Guest Quote

Gerald Schattle: [00:00:05]
You know, asking myself to lose 200 pounds is like telling somebody to climb a mountainGrew up with both two parent household. Both of my parents were educators. I didn't have a lot of adversity. This weight thing has basically been the hardest thing I've had to deal with in my life. And if that's the hardest thing I've had to deal with, I got it pretty easy. You know, where some of my other kids are dealing with a lot of different things. They're being raised by their grandparents, or they had, battles with, drug addiction or whatever they're dealing with. It's way more than what I'm dealing with.

Episode Intro

Kevin Chang: [00:00:36]
Hello, and welcome to the RaceMob podcast, where we're all about running long, having fun and making the human connection.
I'm Kevin entrepreneur technology and fitness nerd, and I'm joined by the head coach of RaceMob and master motivator, the incomparable Bertrand Newson.
Gerald was introduced to us by a previous podcast guest, Mr. Adam Welcome. And when an author, marathoner and motivational speaker tells you that this guy's story motivated him, then you listen. And when you hear that he's been featured in runner's world magazine and live with Kelly and Ryan, man, your ears perk up.
And of course, when you hear his unforgettable story of losing 150 pounds all, while working a very challenging job, you get inspired.
The road hasn't always been easy, but what I love about Gerald's story is that he just keeps getting back on the horse time and time again. This interview is full of matter of fact advice, useful takeaways, and an incredibly inspiring story.
And without further ado, here's Gerald.

Guest Introduction

All right, RaceMob audience, we are so excited to welcome the one and only Gerald shuttle to the RaceMob podcast.
Welcome Gerald to the podcast.
Gerald Schattle: [00:01:52]
Thank y'all for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to tell my story and be with y'all this afternoon.
Kevin Chang: [00:01:57]
This is so fantastic. And the honor is all ours. We know that you've been able to tell a portion of your story through runner's world magazine, through the Kelly and Ryan show, live on air.

Gerald's Origin Story [00:02:09]

But for those of our listening audience at home, walk us back to the origin story, and how you got introduced into the running world.
Gerald Schattle: [00:02:17]
So, you know, it's funny, like my fitness journey actually started. In 2015, I ran my first half marathon at 350 pounds.
Kevin Chang: [00:02:28]
Wow.
Gerald Schattle: [00:02:28]
And I was, uh, an AP at a campus in my school district, uh, Lewis middle school.
And I told my staff at the beginning of the year, I said, Hey, I'm going to do, I'm going to train for a half marathon. And so I ran. It was called the Jailbreak Marathon or half marathon in Baytown, Texas. Uh, ran that as my first half. And then I, I use that as kind of like a, uh, game half marathon, because I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it, cause I'd also signed up for the Woodlands half marathon
And my wife, and I did it, there at the Woodlands. And, , so ran, ran the Woodlands at 350 pounds. And, , after I did it, it was like, okay, I did it. And it went back to my old habits. Cause I had gotten down to three 50. I was like at three 75, got down to three 50 and then kept going, had, uh, you know, my daughters and everything.
And, and so basically just life continued to go on. I, it was just like a box checked. Okay. I did something, but then whenever I became principal, it was my first year here at the conceptual education center here in all Dean. And we're the district on the Northside of Houston. If you could find into intercontinental airport, you're in the heart of all beings.
And so basically being a first-year leader, you got so much stuff going on. And , you're stressed to the max and you're 397 pounds. I got on the scale and I had talked about trying to do something and, and started stop yo-yo at all, all these things. But I should, I got to find some kind of control to find some way that I can get a handle on this.
And, and I basically a new year's Eve. I had a conversation with God. I got prayed to my Lord and savior, uh, as a Christian, uh, and I said, Hey, I can't do this myself. I've tried myself. I need your help. And so, uh, basically I started right hiding my why, why was I doing this? What was I going to gain from this?
What's my goal. And so basically I said, Hey, I want to lose 200 pounds. I said, Hey, I want to run a full marathon. And I just set a series of goals. And, uh, what I started doing was I started with my diet first. Usually whenever I did these, these fitness things, I was doing exercise and diet, and it was just too much to try too many variables to get discouraged and beat myself up and everything.
So I said, I'm making a lifestyle change. And so I started identifying myself as somebody that healthier choices. I started identifying myself as. Working towards something else, a better person, a better version of myself. And so I think that's what played the biggest factor in this journey. Being more of a success because you know, on it and you know, I haven't achieved the 200-pound weight loss I actually had.
COVID sent me back just like everybody. I gained weight, I got up actually even having a plant-based lifestyle. I also changed that. And I'll talk more about that, that later, but this journey is ongoing and that's when you realize you're really progressing towards something else it's never-ending. And, and, uh, I know that I have an addiction it's it's food.
And that's another thing that I've had to kind of realize is that I do not have a positive relationship with food. And, uh, so having those things written down and seeing it, and then really leaning on my faith and realizing that, Hey, there's going to be ups and downs. I can't tell you how many times I didn't lose weight week to week.
I gained weight week to week, but I constantly said, look, you're in this for the long haul. This is a journey you're working towards something. So it was easier to start back up when I had adverse effects. And if I. When a week or a month, you know, where I didn't have a lot of success. I knew that I had that foundation that kept me moving in the right direction.
So those were a lot of things that I did. But, uh, using that app tracker that I use, I used to lose it as my preferred calorie counter. I still use it. I listened to, uh, Benjamin Hardy. He's an author and, uh, does a YouTube thing, but he talks about basically saying your willpower won't work and you got to set up the environment to be successful.
And so one of the things I did was I put the app on my home screen. So it's right there. I'm constantly seeing, just like I got my Bible and I got my, my lose it app right there on my phone. And so it's staring me in the face, so I can't avoid it every time I opened my phone. Boom. I got those things looking at me.
And so, um, you know, that's been part of my process.
Kevin Chang: [00:07:11]
Yeah. I mean the followers of their podcast and our YouTube channel know that, uh, Coach "B" and I also had a weight loss challenge that we were doing in January into the early parts of February. And then I was also using the lose it app. That was one of the things that I was showing our audience, how to track some of your calories.
So that is fantastic. That that was one of those things I know it's helped me in the past and I know that it can help so much of our audience. So it's a fantastic app that allows you to basically track the items that you're eating throughout the day. It has a, a huge database of food products on the backend.
You simply have to either scan barcodes or type something in and keep track of the things throughout the day. And oftentimes just tracking it will help you just aware of how many calories are in food. What's in food, all of that, and it can really help you lose weight in the long run.

The Decision to Make a Change [00:07:59]

Gerald, I want to go back to the decision to make a change. And you said that it was new year's Eve. And that's you, you were asking for help. What led you to that decision to say yes, I need to make a change. I need to make a lifestyle change that I'm going to actually do something today or this year, or this is the actual time for me to take action. What was that?
Gerald Schattle: [00:08:21]
Kind of a lead up to that conversation was I was here at my campus and I went into a bathroom stall, in the students' restroom and, and had to kind of contort my body to get into the stall. Cause I was too wide to like go in and straight ahead. And I was just like this ain't living.
And so that kind of planted the seed and then really start doing the math and saying, okay, how many acres year olds are this? Wait, 397? And there's, there's zero.
My father, I love him to death. He'll be 78 in August. And right now he weighs about 200 or 50, but he's fluctuating his lady's a tight weight and he's a type two diabetic. Has, uh, you know, hypertension, all gout, all these different underlying health conditions.
And I see him now and, uh, he's somebody that I've always looked to as a pillar of strength in everything, but, you know, these health problems happen because we don't make good decisions. And I, and I, it was kind of staring me in the face too, with that.
I said I got to be here for my kids. I've got to be here to be an example. And I don't want my daughters to have to experience that the loss of a parent and you know, my dad up and down with his weight as well. But, uh, it's taken a toll.
I mean, he's not as mobile as he used to be, but I go to these marathons and these half marathons, I want to be the 80-year-old. I want to be that guy running still. I that's, that's why, even if it's just the shuffle, I want to be there. You know, that's my mindset now.
Kevin Chang: [00:09:52]
You know, you mentioned something that so many of us have the good intentions to have a healthy lifestyle or live a healthy lifestyle. And you actually wrote down goals. You actually started creating that blueprint, that map for how you were going to get there.
So you mentioned you're a very busy principal. You're a leader of a school that is a high-stress situation where you're spending a lot of time working at the school that you know, you're responsible for.

First Steps for a Lifestyle Change [00:10:18]

So what were the first steps that you started to take, you know after you decided to make that decision for a lifestyle change?
Gerald Schattle: [00:10:25]
So after writing down my goals, I, put on my computer home screen, once again, having those goals staring me in the face every day.
At that point in time, I was coming to my campus very early 5:30, 6 in the morning, getting my day started because you know, day in we have 70,000, about 70,000 kids. And at the DAEP, you know, in a normal year, we could have anywhere from as low as 150 students to as many as we've had as many as 300 students. And so the population fluctuates and the students that get placed to me are for disciplinary reasons.
And, uh, sometimes it's things that they've you know, a crime, they might've committed outside of school, or they just made a poor choice. And it's a discretionary placement. They got into a fight or a mandatory placement where they brought drugs or something more serious to the campus.
So, kids that have trauma, you know, and they're not able to cope with that the best way. And you know, we'd like to think that, kids are excited to learn and everything, but I've got kids that have stories you know, they've overcome and they've put in a lot of work to get where they are but yeah, they've just made a poor choice.
And my job is to help support them, get them on the right track, build them up. And I think really, and truly my journey is kind of in connection with what my kids go through. You know, asking myself to lose 200 pounds is like telling somebody to climb a mountain.
I grew up with both two parent household. Both of my parents were educators. I didn't have a lot of adversity. This weight thing has basically been the hardest thing I've had to deal with in my life. And if that's the hardest thing I've had to deal with, I got it pretty easy. You know, where some of my other kids are dealing with a lot of different things.
They're being raised by their grandparents, or they had, battles with, drug addiction or whatever they're dealing with. It's way more than what I'm dealing with. I'm extremely blessed. And I have to tell me even whenever, cause everybody has a pity party.
And the one thing that I, I tried to, uh, use this journey is, I think that's when it got a lot better was whenever I connected my fitness journey to my community, to my students that I serve.
And just yesterday I was talking with a kid and I shared the story from the local news with him. And he said because we wear the mask, he said, I thought that was you. I saw you on the news this summer, but I wasn't sure that was you. And so, he connected the dots. And so, uh, you know, and then he saw the metals in the, in, in my office and everything. And so, you know, it's just, it's a lot of different things.
I think just pinning down what I've done is, like you said, goal setting, constantly having it at the forefront. And making sure that I have that mindset, that this is a lifestyle change.
I think that's the biggest thing. And then also could trying to do something bigger than myself. Uh, you know, I set goals that I wanted to, uh, when I did the marathon goal, I connected it back to my community and I said, Hey, I want to do my long runs in the community I serve. And I picked strategically the different neighborhoods and everything that had a connotation of being rough or, you know, things happening on those streets.
But when you run in the morning, I don't care if you're in Beverly Hills or if you're in Houston, Texas. At six in the morning, there's beauty going on. And there might've been something last night or there might be something going on later yeah. Day. But at that point in time, six in the morning, seven o'clock in the morning, it's beauty.
I loved it. And I still love it, waking up in the morning, just enjoying the day. And I can't tell you how many times I've seen community members. I didn't always see students on my runs, but my kids knew I was running.
They might've said something to me later and said, Oh, I heard about you running over here and they've made the connection or the parent we would talk about a street or cornerstore at church or whatever that was in reference to their community, their specific area of all of them.
And I made that connection. And so by doing all these little things that I didn't really, you know, now that I'm taught the more I talk about my story, the more I connect the dots and see how this has all played a role in sustaining this, journey and keeping me going consistently in the more that I, that I talk about it and share my story. I'm able to see kind of the bigger picture of it all.
Kevin Chang: [00:14:53]
I love that. I mean, I think that that just speaks to the power of community, of people holding you accountable to your goals and bringing that whole circle back together to help continue to motivate you and other people because your journey has motivated and inspired so many other people.

Working out and Being Overweight [00:15:13]

I want to go back to, you know, you're 397 pounds. What are workouts looking like for somebody of that size? How did you scale down to be able to make sure that you could potentially work out, but not get injured at that size and not that weight? Um, what were you doing to start?
Gerald Schattle: [00:15:32]
Yeah, so at 397, I started tracking, lost the way I got down to 320.
So once I got down to 320, that was in July and I was at my mother-in-law's and that's what sparked the community run. Cause my mother-in-law still lives in Aldine she lives in a neighborhood called Hidden Valley and, uh, qactually one of the old, former superintendents of Aldine he's in his nineties, WW Thorns, you know, But he still lives there at least as far as I know, he still lived in the community.
And so I started running and in that, having that first-mile run, I did a run-walk method and I said, Hey man, Jeff Galloway, he's got it. I figured out. And that was the method that I used to run my first marathon. And I signed up for, a USA fit marathon here in Houston, down in sugar land. They run it the weekend after the Houston marathon.
And I signed up for the eight-hour limit. You know, I was like, I don't know how fast I'm going to run. And I did the run-walk method for that, first marathon. And that's what really helped me stay injury free.

The Run-Walk Method

Kevin Chang: [00:16:37]
And explain to our audience what the run-walk method is. Yeah.
Gerald Schattle: [00:16:41]
So basically you kind of set based on what you're capable of doing.
And I, I went and started out running just two minutes and then walk a minute. And sometimes it was two for two. Sometimes it was five for two, it just depended on how I felt based on what I felt my body could do. And, uh, you know, I've gotten belt, built my stamina up and after I did that first marathon, then I said, okay, you're starting back at square one again.
And I started training where I want to continuously run a marathon. And so then I set myself up for another marathon and signed up for the Woodlands and, uh, did that one. And then what kept me going was, on my running journey was I had a buddy of mine at church who I said, Hey, you know, he had run the half.
I was like, brother, Jim, you can run. A full marathon. He's like, you think I was like, I'm telling you if I can run it at close to, you know, 300 pounds. I said you got this man, this is nothing walking apart. And so we, we started running together, uh, different, long runs and everything. And, uh, we ran the college station, Bryan college station, which is about an hour and a half away from, uh, Houston.
We ran the BCS marathon there in college station together. I constantly sign up for races to keep, keep me going to keep me pushing and, and, and just different things. I try to keep it fresh. New goals. Keep you motivated, inspire you and keep you pushing forward.
Now that we're sitting here talking, by connecting with other people in my running journey, it's allowed me to continue it and they say, I'm inspiring them.
But now man, you're, you're helping me. You know, I told Jim, I said, look, man, there were days I didn't want to run. And all my community runs, there were times I didn't want to run. And Mr. Siddha Bay, one of the APS here at my campus, uh, he's now a program director in special ed here in all Dean, but he went with me on my long runs and he's from Mali just by having that accountability partner, I was making built-in counter accountability partners.
I didn't even realize it. And my staff, they would sit there and ask me about my weight loss journey. Once again, saying professing my goal, telling people what my goal was, another layer of accountability, and talking to people about it. And I didn't realize what was happening, but I was setting myself up for success.
I was creating an environment of success.

Fisrt Marathon Experience

Bertrand Newson: [00:19:04]
Wonderful, fantastic. And we'll circle back. We talked about that initial half marathon journey, but there's nothing like that very first time toeing the line for the marathon, all the work you would put in. Going circling back to that time and that school going sideways into the bathroom stall to the point you're there on race day.
Take us through that very first race day marathon experience through your eyes.
Gerald Schattle: [00:19:29]
That morning, I woke up and I had to drive to Sugar Land and I'm on the Northside of Houston. And I got to drive all the way down the Southside of Houston and people that that are from here. You know, you're going to drive an hour. I don't care where you're at Houston. You're going to drive you're driving.
So I had to go down to Sugar Land and, and drive. And, uh, there was a song by Hillsong worship, who you say I am was the song. And I listened to that song from the time I left my house all the way down there and it gave me a lot of comfort and helped me connect with my, with my Lord and savior.
And basically that whole time, because I didn't play any music. I ran, walked that whole deal. And I just had that song in my head. It was funny. I got to mile 20 and even doing the run-walk method look, man, I was like, you gotta be kidding me. And, uh, this lady said, Hey, you want some, Tylenol?
And uh, I said, I sure do. And I took, I took some Tylenol and it got me you through. And then, uh, you know, I crossed the finish line. And what was comical was, I want to say, when I was an AP at a hall center for education, another campus here in my district, me and my wife had signed up for the full marathon at the USA fit. And I didn't even really train and I only could do the half.
So I failed at it the first time I did it. And so then crossing the finish line, doing this method. I was just like, dude, man, you, so even my failures ended up propelling me to finish it. And I've, I've learned to start realizing that I'm not a failure until I basically say I'm done with it.
Like I just view it as a setback and I say, okay, okay, it's set back. And uh, it set me up for my comeback. I just say, okay, I can't didn't do it this time, but let's, let's get after next time. And I'll just kind of move forward and really embracing that process of, I don't know if it's a, Goggin saying of embracing the suck and, and just kind of saying it, it is what it is and moving forward.
Bertrand Newson: [00:21:22]
And this, the parallels, Gerald we've talked about several podcasts guests. That particular distance or training in general, but certainly at the marathon distance, the parallels it has with everyday life.
And you're going to have moments when it's a tough day out there, you know, and you want a helping hand, you, you want a, an emotional aid station and you want to stop. Sometimes you want to turn around and get off the course, but you know that if you just calm your thoughts and put one foot in front of the other, that good things will happen.
And that you're setting an example for other people who see you and see your journey and resonate with your journey and look how big that your community has grown based off your efforts. And that you've crossed some finish lines, but you know, you got miles ahead of you and people you're bringing along in the process as well.

Involving the Family [00:22:16]

So, and how are the kids, the kids, the girls, you know, and the wife you said is run with them as well. Are they involved in this wonderful journey of yours as well?
Gerald Schattle: [00:22:25]
Yeah. So it's, it's funny. I've run a 5k with my youngest daughter, my oldest who's 12. She runs, she did cross country. She didn't, she's doing track now. She did basketball.
But, uh, actually when she was in elementary school, uh, we ran the jailbreak together. And, uh, I, I joke and say that might've been child abuse cause uh, there were times where she wanted to quit and I said, Hey, now we're getting this done. And so I might've held her hand and we just, and together, but we did it together, you know, and it's been a cool experience.
And I told her, I said, you know, you got to understand something. Cause we ran together a couple times. She would go on my runs here and in Aldein from time to time. And I told her, I said, look, I'm training you to do hard things. You gotta know that life's not going to be easy. Nobody's going to give you anything.
And you've got to be able to have that mindset that you can do hard things. And so a running has kind of enhanced us as a family. Actually, most of our races, my kids and my wife, haven't been there. So, uh, this past, uh, half marathon, uh, in the Woodlands, they were there to cheer me on. And my girls said, you know, this was fun.
They made signs and my wife, she got done, it was me, my brother, and my two brothers-in-law, we all ran. They ran their first half marathon for the first time. They're part of my run group, uh, champions, runners association here in, uh, the Northside of Houston. And they all ran for the first time.
And and my wife said, y'all ran in 13. I'm going to run a 10 K. And so she went home and ran, she didn't get a 10 K, but she got five miles in and she's, uh, she's part of the run group too, but she said, I'm going to run a marathon. She says> I'm 40 years old, You know, we, we lost my father-in-law this year.
Um, you know, she says, I'm just going to kind of. Give the middle finger to 40 and say, Hey, I'm, I'm shooting, shooting for higher Heights and I'm getting through, uh, adversity. And so she's gonna run her first marathon. She says I'm going to do it. And so, you know, that's, what's amazing about this whole deal is that we're doing it together as a family.
We're running as part of what we do as a family now. And I, you know, I can tell you, uh, you know, cause my wife has had, you know, she's been on a journey with her weight as well. We she's gone plant-based with me and she lost quite a bit of weight and then gained it back. And now she's like, she's doing the app tracking and everything.
But the one thing I learned with her and with everybody because people did it with me is I don't push people to try to do what I'm doing. I just give them the knowledge they come and ask me. I got a buddy, Jerry Collin. He's run, uh, Leadville several times and, uh, finished it and he's got the buckle, uh, I think he's, he's got the buckle like three or four times and he tells me he's like, you're going to run a hundred miles. And, uh, he says, I have no doubt. Whenever you're ready. You'll do that. But the one thing that I appreciate about him is he has been with me the whole time and my journey.
Every time I started running, every time I stopped, he just kept encouraging me. And, and he's asked me a couple of times, well, what do you need from me? And I said, Hey, man, I just need you to. If I post a run, just like it, just say, Hey, keep it up.
That little bit of support. You don't realize it, but it adds up and adds what, uh, I've learned with my relationship with my wife, because there's been days where she doesn't want to hear a lecture from me, even though I've, I've gone on this journey. She's like, you've lost so much weight. And I don't think I can do that.
I just keep on planting seeds. It's the same thing I do here. I just keep planting seeds with my kids here at the campus. I might never see that flower blossom, that tree grow, but guess what? I'm just going to keep playing and be consistent and it's no different than running.
You just put one foot in front of the other and keep pushing forward and eventually people are going to look over there and say, Oh, okay. I want to be a part of that. And that's, what's happened with her. She's running with my, uh, actually my daughters, my, my youngest daughter's teacher. She's part of our, our run group.
And so it's like I said, talking about this, it's just crazy how many connections and running has enhanced my life, man. It's crazy.

Gereld's Proudest Milestonese [00:26:35]

Bertrand Newson: [00:26:35]
Let's talk about some of your milestones, whether it be distance-based time base, where you have those goals. We talked about, you know, you, you, as you've written things down and put in the work, as you're closing that gap in achieving those accomplishments, what are some of your proudest milestones?
Gerald Schattle: [00:26:50]
So my is, was during COVID. I ran, uh, four 50 Ks. Wow. I ran a four 50 Ks. I ran a 50 K each month and I didn't care how I got it done, whether it was running, whether it was walking. I said I'm getting it done, man. I want this, I did it with trail races over Texas. And I'm going to tell you something comical.
This is how funny about goal setting and realizing, ah, I got to run Coach, uh, Juan Arrietta. He works in Aldein and, uh, he's been my run coach and, uh, he never doubted me, but he was like, Hey man, your body has done a lot. Cause after I did my 50 Ks, I signed up for 400 Ks cause I was stupid.
Kevin Chang: [00:27:33]
Next logical step.
Gerald Schattle: [00:27:38]
I basically made a donation to trail races over Texas. Cause it didn't happen, man.
Bertrand Newson: [00:27:42]
We call it the runner's high..
Gerald Schattle: [00:27:44]
And I'm just like that. He was, he was supportive. He was like, Hey brother, you, you, you want to try it? Hey, let's, let's get after it. And you know, Once again, he didn't ever discourage me and he tried to, it put me in the best position to be successful, but whenever I said, Hey, I'm gonna scrap this. He's like, okay, that's cool. And uh, he said, I totally agree.
And, and now, you know, my big goal that I'm working towards is, you know, we're in the season of Lent and the church. And, uh, I want to cap off my, in Germany. I do a devotional during lint, uh, Mark Batterson, uh, the 40-day prayer challenge. I've done that during advent and lent throughout my weight loss journey and actually his book, uh, the circle maker, uh, is, was one of my inspirations today doing a marathon.
And then after that, yeah, that book I ran, I read out and Welcome's book Run Like a Pirate. And so it was like these two books were like, just lined up. Both as an educator, as an, a faith perspective. And it was like, look, man, you got to do this first marathon. But now, like I said, going back to what my next goal is, I said, I want to run 50 miles.
And last year, about this time during spring break, after it, well, actually it was after spring break. It was during COVID. We had just gotten. We just go on into spring break. We go, we shut down here in Texas, across the country, we shut down and, um, you know, I ran 39 miles to support my school day and, uh, basically had about $500 in donations.
And for our scholarship foundation here in Aldein, I did about 34 miles and I had no problem with it. So now I want to do 50 miles because I think that's just, I know I can do it. And so we talked about that. Me and Juan he's like, okay, yeah, 11:30 pace, he's like, you'll get it done. And I have no doubts.
Uh, you know, we're just going to keep pushing forward. You know, like I said, I've connected my running my faith journey. It's all part of it, man. And, and I, I can't tell you how much it's been a blessing to me.

Scheduling Training Runs

Kevin Chang: [00:29:58]
That's incredible. Talk to us a little bit about how do you schedule the training runs in with your busy schedule?
Because, you know, when we walked back to the beginning of your journey, you said, Oh man, this is a busy guy. It's hard to get in a workout. Sometimes I know a lot of our audience has difficulty figuring out the time that it takes to train for a marathon or now ultras and those things.
So walk us through some tips and things that you've learned over time to schedule that in.
Gerald Schattle: [00:30:26]
So, uh, basically I run most of my stuff in the evening after the kids go to bed. So sometimes that means I'm running at eight o'clock now my wife, because she really has understood what I'm trying to do, and that was the progression too, she really has taken that on and said, Hey, you go ahead and get the run in.
And so. As my pace has picked up, she knows it's going to be anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour, you know, give or take the mileage and everything. And so it's been easier to accommodate, but most of my runs, whenever I first started out, man, yeah, they were like eight o'clock at night and you know, it was therapy for me, man.
It was a way to decompress from the stress, of being the principal here at my campus. And just like I said, my kids have a lot of emotions, trauma, and hearing stories I've dealt with kids being picked up by CPS. I've dealt with kids being arrested. I've dealt with funerals, you know, Lot of different things.
And so running those runs in the evening and reflecting on the day and praying about what's going on in my life. You know, it's really prioritized that I tried at the beginning of this year to try to run early in the morning, I get up at three 30, do that's not sustainable. And, uh, you have to find out what's convenient for you to get it in.
And sometimes it's just two miles, sometimes it's Four miles, sometimes it's seven miles, but however you get that in, you've got to find what works for you and not be discouraged if you miss a workout. It's consistency is the key. And that's what I, that's another thing that I've really kind of begun to understand was how much consistency.
I had to miss two workouts this week. Yesterday was I, my daughter had a track meet. I had gotten the COVID vaccine. I had kind of few side effects. I'm just like, look, it's okay. The world's not going to end. And that's a progression too, because there were times where I got fanatical about it. Like if I didn't get a workout in, you know, but it's a progression man.
And, and that's what you have to realize. This whole deal is another layer of progression. And as you develop, you start developing a comfort level and, and uh, you figure it out how to schedule it. But if you're committed to it, you're going to find a way to do it. Cause I'm going to tell you all the time, your mind is going to consistently make up an excuse in your head or when it's, when it's warm out inside the bedroom and it's cold outside.
Oh man, you're going to make up an excuse. And what's funny is during the winter storm here in Texas, a man, I still got outside and ran and it might've been ice. It might've been snow, but Hey, guess what? We're getting it in. That's just my mindset now, you know, but like I said, it's a progression, but I still get days where even after all these years of running now, I'm like, Oh man, it'd be nice just to lay here. Yeah, no.
Kevin Chang: [00:33:17]
If you like our podcast and sign up for our newsletter, where we give you weekly tips on how to run your best race and have fun in the process, just go to RaceMob dot com and sign up today.

The Moment to Seek a Coach

Bertrand Newson: [00:33:28]
From a coach's perspective. And as an athlete, when during your journey, you felt that you reached out to get, um, an experienced coach and why, and how's that been, you know, maybe a potential game-changer for you because you found, you know, you were an athlete and you played college football, you know how to get up and put in the work you're methodical, but where did you decide?
You know what, I'm ready to. Reach out and see things through a coach's eye.
Gerald Schattle: [00:33:52]
So I wanted to run the cow town ultra that's in Fort worth. And cow town has the half marathon marathon, and then they do an ultra this year. They've had to shift it because of COVID it's going to be in May, but they're not doing the ultra.
But, uh, I wanted to do that. And I said I gotta get somebody to help me out. And Juan, we had developed a friendship. He never really talked to me about coaching. He told me he was a coach, but he didn't talk to me about coaching, we did some, just some runs together. And we went on the Buffalo Bayou trails, uh, through downtown. It goes from Memorial park down all the way into the heart of downtown Houston.
And, uh, we did a couple of runs together on Saturdays and. Overtime. Um, you know, I just one day called him up and said, Hey man, would you be my coach? And he says, Oh yeah, sure, no problem. And so once again, planting seeds, he invested in me not expecting anything in return.
And guess what? It built a relationship. And I've had a coaching relationship with him now going on over a year and we're going to continue that relationship. After I ran the half marathon, he said, okay, what's your next goal? And I said, Hey, man, I want to do these 50 miles. He's like, okay, let's get it. And, um, you know, we started planning that out.

A Sample Training Week

Bertrand Newson: [00:35:11]
How does a sample week look for you?
Gerald Schattle: [00:35:13]
We used to do, um, training peaks, but now we've started using final surge. He's used that with me. So he tries to have progressive runs on a Monday and then usually gets her my Tuesdays off and then I'll run on Wednesday. I'll have like an easy run at five miles.
Thursday I'll do another run. Uh, usually kinda basically a longer run or some type. Uh, sometimes it's seven miles. Sometimes it's six miles that Friday we used to do an easy four. And then with our run group, I run anywhere from eight to whatever mileage, but I run usually on my long runs now because my capacity is built up.
I usually run about eight, at least eight miles on my long runs. Uh, even if I'm not training for anything, I'm just, I'm just getting it. Yeah.
Kevin Chang: [00:36:04]
And do you do strength training?
Gerald Schattle: [00:36:06]

I need to incorporate that, but once again, it's time. So I just started doing, lunges, squats, things like that. Just bodywork, uh, stretching.
My hip and my IT band started giving me some trouble. Uh, and I've realized that look, man, you're not doing enough legwork work, you know, and it's basically, I'm just overcome Satan certain things. And so, uh, I just, I need to strengthen my legs all the way around. And so I've started incorporating that and he's won is actually incorporated that in, but I got lazy because I was doing, uh, I was like, Oh man, I'm done with the run.
But now I realized if you're paying the man to coach you, you gotta listen to the coach. And I said that's another thing that I'm learning too. It's, it's all progression. And that's what I appreciate about Juan. He doesn't beat me up, you know, he tells me, okay, I noticed she didn't then do this everything good.
And he just does little check-ins, you know, This week. I told them, you know, these two times I didn't, I didn't run this week. Uh, he said, cool, thanks for letting me know. And like I said, I think that's the, uh, the good part about our relationship is it's not high pressure is not going to browbeat me.
Uh, he's just going to tell me, like, look, if you don't put in the work, you know, what the result is, it's just pretty straightforward, you know?
Kevin Chang: [00:37:16]
Yeah. I mean, I love a number of different things that you've talked about here in the segment. Um, and I just want to highlight a couple of them for our audience.
One around long-term benefits, long-term performance, rather than the short term, you know.

A lot of us just think about, Oh, how am I going to get better tomorrow? And we just want immediate gratification, but it really is the long game. Some of these things take a long time to build up your body to build up there is periodization and other things.
That you just have to build into, and it's the work over the long haul. So, I mean, I'm sure if you compared your work this year compared to a year ago, two years ago, I mean, look what your body can do now that it probably wasn't able to do all those years ago. Right.
The other thing I want to point out is the structure of the workouts, and being able to follow a structure, follow a plan. Have long runs certain days have shorter runs potentially a little bit speedier work on some days. And, you know, having a plan, having a structure to the plans, not just every day, you just go out and just do the same run.
Having some of that structure will help you reach goals, right. And making sure that you know, what your goals are that coach can help you kind of plan out, understand what that plan and that structure should be so that you can actually reach goals in the long-term. So loved what you talked about. Loved just pulling out a couple of those nuggets and wanted to highlight some of them for our audience as well.
There are a couple of things that I want to make sure we have time to get into.

A Plant-Based Diet and Nutrition [00:38:44]

One of them is around diet and the food that you're eating. We know that you've moved to a plant-based diet. Wanted to, rewind back to the time that you did lose 77 pounds. Between January and July. And we know that that's something that a lot of our audience struggles with.
So talk to us a little bit about that journey. Was it difficult? Was it hard? What happened along the way?

Gerald Schattle: [00:39:08]
You know, I've kinda had heard a little bit about, you know, I walked, watched a documentary forks over knives and whenever I was bigger as an AP, I actually tried one day to go vegan and I was like, this sucks and I can't do it. And, but once again, it was planting a seed in my head.
And, uh, it was in 2019 lint. My wife. And I said, Hey, we're going to give up meat. And I said, well, no, I'm going to go. vegan.
So by doing that once again, connected my faith to this journey, I, uh, you know, constantly had that in my mind.
And so at that point, I was like 290 and then the wages started going down. And it was September of 2019. I got down to two 30.
And the funny thing is, and this is what people have to realize in this journey. And I didn't realize it until now. I started connecting the dots is when you lose all this weight, people are going to say, don't lose any more weight.
You, you, you look great. Don't lose any more weight. Oh, you're starting to look sick. And so these people, it doesn't matter. If you're big, they never said anything to you, but you've lost all this weight. And because you don't look like the way they thought you should, should look, or they identified you with, it's hard for them to accept.
And so I took that and I didn't realize it, but that's when I started ticking back up and my weight started ticking back up a little bit. And I started kind of like, I was still plant-based but little things I stopped tracking. And that's when I started that slide where I started going back into bad habits and I started realizing it.
So it wasn't until the COVID pandemic of spring break I got back up to about two 50 and I was like, Oh, okay. No big deal. Well then COVID, isolation at home, even though I was running and I was still running a lot, but I wasn't eating healthy. I was still trying to do plant-based but still, you can eat vegan junk food. Oreos are vegan, man. I mean, come on.
And so it's like, dude, there's, there are tons. If you want to find junk, you can find junk. It, it doesn't matter. You know, that's what happened to me. And I went to give blood back in December and I was like, I was 280 man. I was like, you gotta be kidding me. And so I was like, I gotta do something.
I was still running and it did not matter. And everybody's like, Oh man, you don't even look that big. And that was the funny thing, even though I was fit and my clothes still, you know? Yeah. They were a little bit tighter, but it was crazy how my body adjusted to the new weight and everything and, and that activity.
But, uh, I've gone back. I said, Hey man, go back to putting it in the, in the, in the plan, putting it back. And so I went back to doing the lose it. And, uh, once again, the weight's fallen off again and it's just, like I said, part of this journey and a plant-based is, is for me, my recovery. That's what works for me.
I tell everybody, Hey, you know, I got a brother. He says he loves keto Great. That's what works for you, whatever works for you. That's great. But for me and what I know, I've recovered 10 times better on a plant-based diet. whenever I run, yeah. I have a little bit of soreness, but in my be for a day or two, and then I'm, I'm, I'm ready to rip and.
Whenever I was consuming a lot of meat, a lot of dairy I'd be sore for a lot longer. I just felt like my body didn't perform as well, but it's worked extremely well for me, you know? So that's been a good progression.
Kevin Chang: [00:42:50]
And we have to thank Adam Welcome for connecting the two of us. We know that Adam also plant-based Vegan diets. And that has helped him tremendously in his recovery. Um, we had him on the show not too long ago as well.
And I love it what you said right there is junk food. There's vegan, junk food. There's keto junk food. There's junk food across the board. And so you have to know is what works for you?
What diet works for you? What plans work for you? We know that we had Tony Julian on the podcast, not too long ago and a cut the crap challenge for us. And w w has really worked for, um, many of our audience members is really controlling blood sugar levels.
And if you can find ways to reduce the amount of sugar, especially the simple sugars in your diet, you can sometimes say, stay satiated for longer and really help reduce a lot of the body's inflammation and other pieces as well.
So we've seen a lot of success with that, but again, you have to figure out what works for you and your diet and your lifestyle, whatever works best. So I love that nutrition part of it.

Diet and Weight-loss Goals for 2021 [00:43:52]

So do you have, I guess, diet goals, weight loss goals for the balance of 2021?
Gerald Schattle: [00:43:58]
So, uh, I, I kind of adjusted my weight loss goal.
I want to get down to two 15. I feel like two 15 is a sustainable weight for me. It's an attainable weight for me. And I feel like that I will be able to function high level. And it's something that in my lose it app, you know, and that's what I love about it tells you about how many days it's going to take you.
And it says, you know, 149 days to my goal, it says that, you know, I'm two 57 right now, 137 pounds lost. I'm cool. And I told my wife, cause she was like discouraged. She's like, it seems it's going to take too long for me to get to my weight loss goal. I said, Misty, I can tell you right now when I started doing this, lose it app. It told me I was 500 something days to my goal. I said it's the little steps.
And as time goes, that number is going to drastically change. As you lose weight faster, that number's going to change. And so I said, it's not static. It's going to adjust. And so there might be weeks that you get on the scale, the weight doesn't move, but then the next week you lose five, seven pounds.
And you're like, what? I didn't even do anything. So you got to have the long game mindset, that's the deal. And I think I'm glad that I had this setback of gaining weight so that now I can see that the only way it goes back to is the tried and true principles, setting up my environment to have success and habit at the forefront.
And that's what I'm doing.

Portion Control [00:45:24]

Kevin Chang: [00:45:24]
Talk to us about portion control as well. Cause I'm assuming that you've kind of had to deal with portion control and what you're putting on the plate.
Gerald Schattle: [00:45:30]
Yeah. So that's another good thing about the plant-based deal is I actually kind of get bigger portions, you know, whenever I do that.
But one of the things that I was, I had a bad habit about doing as a principal was I was skipping lunch. And for me, I started to realize, like, you know, I was having breakfast and I was skipping lunch and I was totally hungry for dinner and I would overeat.
So now I've actually changed it up. I do basically intermittent fasting where I don't eat until about anywhere from 10 30, one 11 o'clock. And then I use, the meal service. Uh, what is it? Veestro? And those plant-based meals help me have that portion control that's one way, the easy way to do it.
And then when we plan our dinner, me and my wife, we just basically, uh, try to make sure that we do things that are gonna fill us up, but not be, too big. And we just ride it out, you know?
And, uh, sometimes, you know, we're a fast-moving family, you know, w we might go to Chipotle or something and pick the plant-based options, but I mean, it is what it is, but, That's better than the other option that we were doing, which was going to water burger and, uh, you know, eating fries and a big old a double whatever so...

Favourite Vegan Foods

Bertrand Newson: [00:46:49]
Any favorite vegan recipes you want to share staples, so you don't have to get the recipe necessarily, but things that have really worked for you that have failed you up, but you look forward to, and that are good.
Gerald Schattle: [00:46:58]
Yeah. I really like, uh, sweet potatoes. My wife doesn't like sweet potatoes, but I mean, you can do so much with sweet potatoes.
I've had tacos, I've had floated sweet potatoes where you put guacamole, black beans, corn, just like tons of stuff. You know, I like the TexMex flavor here and, uh, you know, you can make it, man. It's just good.
I'm kind of a simple guy. I'll eat the same thing three days in a row. My wife's looking at me like, what, what is wrong with you?
I don't care if it gives me value. And, and if I got to eat sweet potatoes three days out the week, I don't care. You know, that's just me. But, uh, my wife, she's got to have a little bit more variety, so she'll, she'll look at the forks over knives cookbook, or she'll look in different recipes, uh, different Pinterest posts and stuff like that. And she'll say, Hey, I want to try this.
I don't think we really have a staple, but, uh, we just kinda make it work, make it work for us.

Being Vegan in Texas

Bertrand Newson: [00:47:53]
Hey, Kevin and I we love, we love food. We love to talk about food and our relationship with food. Um, and you're in the great state of Texas. Beef and Barbecue. How are you navigating?
And were you a fan of barbecue before? Do you miss it now? And, um, you know, is there a way that you're able to, if you do love it or have loved it, to kind of compensate for that grilled smoky, savory taste?
Gerald Schattle: [00:48:20]
Yeah. I love barbecue sauce. So a lot of times, uh, I might add it to different meals and things like that.
But, uh, there is actually a, uh, food truck here in Houston. It's called a Houston sauce company. And, uh, they have plant-based options that they have bloated, baked potatoes, different things, and we've tried it. It's really good, but you know, that's not, once again, it's, it's not something you can go, you're not going to lose weight on eating baked potatoes and everything.
And they're all, everybody's like, Oh, well it's vegan. Yeah. But it is what it is, you know? So. As far as missing barbecue, you know, no, I don't miss it. I mean like, my life is 10 times better than I was when I was 397 and that's the whole deal.
Like people say, would you, I can't give this up. I'm like, look, man, I'm lucky that I got ahead of this before I was 40 because you see so many people with Coach, Hey, I caught COVID right before, uh, we came back to school and I don't wish that on anybody. And, um, I was able, because of my lifestyle change, I was extremely blessed. I had mild symptoms.
I had a slight cough, achy, things like that. If I can tell you hands down, if I hadn't done this lifestyle change, I'd be dead. I'd be dead.
And then we've lost too many people. And it's because of our diet in America and because of choices, we're not making choices to help our families. And. You know you got to make that sacrifice. That's the thing that I've, I've learned from this is because I made those little sacrifices and it's little in comparison. Cause I bounced back. I mean, uh, you know, I've been, like I said, extremely blessed.
Kevin Chang: [00:50:17]
That's ncredible, and you continue to inspire the community and you continue to inspire, family members, people in the community, and kids and students. so talk to us a little bit about, we know that you've done runs around your school district.

Inspiring the Family and Inspiring the Community [00:50:32]

We've known that you've done runs to help inspire the students in your school district. We know that your school district is very diverse. School district as well. So talk to us about inspiring others because of this health journey that you've been on.
Gerald Schattle: [00:50:44]
I'm still trying to get comfortable talking about, you know, when people say, man, you're so inspiring.
look, man. I just view myself as a kid from Houston and, and uh, you know, I, I, I wanted to go running and I made these choices and in the process of, I built some good, good quality relationships. And when it goes back to running. And how I wanted to impact my community. I just wanted to connect with my kids cause it's big about relationships.
You know, I constantly say, if you can find some kind of commonality, you're going to be able to make a connection with somebody and it could be music. It could be books, it could be religion. It could be, you've got to find that commonality and you gotta be able to have a conversation and. One of the things that I pride myself on is one thing about being the principal here.
It takes time for kids to open up to you. So I've had kids that might cuss me out one day. And the next day we're sitting here talking about life decisions and choices and everything. And they realize I'm not going to take it personally. I'm not going to get in my feelings. I want, I really, truly want to help you.
And it goes back to my faith journey. I constantly try to love my neighbor as myself. I kind of try to constantly try to model that I'm not perfect. Like I said, I'm a work in progress. That's what's really helped me.
I told Adam on his podcast. I said, you know, if I wasn't the principal of this campus, I don't know what type of person I'd be, cause I'd probably still be the same guy of 397 pounds. and not having a strong connection with my Lord and savior.
I, like I said, this campus being the principal here, the relationship I built with kids, my staff man, it's, it's impacted me so much, you know, as a leader, as a father. And, um, you know, as an educator, I, I learned so much just day in and day out the interactions with the kids, what my staff does to support the kids.
They go above and beyond, you know, it's just a Testament to what, what we're about and my campus and, uh, you know, it's been awesome. It's been awesome to serve.
Kevin Chang: [00:52:46]
Have you inspired any runners from your students?
Gerald Schattle: [00:52:49]
You know, I've had athletes here at my campus, you know, they made a poor choice and they go back and, and, you know, we've connected after they graduate, you know, and they, they talk about you know, running and everything.
And I've got foot former football players because I used to be a coach, a football coach, and I've got players that say, Hey, I want to meet up and run. And, and we, you know, try to connect me to that. Uh, I've run with some of my former players, and, uh, you know, it's just a cool thing.
You know, once they see the story, they're like, man, coach, I need to get back in shape and we talk about it. And then, like I said, again, planting seeds, talking to folks and I say, Hey, you let me know when you're ready to go run. And we go, you know, we try to knock out some miles.
Kevin Chang: [00:53:30]
And you mentioned that you had like run around different parts of your County, part different parts of your community.

Running Around the Aldein Community [00:53:36]

Talk to us about that. Like running journey of, you know, seeing different parts of the community.
Gerald Schattle: [00:53:41]
One of the things that I wanting to do, my marathon journey, I wanted to pick different areas is of the Aldein community that maybe had a negative connotation and run in that area. And so I would pick streets or neighborhoods and I would do my long runs there, but I was also trying to connect to for campuses and Aldein has sidewalks in some areas, some areas they don't.
And so I was running just kind of in the, on the side of the road and we're a big city. And so that, that wasn't always the safest bet, but, uh, I ran down, uh, FM 1960, which runs across one side from 45 all the way to 249 and keeps on going, um, even to 290. I've ran all over the place and basically. Just doing those runs made me have a deeper connection with the community, made me appreciate where I came from.
I grew up in the Northside of all Dane, but my father drove a school bus and he taught. And, uh, so he drove in and what's called acres homes, community. It's on the Northside of Houston and it was a historically black community, uh, here we're South of Houston.
And actually, my school district had to be desegregated, had to have a court order because we were not serving the students properly basically. And so the court order said, Hey, you have to desegregate. So they took, the student was from the borders Ville community, which is on the Northside of the day district and acres homes community and they made sure, sure that those students got bused to different parts of the school district.
So anchors homes, they divided up into four quadrants. Some went to Nimitz. Some went to all deans, senior high school, some went to MacArthur high school, and some went to Eisenhower high school. my dad, taught at Nimitz and we went to Nimitz and that's the first, this part of our district for this point North.
And, uh, those students are, I rode my dad's bus from the time I was in the third grade until the time I was in the, uh, the 10th grade. And I'd wake up at four in the morning. So that's where I developed my habit of waking up early. I wa I've been waking up at four in the morning since I was in third grade and it's helped me on my running journey so it's like, it's like nothing to me.
So waking up, I saw these kids have to get up and ride a bus 20 minutes to go get their education. And, uh, I also saw kids that didn't look like me, build a relationship with my father and love him the same way I loved him.
And, uh, you know, he drove that route for 23 years and I can't tell you how many times I've had kids that rode his bus reach out to me. I serve some of the kids, their own children here at my campus. And because of the relationship he had, it unified us right away. You know, I've had parent conferences where we sit there and start talking and one thing leads to another and there's a connection back to my dad.
And they look at their child and they say, Mr Schattle, I got this. And they, stopped believing whatever their child told them and they realize, you know, Mr. Schattle is going to take care of you. But once again, that's, that's how God works. He shows us how that progression, like I said, Third grade. I was waking up at four in the morning.
Now I'm a runner. I'm waking up at four 35 in the morning to go do a long run. And you know, it's just part of the journey. It's been awesome.
Bertrand Newson: [00:56:58]
Thank you for sharing that. One thing that Kevin and I talk about, with our athletes and people in our fitness community is everybody wants to be a happier and healthier version of themselves, but it's just tough for a lot of people to take that first step.

How to be a Better Version of Yourself [00:57:13]

And when you were at that crossroads in the bathroom, half the school, I'm at nearly 400 pounds to where you are right now. What advice can you give somebody else that's at that crossroads in their life right now?
Gerald Schattle: [00:57:25]
Take the step, take the step and embrace it. And yeah, you're gonna you're going to experience some suffering.
You're going to experience some pain. And you're going to experience a lot of doubt, but pushing through the doubt and coming out on the other side, makes it all worth it, man, because especially here in America, we got things first world problems all the time, man, we think we don't have wifi in our world ended, you know, and I think that my journey with running and diet.
And all this adversity and going through it has had it helped me. And I think that's what you have to realize when you're wanting to start this, know that it's going to be tough and say, okay, I'm okay with that. And when you have a setback, you realize, Hey, get yourself back up. Nobody said it was going to be easy, you know?
Uh, and that's what, that's how I shifted my mindset because I started stopped all the time. But the difference this time was, I said, it's a lifestyle change. And I started to make sure that I identified myself as a runner. I started making choices as a runner. And while I'm doing this journey, I'm reading, I'm reading books to fortify me and give me knowledge and get helped me.
I'm listening to pod Kevin, I'm trying everything I can to start changing. That old identity and shaking it off and trying to go into this new person I'm wanting to become. I'm wanting to be an impactful leader. I'm wanting to be a better father. I'm wanting to be a better husband. I'm wanting to grow spiritually.
I'm doing all these things consistently, and it's a lot of work, man. And, uh, I can tell you, my staff, we've gone on a journey. Uh, as a progression, when I first got here, you were learning people, you're building relationships and everything. They had to learn and grow in that.
This year we had to grow tremendously because we had a low, student enrollment. And, my staff had to go to other things, campuses to serve the Aldein you know. And, uh, as kids have come back, we've increased our teacher population.
But having that conversation and saying, Hey, you're part of my team, but I need you to go over here and serve over here. That was a tough conversation because they were like, You know, some of these people who've been here 10, 15 years, they've only been at this campus. And so it's like, you're basically jumping over their Applecart. Right.
And, uh, you know, I didn't really understand it at the time, but as I've gone on through this year, we've seen the benefit of it because I'll tell you every day I have the best staff, the best teachers, and this whole experiences highlighted how much staff cares for kids.
And they're doing awesome things across Aldein and helping kids grow during this pandemic because they know how to serve the kids that, that really need quality teachers. And, um, you know, they know how to build relationships with reluctant learners. Because if you're not on, uh, excited about serving kids, you can't work in my campus it's just not going to work.
The kids know. If you're not passionate about them, they know if you don't care about them and they can pick it out. And even whenever they have self-sabotaging behavior and they try to have poor interactions with you, my teachers know how to come back the next day and build that relationship again.
You know, we do community building circles every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at my campus. Uh, I don't know if y'all are familiar with restorative practices or restorative justice, but basically, the community building circles is what enhances that practice. So you're using the restore or circles as an alternative to suspension and removing kids from classrooms, but you're also making them tank accountability.
So through these circles, you're, uh, communicating how you harmed the community, how you impacted the learning environment. And really, uh, I had a student get upset, punched one of mine Fire extinguisher cabinets.
We had a community-building circle and a with the teacher, with the students that got involved with it. And, uh, sometimes those kids would have been just suspended, but we actually talked about what that did by damaging that cabinet. It damaged the cosmetics of the campus, it damaged the learning environment.
The kids, once we talked all about that and explained it, and they realized what their role was, it was in it, and how it impacted our teacher. They realize the bigger picture. It's not just about me, it's about this community. And so those were different things. Once again, going back to the community, those are just some of the things that we do here,
Kevin Chang: [01:02:06]
That's incredible. And we applaud what you do with your community, with your kids, with your students, and helping to build that community.
Not only within your school, which is clear and evident. The empathy that you have for your faculty, for your kids, for wanting to see their success, but also starting to build that community as well with other runners and your family and your family members and getting them involved, in a healthy lifestyle.
And we just want to say, first of all, thank you for sharing a portion of your story with our audience. Um, you have inspired so many of us to make sure that we're getting out there and that we're making the best out of every single day that we've got.
And I just want to say, this is just the beginning of the story. We look forward to hearing about your adventures throughout 2021 throughout, you know, the goals that you have set for yourself. We are going to hold you accountable for those goals and make sure that the finish line on your 50 milers, so we will be checking in with you and make sure that you're hitting those goals.
And if there's anything that we can do and our community can do to help you reach your goals. Do you feel free to reach out and let us know, and we're just going to listen to your journey. And again, you can hold us accountable for our goals as well. so I think that's the beauty of this whole thing is that we can all grow as a community and learn from each other.

Social Media Links [01:03:26]

So thank you again so much, Gerald, for joining us on the RaceMob podcast. Where can our listeners reach out to you if they have questions or where they want to ask you a question?
Gerald Schattle: [01:03:37]
Sure. Uh, I'm on Twitter at a G W S Schattle S C H A T T L E two eight one. And then I'm on Instagram at Run With Schattle.
Kevin Chang: [01:03:46]
Awesome. Incredible. Well, thank you again so much, Gerald. And we will be in touch.
Gerald Schattle: [01:03:51]
Yes, sir. Appreciate it..
Bertrand Newson: [01:03:53]
Great stuff.

Episode Outro

Kevin Chang: [01:03:55]
Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the RaceMob podcast. Check out all of the show notes. Or find a running buddy online at RaceMob dot com. Please subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your podcasts and leave us a review until next time. Keep on moving.