>> SHE’S PROVING HER DOUBTERS WRONG ONE STEP AT A TIME.
>> I HAVE ALL THESE BARRIERS AND
ALL THESE THINGS PLACED IN FRONT
OF ME, BUT IT DOESN’T DEFINE ANY
ASPECT OF WHO I AM.
>> Reporter: IN 2012, LIFE WAS
NOT EASY FOR LATOYA SHAUNTAY
SNELL.
SNELL. >> I HAD A HERNIATED DISK, WAS
OVERWEIGHT, AND MY DOCTOR WAS
TELLING ME, I DON’T THINK YOU’LL
MAKE IT TO 30.
>> Reporter: IT WAS THE WAKE-UP
CALL LATOYA NEEDED.
WITHOUT EVER RUNNING ONE MILE,
SHE SIGNED UP FOR A HALF
MARATHON.
MARATHON. >> I LOOKED AT IT AS A BUCKET
LIST ITEM.
LIST ITEM. I FIGURED THIS WAS SOMETHING I
WOULD DO ONCE AND ONLY ONCE.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT REALLY,
REALLY QUICKLY.
REALLY QUICKLY. >> Reporter: FUELED BY HER
NEWFOUND PASSION, LATOYA
CHRONICLED HER FITNESS JOURNEY
THROUGH HER BLOG, RUNNING FAT
CHEF.
CHEF. THOUGH SHE SHED WEIGHT, SHE SAID
SHE FACED CRITICS.
>> I STARTED ENCOUNTERING
HECKLERS ON MY BLOCK.
I WAS GETTING THINGS LIKE,
YOU’RE FAT.
YOU’RE FAT. WHY DON’T YOU LOSE SOME MORE
WEIGHT?
WEIGHT? IF YOU’RE DOING ALL THESE RACES,
THEN YOU’RE NOT A RUNNER.
YOU’RE PROBABLY JUST A WALKER.
I REFUSE TO ALLOW SOMEONE WHO
HAS NEVER MET ME TO MAKE ME FEEL
LESS THAN.
LESS THAN. I KNOW I BELONG.
I KNOW I’M A RUNNER.
>> Reporter: TODAY, LATOYA’S
THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS CONTINUE
TO READ ABOUT HER RUNNING
ADVENTURES, WHICH INCLUDE 21
MARATHONS AND 5 ULTRA MARATHONS.
THERE’S NO STOPPING HER ANY TIME
SOON.
SOON. >> THE IDEA THAT I AM ABLE TO
RECLAIM PART OF MY LIFE BACK
THAT I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO
LOSE IS ENOUGH OF A REASON TO
KEEP MOVING.
KEEP MOVING. >> INCREDIBLE.
>> INCREDIBLE. >> WELCOME, LATOYA SHAUNTAY
SNELL.
SNELL. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US
TODAY.
TODAY. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>> FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE WATCHING
THIS, THEY’VE NEVER TAKEN THAT
FIRST STEP.
FIRST STEP. WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE TO PEOPLE
WHO ARE SITTING THERE, WHO WANT
TO BUT ARE AFRAID?
>> YOU KNOW, MOST PEOPLE THINK
ABOUT THE COUCH TO 5K PROGRAM,
WHICH IS DESIGNED TO TAKE YOU
WEEK BY WEEK THROUGH A PROGRAM.
INSTEAD, I ASK PEOPLE TO SCALE
IT BACK EVEN MORE.
IF IT TAKES YOU THREE OR FOUR
WEEKS TO GET THROUGH WEEK ONE,
THAT’S FINE.
THAT’S FINE. DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO
EVERYONE ELSE THAT’S OUT THERE.
COMPARE YOURSELF TO YOURSELF.
>> YOU HAD SAID IN 2017 WHEN YOU
RAN THE NEW YORK MARATHON, THERE
WAS A HECKLER.
>> YES.
>> YES. >> THAT WAS A REAL DEFINING
MOMENT FOR YOU.
>> YES.
>> YES. >> TELL US ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED.
>> AROUND MILE 21 AND 22, IT WAS
REALLY CLOSE TO THE FINISH LINE.
I REACHED AROUND MARCUS GARVEY
PARK, AND THERE WAS A GUY ON THE
SIDELINES.
SIDELINES. HE SAID, IT’LL TAKE YOUR FAT
WHATEVER FOREVER.
WHATEVER FOREVER. IT TRIPPED ME UP.
YOU DON’T EXPECT SOMEONE TO
HECKLE YOU FROM THE SIDELINE OF
A MARATHON.
A MARATHON. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> AT THAT MOMENT, I HAD TWO
OPTIONS.
OPTIONS. I COULD BE A TRUE NEW YORKER.
[ LAUGHTER ]
YOU CAN’T ALLOW SOMEONE TO STEAL
YOUR JOY.
YOUR JOY. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS YOU
DON’T HAVE CONTROL OVER.
WHEN IT COMES TO HOW YOU
APPROACH A SITUATION, YOU HAVE
COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR
ACTIONS, EVEN WHEN YOU’RE CAUGHT
UP.
UP. I DECIDED TO GO ON.
AT THAT POINT, I BELIEVE THAT
WAS PROBABLY MARATHON NUMBER 16.
>> WOW.
>> WOW. >> I’M STILL GOING.
>> HOW HAS YOUR LIFE CHANGE
SINCE YOU STARTED THIS JOURNEY?
>> IT’S BEEN A COMPLETE
TURNAROUND.
TURNAROUND. I USED TO BE IN THE CULINARY
INDUSTRY FULL TIME.
NOW, I AM A FULL-TIME ATHLETE,
WHICH FEELS REALLY STRANGE TO
ME.
ME. MOST TIMES, PEOPLE LOOK AT YOUR
SIZE OR BACKGROUND, AND THEY
ASSUME, OKAY, WELL, THAT DOESN’T
LOOK LIKE AN ATHLETE.
I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW
PEOPLE THAT AN ATHLETE DOESN’T
HAVE A LOOK.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> IT TOOK FOR ME TO ACTUALLY BE
SPONSORED, WHICH WAS A DEFINING
MOMENT FOR ME.
AT FIRST, I WAS LIKE, I’M AN
AMBASSADOR.
AMBASSADOR. THEY SAID, NO, YOU PERFORM LIKE
AN ATHLETE, DO THE WORK LIKE AN
ATHLETE, YOU ARE AN ATHLETE.
>> IN THE GREEN ROOM, YOUR SON
IS HERE.
IS HERE. >> YES.
>> YES. >> AND HE TOLD ME HOW PROUD HE
WAS OF YOU.
>> YES.
>> YES. >> HE WAS YOU GOT EMOTIONAL.
YOU HAD TWO CHOICES IN 2017.
YOU COULD HAVE BEEN THE NEW
YORKER, A TRUE NEW YORKER, I
SHOULD SAY.
SHOULD SAY. >> YES.
>> YES. THESE ARE THE MOMENTS, JUST ONE
THING CAN CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE
LIFE.
LIFE. THE LAST THING I THOUGHT WAS
GOING TO THIS MARATHON IN 2017,
I WAS GOING TO ACTUALLY CONTINUE
ON.
ON. DURING THAT TIME, I FACED
SEVERAL MISCARRIAGES.
SEVERAL MISCARRIAGES. I WAS DIAGNOSED FRESHLY WITH
ENDOMETRIOSIS.
ENDOMETRIOSIS. I HAVE SEVERAL HEALTH ISSUES.
I HAVE EVERY REASON IN THE WORLD
TO TURN AROUND.
INSTEAD, THAT MOMENT, THAT
DEFINING MOMENT ACTUALLY CHANGED
MY CAREER PATH IN A WAY I FEEL
LIKE I’M ABLE TO TAKE MY PATH OF
SOCIAL WORK, AND I’M STILL ABLE
TO BE A SOCIAL WORKER IN A
DIFFERENT SENSE WITH DIFFERENT
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. >> HOW DO PEOPLE FOLLOW YOUR
BLOG?
BLOG? IT IS TERRIFIC.
TELL US THE NAME.
>> IT IS CALLED RUNNING FAT
CHEF.
CHEF. RUNNINGFATCHEF.COM.
RUNNINGFATCHEF.COM. IT IS VERY UNCENSORED.
SOMETHING THAT’S PROBABLY NOT
SAFE FOR TV.
WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE
BLOG BEING AN OPEN DIARY.
I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THE THINGS
THAT PEOPLE TEND TO DOOGGOOGLE.
HEY, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU POOP ON
YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A RUN,
ALL THE WAY DOWN TO, THIS IS MY
FIRST 100K, AND I HAVE ALL THESE
FEARS ABOUT MY BODY.
WILL MY BODY PUSH THROUGH IT?
I TAKE MY OWN EXPERIENCES, AND I
TELL PEOPLE, PUSH FORWARD.
ONE STEP IN FRONT OF THE OTHER.
DON’T OVER THINK IT.
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE
CAPABLE OF UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY
TRY.
TRY. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> I LOVE THAT.
I LOVE THE MESSAGE THERE IS NO
TYPICAL ATHLETE.
TYPICAL ATHLETE. SO GREAT.