The Journey: Marina Holter

I’m Brazilian American and the daughter of an immigrant. I spent a lot of my childhood in Rio. I grew up with a very health-conscious dad. I’ve been handed celery juice since the age of 3, probably. I’ve always really believed in the power of food. I know that the quality of our food is changing, and that’s where a supplement like AG1 comes into play for me. I started taking it three years ago.

I’ve been a runner since I was 13 or 14. I don’t remember why I first went for a run, but I remember the little three-mile loop around the neighborhood, and coming back and just feeling so good, and so in my body. I’d never had that experience before.

I didn’t consider myself to be good at running. I often found myself at the back of the pack. But, I was always curious about the sport and the discipline, and I would ask my coaches why they were programming workouts the way they were. I would stay with the personal trainer after a session and ask her questions. I was very inquisitive about what went into the sport, and how to show up while doing it. Through most of my 20s, I considered myself a bad-day runner: I would go for a run when I didn’t know what else to do. But beyond that, I didn’t really have much of a health habit.

I’m a college dropout. I got into hospitality and had a knack for it right away. I’d always loved making food, and it felt natural to be a host. I was in the hospitality industry for the majority of my 20s. I tried everything from fine dining to club life, and I found my home in high-volume bartending. I even participated in bartending competitions. I used to have a mantra when I was in hospitality that holds true now: “I want to provide environments where people feel most like themselves.” I would host events that felt true to me, like putting on like Latin parties, playing Brazilian music.

I had a string of bad days: a death in the family, a breakup. And I found myself going for a run every day. Then I started to just remind myself how good I felt when I was doing that, and I started to pursue that more. I noticed how I felt connected to my posture and form, and I wanted to fuel my body better. I decided to sign up for my first marathon, the Chicago Marathon, in 2021. I was looking for things that would support my journey, so I started taking AG1.

What I realized I love about running is that while my body will continue to change as it ages, my running goals can change as well. It might not always be my goal to go this distance this fast; it might be how far I can go or how consistent I can be. I was hooked.

Some friends of mine started a nonprofit called Grocery Run Club during the pandemic, and their initiative is to provide food and necessities to communities throughout Chicago. You’d do a grocery run, and then you’d do a run-club run. They asked me to lead the run club, which really intimidated me, since I hadn’t been part of run culture in that way since high school. The runners would ask me about which shoes they should wear, how they should warm up or what they should do about an injury. I decided to pursue run coaching, which was a huge contrast to my life as a bartender.

I convinced myself that I loved being multifaceted. I had always felt like I was in many worlds at once. Like, I go to Brazil, and I’m not Brazilian enough; and I go to America, and I’m not fully assimilating here, either. I wanted to show myself that it was possible to bartend until 5 a.m. and then run 18 miles. I look back and wonder how I did it. I think it just shows that finding something that you love, and finding something that makes you feel so new and connected, drives everything else.

I saw that when I was pursuing running it changed everything else. Like, I stopped drinking, or I wasn’t drinking as much, and I saw that the people I was hanging out with were changing. I no longer wanted to hang out and grab a beer or check out this new restaurant. I was like, “I’m going to go to this new trail.” Those were the things I was doing for fun. I was seeing myself make progress, and I was seeing myself do things well. I had also gotten my coaching certification by then, so I was able to give educated advice.

I started coaching a few friends, and I just saw things start to spiral. I was struggling with holding these two worlds. Then I was invited to take a cycling class with a friend. The instructor said, “When you ask for change, you ask for discomfort.” And that just shook me. I knew that, and I knew that I was asking for change, but I didn’t know whether I was ready for discomfort. I worked that night and just felt uncomfortable preparing for my shift. I felt like I just wasn’t supposed to be there. The unfortunate reality of being a woman in hospitality is that you’re often taken advantage of. That night, somebody reached across the bar and grabbed my arm. That happened all the time, and I used to have a good, quick comeback for it. That time I just didn’t have anything. I walked off the job.

I look back and wish I could have done it a little bit more gracefully, but I knew that it was the change that I needed. I was thankful to myself for having savings, and I knew I wanted to spend the next few months thinking through what I actually wanted.

I started having more people ask me, “Are you coaching?” Like, “I want to run. Can you train me?” And after enough people asked, I eventually said yes. I started with two athletes, and then five, and by the summer, I had 13. By marathon time, I had 30. Within the last two years, I’ve been able to work with more than 100 athletes.

I have lost friends who I thought were close to me because of pursuing things that are scary and daunting and really personal, but I’ve also attracted some of the most incredible connections and friends and athletes. Something that’s really foundational to my business is making a very relational connection. I really want you to find a connection to the sport. I want you to know which paces make you feel good, which workouts make you feel good and which techniques you can use in the middle of your long run when you’re feeling defeated.

Every morning I wake up and I brush and floss my teeth, and then I drink my AG1 right away. I’ll often walk my dog after that, and then eat a piece of toast and most likely head out the door for a run. When I’m traveling, I’m always bringing AG1 with me. If I happen to forget my packs, I feel the difference. I feel like I’m missing that thing. Being a creature of routine, I gravitate toward that. I also take the AG D3+K2 drops, and I often up my dose during the winter.

The name of my business is Inner Lane. It refers to being on the track, where the best place to run is the inside. When running on the street, it’s running closest to the traffic in a way that can protect the other runner. It also refers to living in alignment. I host free weekly track sessions every Thursday morning for people in the community. I always bring coffee and snacks, and I've passed out AG1 packets. In the last month, I’ve been able to hire four new coaches, and I hope to continue. I really try to lead by example, because at the end of the day the coaching really doesn’t feel like it’s about running. It’s about having somebody who believes in you and somebody who’s there to support you. Running is the conduit that we use to make those connections.