We get so many calls from
people who are in that stage

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of feeling a little bit
like, "I'm tired of being

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inside my house and surrounded
by these four walls.

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I would love to get out,
love to do some exercise,

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and I just don't know how to do that

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or if I can do it safely."
You know, so many questions

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that people have, particularly
after a vision loss

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and kind of adjusting to what that means.

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And I think Achilles does a phenomenal job

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of putting people just back in touch with

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that athletic side,

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or maybe in some cases, getting
people in touch with that.

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You know, it could have been
on your bucket list like,

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"Yeah, someday I'm going to do a 5K

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or whatever." And you never had the chance

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and now you're thinking,
"Well, I guess I can't now,"

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but thankfully that is not true.

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So I guess that's a good place
to start actually is Erin,

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for people who don't know what Achilles is

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and what you all do, can you
just give us a, a description

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of kind of how it works and who it serves?

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Yeah, I'm happy to.

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So Achilles International, we, by name,

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we literally are international.

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We have 62 chapters around the world,

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including in many states here in the US.

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And bottom line, kind of
like you were leading up to,

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we are a community of support

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and our mission is really
to transform the 26%

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of Americans who live with a disability.

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No matter where you are in
the United States, we want you

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to get active with us through
our athletic programs.

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But in a nutshell, just

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because you have a disability
doesn't mean you can't go

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for a walk, go for a run, hand cycle.

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However, we really say

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however you move, come
join our, our community.

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It's supporting you, whether it's

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through using a trained guide, a tether,

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however it is you move,
we also want you to come

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and meet others if that's

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that social connection
piece too of our mission.

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Yeah. And that's so important.

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It can feel very isolating if
you don't know anyone who is

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like you and having those same challenges.

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It can be such a relief to
meet others kind of going

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through the same thing and also
to discover, "Hey, if I want

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to move, there's a way for me to do that.

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I don't have to sit

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and be inside these same four walls every

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day." So I love that.

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Exactly. Even just be
relegated to the treadmill

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or I hear this a lot.

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I can only go on my elliptical

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because that's the only way that I'm safe

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and I can move my body.

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There's limitations. And
that's what Achilles does.

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We break those barriers.

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We get people active, connected no matter

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what it is for that person.

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That's amazing. I love that.

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So Keith, you've actually been
at this for a little while,

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and I suspect that you
have come a long way from

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where you started.

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And that's always really
cool to hear about as well is

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where someone started and
kind of where they are now.

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So can you just take us
back to the beginning

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of when you first got
involved with Achilles

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and just tell that story.

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How did you become involved?

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What was it like initially
and where are you now?

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Well, prior to me joining Achilles, I was

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an avid walker, basically
around my neighborhood

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with my cane, doing three mile walks

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three to five days a week.

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I go to a low vision support group

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and one of the guest speakers
happened to have been Erin.

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And when she was speaking about Achilles,

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I said to myself, "Wow,
this is something I can do."

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And within three months,
I had joined Achilles.

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My vision is basically hand movement,

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but I do see some things out there.

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So Achilles actually train

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the athletes how to
participate, whether they walk,

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run, roll.

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My goal at the beginning
was to basically fast walk.

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And I started training for fast walking

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and I was with a guide

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and my chosen piece to use for

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safety measures was a tether.

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So my guide would have one
end of this 18-inch tether

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and I would have the other end.

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And we would go fast walking
wherever we would do a workout.

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I then decided to join a couple 5K races.

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That was really exciting.

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I did a lot of fast
walking in my first race

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and ended up being a
competition between myself

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and another member.

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And I ended up running.

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But the experience of
doing it, that was just,

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it was incredible to be part

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of something I thought I
would never be part of.

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The next year I challenged
myself to do a 10K

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and I continued to work
out and improve my cardio

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and my running skills and everything.

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And my vision over the years
has pretty much been the same.

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So when I started doing my
walks a number of years ago,

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my vision is still the
same as it is today.

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This year, I have upped
my ante this year to

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participate in my first half marathon.

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So that is my goal.

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And I've been working hard
at that training for it.

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And I'll go into full training mode

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in about a week in August.

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And I look forward to doing that.

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Wow. That is such a cool
story to go from, "Hey,

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I walk every day, but I'm
not competing in anything.

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And I get my exercise in,

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but that's where I am,"
to now you're training

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for a half marathon in a
pretty short amount of time,

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all things considered.

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So it sounds like being matched

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with Achilles just allowed you to

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not only meet your initial goal,

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but to say, "Hey, I'm not stopping here.

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I'm going to keep going."

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Exactly.

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It was a group I didn't know a lot about.

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So it was like an eye-opener exercise,

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getting out there, improving my exercise,

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doing it with someone.

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And now I even have a team of guides

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that I basically work with
whenever time comes to do it.

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So it is amazing how much this group

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and Achilles has helped me
basically, like you said,

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a few minutes ago, Ricky,
from sitting in the chair

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to getting out and doing something.

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And that had worked out
really, really well.

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Absolutely. So Aaron, when
someone first connects

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with Achilles, what happens after that?

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How do you go from, "Hey, I'm an athlete.

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I want to do something," to
then matching that person

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and having them proceed with their goals?

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Yeah. There's something
Keith said I just want

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to quickly comment on.

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He used the term athlete, and
that is part of our community.

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It's part of our culture that
we call everyone an athlete.

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And I get looked sometimes
if I'm at a group, like

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a support group where I first
met Keith, I get questions.

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Well, I've never done anything
athletic to, "Hey, I was a

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high school athlete, college
athlete, weekend warrior,"

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whatever it is for that person.

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But there's something that's prideful.

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You come into Achilles, you
come into our community,

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you're part of our team, you
become like an extended family.

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And we say this all the
time, you're an athlete

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because everyone moves their body.

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Using Keith's example, he
just would go out in his

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neighborhood with his cane
and he would move his body.

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And so that's athletic.

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So I sometimes go around

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and I debunk these myths
that if you're an Achilles,

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you have to run a road race.

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You have to do. I get
this all the time too.

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Oh my goodness, Achilles
is about running marathons.

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Well, for some people,
yes, but not for everyone.

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It is truly customized to the
person with what they want

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to accomplish, whether it's
just going around the block,

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getting off that treadmill or
getting off that elliptical

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and going out with a trained guide.

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And Achilles provides that
training that it's not just,

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"Hey, here's a tether,"
which Keith was describing.

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The guide holds one end in the hand,

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the athlete holds the other.

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Well, that takes practice.

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We're training the guide long

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before they even meet the athlete.

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And then they get paired together

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based on a lot of factors.

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We're never going to put
somebody together who's faster

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or slower, get matched
with, are they walkers?

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Are they runners? Again,
it's all customizable.

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And then it takes time.

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And some days I'm going to just go, I want

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to walk around the block.

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And it takes time to build that trust.

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And when you do see that happen
over time, it is absolutely,

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in some respects, hard to describe.

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And when you help somebody,
as a volunteer does, enable

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that person to be exercising independently

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however they move, however
far they want to go,

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however fast they want to go.

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There's never any pressure.

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It's that athlete saying,
"This is my goal, this is

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what I want to do." And that volunteer in

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that community of support.

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That's excellent. It's
meeting people where they are

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and giving them the freedom
to decide, "Hey, here's

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what I want to do today.

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And that may be different than
what I did last week." And

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allowing them to, I guess,
literally go at their own pace.

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Keith, when you were matched with

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your first guide, can you
talk about the process of that

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and anything that may have changed

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or stayed the same since then?

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What was it like training
with another person?

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That is a very good question.

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When I joined Achilles, they had

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what they called engagement coordinators.

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And this group of people would bring

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athletes to board

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and help them in the beginning
get through the process

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of joining Achilles.

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And my first guide was an
engagement coordinator.

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So him and I hit it off
really well in the beginning.

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He actually lived about 35 minutes from me

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and he'll drive down to my house

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and say, "Hey, let's go for a run.

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Let's go for a walk." And he
basically took me under his

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wing in the beginning.

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He ran my first race with me

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and he continued to train with me.

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Over the last two years,

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we have built a tremendous relationship.

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And to me, it was heartwarming.

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It was very rewarding

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that someone would take time
out of their day to work

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with me, help me, help me
get to where I want to be.

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And he continues to this
day being one of my guides.

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And we've also developed
a very good friendship.

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This gentleman has
really been there for me.

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This is what Aaron said
about the community

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and the people in the
community coming out to help.

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It's tremendous. And now that
I've been a part of Achilles

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for two years, I decided to
give back to the community

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itself by becoming an engagement
coordinator myself this

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year, trying to give back

251
00:13:07.546 --> 00:13:11.386
and help other athletes
get set up with guides

252
00:13:11.386 --> 00:13:13.106
so they can go out and do training.

253
00:13:13.106 --> 00:13:16.406
So it's a full circle effect of

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00:13:16.406 --> 00:13:18.646
what I experienced from the beginning to

255
00:13:18.646 --> 00:13:20.366
where I am right now.

256
00:13:20.366 --> 00:13:24.786
That is so cool. And community
is such a powerful thing.

257
00:13:24.786 --> 00:13:28.206
It's not just about going and
doing what you set out to do,

258
00:13:28.206 --> 00:13:29.526
although that is part of it.

259
00:13:29.526 --> 00:13:34.526
It is actually connecting
with someone on a number

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00:13:34.566 --> 00:13:35.786
of levels.

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00:13:35.786 --> 00:13:37.466
Absolutely. Yep.

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00:13:37.466 --> 00:13:39.646
Erin, if someone is listening to this

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and thinking, "Hey, I
kind of want to be a part

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00:13:42.566 --> 00:13:45.206
of this." I know that as
I'm learning more about it,

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00:13:45.206 --> 00:13:49.026
and especially given
what you said about how

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everyone is an athlete, if
you're moving your body,

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00:13:52.306 --> 00:13:57.106
it doesn't have to be something
that feels unattainable from

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00:13:57.106 --> 00:13:59.246
where you are right now.

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00:13:59.246 --> 00:14:03.166
So if someone is looking to connect

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00:14:03.166 --> 00:14:06.506
with an Achilles chapter,
what's the process?

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00:14:06.506 --> 00:14:09.686
And of course, if there,
for some reason, isn't

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00:14:09.686 --> 00:14:13.366
one available in someone's
area, do you know

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00:14:13.366 --> 00:14:15.946
of other resources that
they might look to?

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00:14:15.946 --> 00:14:19.346
Yes. So of the 62 chapters worldwide,

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30 are here in the United States.

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And so on our website, which is

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www.achillesinternational.org,

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and that's spelled

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A-C-H-I-L-L-E-S,

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00:14:39.587 --> 00:14:43.727
and then followed by
international, you can drop down

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00:14:43.727 --> 00:14:46.187
to find a chapter.

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00:14:46.187 --> 00:14:49.227
And all of the United States
chapters are linked there,

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00:14:49.227 --> 00:14:51.307
those 30 locations.

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00:14:51.307 --> 00:14:54.127
We are all following the same model,

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00:14:54.127 --> 00:14:58.407
whether you're in New York
City, Connecticut, Boston,

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00:14:58.407 --> 00:15:03.387
Austin, Texas, Chicago, just
to name a few other chapters.

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00:15:03.387 --> 00:15:06.627
We have group workouts, races

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00:15:06.627 --> 00:15:09.347
that we do locally in our states

289
00:15:09.347 --> 00:15:11.347
and around the country as well.

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So we bring this community
no matter where we are,

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00:15:15.587 --> 00:15:17.547
whatever state, whatever chapter.

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00:15:17.547 --> 00:15:21.127
And so if you happen to live

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00:15:21.127 --> 00:15:24.467
in a location in the
country where there is not

294
00:15:24.467 --> 00:15:25.967
yet an established chapter,

295
00:15:25.967 --> 00:15:29.747
because we are growing,
we are expanding chapters,

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00:15:29.747 --> 00:15:32.987
looking at where do hubs of people

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00:15:32.987 --> 00:15:34.907
who want to be active live?

298
00:15:34.907 --> 00:15:38.267
We are also a great resource.

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00:15:38.267 --> 00:15:42.987
At the end of May, we began
operating United in Stride,

300
00:15:42.987 --> 00:15:44.407
which some people may have heard of,

301
00:15:45.487 --> 00:15:48.067
which is a one-to-one
digital matching program

302
00:15:48.067 --> 00:15:49.687
that connects people who are blind

303
00:15:49.687 --> 00:15:52.627
or low vision with both running

304
00:15:52.627 --> 00:15:54.547
and walking guides in their community.

305
00:15:55.487 --> 00:15:59.607
So that expanded our
community, expanded our network

306
00:15:59.607 --> 00:16:02.107
and our ability to connect people.

307
00:16:02.107 --> 00:16:06.707
So us operating United
Stride is a huge kind of,

308
00:16:06.707 --> 00:16:09.587
it just opens up the possibilities.

309
00:16:09.587 --> 00:16:13.147
Yeah, for sure. So as we kind

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00:16:13.147 --> 00:16:15.827
of wrap things up, I always like

311
00:16:15.827 --> 00:16:18.367
to ask people this question

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00:16:18.367 --> 00:16:23.227
because I know as the
person doing this podcast,

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00:16:23.227 --> 00:16:25.287
I feel this way a lot,

314
00:16:25.287 --> 00:16:28.027
and I know that listeners do too, where

315
00:16:28.027 --> 00:16:30.847
something comes along and
it sounds really exciting

316
00:16:30.847 --> 00:16:34.787
and really cool, but there's reservations.

317
00:16:34.787 --> 00:16:39.347
It feels intimidating
or you're just not sure.

318
00:16:39.347 --> 00:16:42.107
I don't know if I'm
ready to do this thing.

319
00:16:43.007 --> 00:16:47.067
What would you say to someone who is in

320
00:16:47.067 --> 00:16:48.328
that position

321
00:16:48.328 --> 00:16:51.748
and just not sure about
taking that first step?

322
00:16:51.748 --> 00:16:52.988
So Keith, we'll start with you.

323
00:16:54.268 --> 00:16:58.808
I think the best way for me
to try to persuade someone to

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00:16:58.808 --> 00:17:03.408
take a crack at something
like this, especially

325
00:17:03.408 --> 00:17:07.888
visually impaired, the
one thing that helped me

326
00:17:07.888 --> 00:17:10.668
really get involved with Achilles

327
00:17:10.668 --> 00:17:15.668
and why I am still here
is I would tell people the

328
00:17:15.968 --> 00:17:20.968
community in which we
are a part of, the people

329
00:17:21.388 --> 00:17:24.928
are incredibly wonderful.

330
00:17:24.928 --> 00:17:29.708
They're there to help you.
They're there to guide you.

331
00:17:29.708 --> 00:17:32.808
They're also part of what I considered

332
00:17:32.808 --> 00:17:37.308
and was looking for with an
additional social network.

333
00:17:38.168 --> 00:17:41.608
For me personally, my suggestion to people

334
00:17:41.608 --> 00:17:45.968
who might be on the fence
would be, "Hey, you know what?

335
00:17:45.968 --> 00:17:48.928
You're getting like a handful
of things out of this.

336
00:17:48.928 --> 00:17:53.008
You're getting exercise.
You're getting community.

337
00:17:53.008 --> 00:17:55.888
You're getting social interaction.

338
00:17:55.888 --> 00:18:00.368
And I have made a great
ton of friends here

339
00:18:00.368 --> 00:18:02.408
and I enjoy every one of them.

340
00:18:02.408 --> 00:18:05.128
And I have not had a bad
experience since I've been

341
00:18:05.128 --> 00:18:08.968
with Achilles." So those are
the lines that I would use

342
00:18:08.968 --> 00:18:12.948
to persuade someone to
try to become active.

343
00:18:12.948 --> 00:18:16.448
Give us the shot in the group
of Achilles International

344
00:18:16.448 --> 00:18:21.448
because it is a very rewarding experience.

345
00:18:21.448 --> 00:18:24.788
And in two years, it has changed my life.

346
00:18:24.788 --> 00:18:27.648
So I hope I can persuade
someone to do the same.

347
00:18:28.668 --> 00:18:30.588
Really well put. Thank you.

348
00:18:30.588 --> 00:18:32.688
Erin, what would you add to that?

349
00:18:32.688 --> 00:18:34.808
I don't know if I can follow that, Ricky.

350
00:18:34.808 --> 00:18:37.248
I know, right?
I don't think I can.

351
00:18:38.108 --> 00:18:41.208
I think that from my perspective, right,

352
00:18:41.208 --> 00:18:44.028
I'm at the workouts, I'm at the races.

353
00:18:44.028 --> 00:18:48.689
I'm witnessing what Keith
just described. Come try it.

354
00:18:48.689 --> 00:18:53.249
That's all we can say.
And I meet people who

355
00:18:53.249 --> 00:18:55.409
are hesitant, they're nervous.

356
00:18:55.409 --> 00:18:59.509
And Keith brought up earlier,
we have an engagement team.

357
00:18:59.509 --> 00:19:02.589
They're talking to you on the phone.

358
00:19:02.589 --> 00:19:04.989
They're connecting with you as humans

359
00:19:04.989 --> 00:19:07.289
before you even come
to your first workout.

360
00:19:08.369 --> 00:19:11.529
We send out expectations.
We explain them to you.

361
00:19:13.829 --> 00:19:17.189
What do you expect? Sometimes
that fear of the unknown,

362
00:19:17.189 --> 00:19:18.849
we try to reduce that.

363
00:19:18.849 --> 00:19:20.869
Then they come, we pair them

364
00:19:20.869 --> 00:19:22.969
with a guide if they need a guide.

365
00:19:22.969 --> 00:19:26.429
They go for a walk. They make that plan.

366
00:19:26.429 --> 00:19:28.509
And then at the end, you're going

367
00:19:28.509 --> 00:19:30.429
to know you gave it a shot.

368
00:19:30.429 --> 00:19:34.329
And we've had some people,
honestly, it isn't for them.

369
00:19:34.329 --> 00:19:35.909
But that's okay because they tried.

370
00:19:36.749 --> 00:19:41.169
And to speak to Keith's
social events, we do a number

371
00:19:41.169 --> 00:19:43.189
of different things throughout the year.

372
00:19:43.189 --> 00:19:47.409
We are the basketball
capital of the world.

373
00:19:47.409 --> 00:19:49.049
We go to games.

374
00:19:49.049 --> 00:19:53.229
That's not part of walking or
running, but it is or rolling.

375
00:19:53.229 --> 00:19:55.589
It is part of our community.

376
00:19:55.589 --> 00:19:58.509
Let's go have fun at a
Yukon basketball game.

377
00:19:58.509 --> 00:20:01.209
So we do things for team building

378
00:20:01.209 --> 00:20:03.849
and that trust, that camaraderie and fun.

379
00:20:03.849 --> 00:20:06.869
We just have fun together. Come try it.

380
00:20:06.869 --> 00:20:08.149
Challenge yourself differently.

381
00:20:09.409 --> 00:20:13.749
We just had on last Thursday a kind

382
00:20:13.749 --> 00:20:16.289
of hybrid social event workout

383
00:20:16.289 --> 00:20:17.749
with another adaptive sports

384
00:20:17.749 --> 00:20:20.069
organization here in Connecticut.

385
00:20:20.069 --> 00:20:24.049
And they brought some of
their adaptive equipment.

386
00:20:24.049 --> 00:20:28.889
We also have tandem bicycles
that is part of kind

387
00:20:28.889 --> 00:20:30.629
of under the umbrella of Achilles.

388
00:20:30.629 --> 00:20:33.469
If you want to try to
hop on a tandem bike,

389
00:20:33.469 --> 00:20:35.269
maybe you are a cyclist.

390
00:20:35.269 --> 00:20:37.269
Maybe you wanted to ride a bike, but

391
00:20:37.269 --> 00:20:41.609
because of vision loss, that's a barrier.

392
00:20:41.609 --> 00:20:43.609
Well, come try a tandem.

393
00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:46.049
And that's what we did last Thursday.

394
00:20:46.049 --> 00:20:50.169
And I had somebody, I
literally had a conversation.

395
00:20:50.169 --> 00:20:52.569
I didn't think I was going to like this.

396
00:20:52.569 --> 00:20:54.609
I can't wait for the next one.

397
00:20:54.609 --> 00:20:57.289
And that's what I would advise.

398
00:20:57.289 --> 00:21:00.350
And that's when you know you're
doing it right, is people,

399
00:21:00.350 --> 00:21:04.910
"Hey, I want to come back."
Wow, I love this so much.

400
00:21:04.910 --> 00:21:09.650
Thank you both for sharing
the stories, of course,

401
00:21:09.650 --> 00:21:12.410
and really just the
enthusiasm for both of you.

402
00:21:12.410 --> 00:21:15.650
As you talk about this, it's clear just

403
00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:19.210
how much you're getting from this.

404
00:21:19.210 --> 00:21:24.210
And that may not have been
when either of you started.

405
00:21:24.250 --> 00:21:26.450
You may have thought, "Well,
this is just a thing to do,

406
00:21:26.450 --> 00:21:30.910
a thing to try." And
suddenly it's grown to be

407
00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:32.610
an important part of your lives,

408
00:21:32.610 --> 00:21:34.750
and I love hearing about that.

409
00:21:34.750 --> 00:21:37.350
For those of you who are
listening, we will, of course,

410
00:21:37.350 --> 00:21:42.350
have the Achilles International
link in our show notes.

411
00:21:42.770 --> 00:21:44.370
And I hope that if you're listening

412
00:21:44.370 --> 00:21:46.770
and you've been considering
something like this,

413
00:21:46.770 --> 00:21:50.810
if this didn't persuade
you to jump off the couch

414
00:21:50.810 --> 00:21:52.570
and try something, I'm not sure

415
00:21:52.570 --> 00:21:54.710
because I'm about

416
00:21:54.710 --> 00:21:58.170
to look at the brand
new Charlotte chapter.

417
00:21:58.170 --> 00:22:02.630
So thank you both again
for sharing with us.

418
00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:03.890
Thank you so much, Ricky.

419
00:22:03.890 --> 00:22:05.010
Thank you for having us, Ricky.

420
00:22:06.430 --> 00:22:08.210
Got something to say?

421
00:22:08.210 --> 00:22:11.610
Share your thoughts about this
episode of Hadley Presents

422
00:22:11.610 --> 00:22:14.230
or make suggestions for future episodes.

423
00:22:14.230 --> 00:22:15.970
We'd love to hear from you.

424
00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:20.890
Send us an email at
podcast@hadleyhelps.org.

425
00:22:20.890 --> 00:22:21.723
That's

426
00:22:21.723 --> 00:22:26.270
P-O-D-C-A-S-T at HadleyHelps.org.

427
00:22:27.410 --> 00:22:29.010
Or leave us a message at

428
00:22:29.010 --> 00:22:33.440
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429
00:22:34.310 --> 00:22:35.150
Thanks for listening.