When Becca Pizzi got dozens of messages from friends about an extreme endurance race – seven marathons on seven continents in seven days – she knew she had to run it. In 2016, she became the first American woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge, winning with a total time of 27 hours, 26 minutes, and an average marathon time of just under four hours. Then in 2018, she did it again. Hear what it took to win it and what the miles have taught her in this episode.

Hear Becca talk about:

• What it’s like to run 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days
• How her 8-year-old daughter helped her train
• Becoming a race director after running the challenge twice
• Her advice to people just starting out on their running journey

Mentioned in this episode and references:

• The World Marathon Challenge
• TB12 (Tom Brady’s fitness company), where Becca was a Peak Performer
• The Becca Pizzi Foundation
• The Becca Pizzi 5K in Belmont, MA
• Becca's Feat on Feet, her children’s book published in 2020

Support this podcast:

• Follow in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review
• Share the episode and tag @rainemediaco
• More at TellMeWhatItsLike.com

Saundra Pelletier has spent her career focused on women’s health, from Big Pharma to nonprofit work around the globe. Then she got the opportunity to lead a startup bringing a new kind of birth control to market: a non-hormonal gel designed to give women more control. In this episode, she shares what it’s like to fight for FDA approval, push for insurance coverage, and rethink what birth control can look like when women are the ones making the decisions.

Note: This episode includes discussion of reproductive health and birth control in an educational context. It is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for personal recommendations.

Hear Saundra talk about:

• The road to launching Phexxi, a non-hormonal birth control gel
• Why young women embraced the product in ways she didn’t expect
• Her fight with insurers and the FDA for access and approval
• The cancer diagnosis that made her mission even more personal
• How she found her voice as a leader in a male-dominated industry

Mentioned in this episode:

• Phexxi, the first FDA-approved non-hormonal birth control gel
• Solosec, a one-dose treatment for BV and trichomoniasis
• WomanCare Global, a nonprofit focused on reproductive health access in low-resource settings
• Journal of Sexual Medicine study, reporting increased sexual satisfaction with Phexxi

Support this new show:

• Follow in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review in your app
• Share on social media and tag @rainemediaco

April Mitchell realized one day that she actually knew the answer to the problem she was having when her kids left their towels on the floor ... she just had to invent it. Since then, she’s created dozens of products, from housewares to toys and games, and learned a lot along the way. In this episode, she shares what it’s like to have a spark of inspiration, go through the invention process, and co-create with her kids to bring her creations to life.

• Her journey from her first invention to licensing dozens of products
• How she researches, prototypes, and pitches her ideas
• The role of trade shows and LinkedIn in finding licensing partners
• Creating with her kids and how they test and shape her ideas
• Co-designing the Clueless board game

Mentioned in this episode and references:

• The book One Simple Idea by Stephen Key
• Find April on LinkedIn
• See the tabletop game design course she co-designed with Ed Gartin

Support this new show:

• Follow in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review in your app
• Share on social media and tag @rainemediaco