White House counselor John Podesta arguably has had some of the most intense jobs in Washington. Serving as chief of staff during President Bill Clinton’s second term was a particularly stressful time, he says in an interview in the May issue of Runner’s World — and it was then that he “started running with a vengeance. … I had to melt the stress off.” He and Clinton “had a very honest relationship. … He’d yell at me. I’d yell at him. But the stress is incredible. You’re always on edge.”
After a tough morning on “Meet the Press” with Tim Russert, Podesta said, “I’d come home, throw my shirt off, and go outside and run and forget about whether I said something good or something bad. I just had to get rid of it.”
Podesta took up running in his late 30s and ran his first marathon at 52. Now, at 65, he averages “a half-dozen races a year, mostly 10-K, 10-mile or half-marathon.” In an online video accompanying the article, Podesta explained the appeal of the sport
“I’m a man of simple pleasures. I like playing cards. I like watching old cop shows on TV. I like cooking and I like running,” Podesta said as he prepares a no-frills pre-race Italian meal: pasta with a walnut sauce, a simple marinara to serve to his running group, the Progressive Ninjas.
Podesta said President Obama, who is said to exercise on a treadmill, ought to “overrule the Secret Service and find a place to run outside.” Podesta enjoys running along the National Mall and in Washington’s Rock Creek Park, where, he said, he received his most valuable running tip, from a stranger: “Keep your head up, you’ll run faster.”
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