Running Ahrens

Justin and Sarah Ahrens
  • 4.7 (15)
  • RELATIONSHIPS

One Couple. Two People. Four Kids. And decades of figuring it out—together. Running Ahrens is a podcast about the long game of marriage, parenting, business, and personal growth. Hosted by Justin and Sarah Ahrens, a couple married for over 30 years with four kids and decades of entrepreneurial experience, this show is about the lessons learned through successes, failures, and everything in between. With a focus on mindset, honesty, accountability, and kindness, Justin and Sarah dive into real conversations about building a family, running businesses, navigating faith, friendships, and growing through the hard stuff. Still learning, still laughing, still running together, they share what they’ve figured out (and what they haven’t) with humor, humility, and heart. Along the way, they’re joined by friends, guests, and even their kids for open, often funny, and always heartfelt conversations about what really matters: relationships, resilience, and the lessons that come with time. You’ll also hear about the books, tools, and resources that have helped them along the way, so you can take what resonates and apply it to your own life. If you’re looking for honest stories, practical wisdom, and a reminder that no one’s running this race perfectly, you’re in the right place.

  1. When Your Story Changes: How JJ and Jamey Rebuilt Life, Love, and Home

    DEC 9

    When Your Story Changes: How JJ and Jamey Rebuilt Life, Love, and Home

    In this honest and very human conversation, Justin and Sarah sit down with their friends JJ and Jamey to talk about what it costs to tell the truth about who you are, and what it looks like to build a family afterward. JJ grew up in a pastor’s home, became a missionary and theology professor, and spent years trying to pray his sexuality away. He shares the panic attack that sent him to the hospital, the reality show deal that surfaced everything he’d been avoiding, and the 40 day stretch of monasteries and wine country that finally pushed him toward honesty. He also talks about coming out slowly, one conversation at a time, before sharing his story publicly. Jamey grew up in small town Tennessee, married young, and spent 16 years raising four kids. He remembers the moment his teenage daughter bravely shared she was attracted to another girl, how that opened something in him, and the long, painful process of ending his marriage and finally naming his own truth. Together, they share how they met online, fell in love, and built a queer family in Nashville with four kids, two in college and two at home. They talk about “instant parenthood” for JJ, navigating school changes and safety issues, holding grief and joy at the same time, and the weekend JJ became a dad and lost his own father. School forms, therapy, Cub Scouts, prom committees, and drag queens all show up in this story. They reflect on what they wish they could tell their 35 year old selves, why hard does not mean wrong, how to support someone who is coming out, and what it takes to choose audacity when your whole life shifts. This episode is about leaving old scripts, starting over in the middle, and choosing family, truth, and joy in a place that does not always make that simple. Takeaways & Talking Points: • Growing up gay in conservative Christian spaces • How a TV deal and a panic attack changed JJ’s life • Jamie’s move from long marriage to finally speaking the truth • What midlife coming out actually feels like • Instant parenting and rebuilding family under pressure • School transfers, safety, and helping kids find stability • Grieving a parent while becoming one • Dating long distance in a pandemic • What supportive friends do well • How to respond when someone comes out Things We’re Learning (and Unlearning): • Coming out is a long process, not a moment • Faith and sexuality often need to be rethought with honesty • The “right” choice can still feel painful early on • Later-in-life coming out brings your whole story with you • Kids can handle change when at least one home is steady • You cannot rush someone’s timeline for truth • “I love you” should be the first sentence • It is not the job of the person coming out to hold your emotions • Healing is slow, ordinary work • Audacity means taking one brave step at a time Stats Worth Knowing: • Many LGBTQ+ adults say they sensed “difference” in childhood • Family acceptance is a major mental health protector for LGBTQ+ youth • Leaving high control religious environments can bring grief and isolation • Queer families in conservative regions often face added legal and safety stress This episode is for anyone coming out later in life, for parents trying to support their kids while sorting out their own beliefs, and for friends who want to show up well when someone they love trusts them with their story. #RunningAhrens #FamilyConversations #ComingOutStories #QueerFamily #MarriageAndFaith #ParentingInTransition #LGBTQStories #RealTalk #ModernParenting #AudacityAndForward #MentalHealthMatters #ChosenFamily #PurposeDrivenLife #BeingHumanKind

    1h 4m
  2. The Firstborn: Mackenzie on Pressure, Rule-Breaking, and Becoming Herself

    DEC 1

    The Firstborn: Mackenzie on Pressure, Rule-Breaking, and Becoming Herself

    In this honest, funny, and very real conversation, Justin and Sarah sit down with their oldest child, Mackenzie, the one who made them parents and set the curve for everyone who came after. Born on Sarah’s birthday and right on her due date, Mackenzie talks about what it was really like to grow up as the first of four in a loud, intense, loving house. She shares how school started to fall apart in sixth grade, what it felt like to be “bad at turning things in,” and the huge shift that came when she was finally diagnosed with ADHD in high school. She remembers demanding sports parents, running gassers, throwing up at practice, sabotaging her own basketball tryout, sneaking out, secret social accounts, and being “the mean big sister” who threatened her siblings to keep quiet. Then she walks through the hard parts of college: flunking out, hiding it, making herself sick with anxiety, fighting her way back in, and eventually graduating on her own terms. Mackenzie also shares the story of coming out to her parents at a booth in a college bar, what she was most afraid of in that moment, and how that conversation reshaped their family and their expectations. Today, she talks about losing nearly 100 pounds, choosing therapy, working in a therapeutic autism school, and finally feeling at home in her own skin. It is a story about being the first one through the wall. About messing up, owning it, and trying again. About a kid who grew up in chaos and found a life of purpose, care, and steady joy. Takeaways & Talking Points: What it really feels like to be the oldest in a family of fourHow undiagnosed ADHD shapes school, behavior, and self-worthSports, pressure, and the line between pushing and breaking a kidThe “full-time job” of parenting a struggling teen, and what Mackenzie remembersSneaking out, getting caught, burner phones, and why she was “bad at being bad”Coming out as bisexual to faith-shaped parents, and what everyone had to grieve and reframeCollege probation, reinstatement, and rebuilding trust after hiding the truthFinding her way back to special education and discovering work that fits how she is wiredWhat it took to change her health, heal her anxiety, and choose movement for herselfThings We’re Learning (and Unlearning): Firstborns often carry invisible pressure no one named out loudYelling and grounding can work short term, but shame lingers for yearsKids are not being “lazy” when their brains are working differentlyComing out is not just about identity, it is about safety, belonging, and being believedParents have to grieve their expectations so kids can grow into who they really areHealing takes time, therapy, and a lot of small, boring choicesYour child’s path does not have to be linear to be goodStats Worth Knowing: About 1 in 20 children are estimated to have ADHD, and late diagnosis is common, especially for girlsRoughly 30 percent of first-generation college students leave school within three years, often due to academic and mental health strugglesMore than half of LGBTQ+ young people say family acceptance strongly protects their mental healthThis episode is for oldest kids who felt like the family experiment, for parents wondering if they “ruined everything” with their first, and for anyone trying to rebuild trust, identity, and health after a rough start. #RunningAhrens #FamilyConversations #OldestChildEnergy #ADHDStories #ComingOutStories #ParentingAdultKids #RealTalk #GrowingUpAhrens #FullHeartLiving #FamilyStories #MarriageAndParenting #MentalHealthMatters #ModernParenting #PurposeDrivenLife

    1h 2m
  3. Love, Grit, and Gears: The Vande Velde Story

    NOV 18

    Love, Grit, and Gears: The Vande Velde Story

    What happens when the person you grew up with becomes one of the fastest cyclists in the world? And what happens when your life together becomes a mix of airports, race radios, tiny apartments overseas, and two babies born into a world that never slows down? In this episode of Running Ahrens, we sit down with Christian and Leah Vande Velde, childhood friends, high school sweethearts, and partners who have spent three decades learning how to stay connected through a life that has never been simple. From third grade band class in Lemont to the Tour de France to building a new chapter in Greenville, their story is full of love, detours, restarts, and the kind of grit you only learn by living it. This isn’t a sports story. It’s a relationship story. It’s about what it looks like to keep choosing each other when the pace is fast, the pressure is real, and the path is rarely straight. What We Cover Meeting in third grade and finally dating senior yearBreaking up so they could grow, and finding their way backChoosing cycling over college and stepping into the Olympic Training CenterLeaving everything familiar to start a life in Girona, SpainHaving their first daughter there, and sending Christian to the Tour two days laterWhat it really means to be married to a pro athlete without losing yourselfWatching their daughters grow up around cyclists, commentators, and “uncles” from all over the worldTakeaways and Talking Points Love in Real Life How you stay connected when one partner is gone most of the year and the other is carrying the everyday load. Identity Beyond the Jersey Why both people need dreams, not just the one in the spotlight. Risk, Regret, and Saying Yes Choosing a sport, choosing a move, choosing each other, and learning which risks are worth it. Parenting on Two Continents Raising kids across time zones and race seasons, and what the girls actually remember. Life After Racing Retiring from pro sport, trying on new careers, and finding a new rhythm with NBC, Peloton, and a vintage ice cream truck. Things We’re Learning (and Unlearning) A big life doesn’t require a big ego.Supporting someone else’s dream shouldn’t erase your own.Home is built through habits, not geography.The small things hold everything together.The real endurance work is choosing each other again and again.A Few Numbers Most pro cycling careers last under 10 years. Christian raced for 17.The Vande Veldes have lived in multiple states and countries, yet talk about Boulder and Girona like old friends.This episode is not a highlight reel. It’s a look underneath the race coverage and into a marriage built on honesty, resilience, humor, and a lot of showing up. Thanks for listening, Justin & Sarah #RunningAhrens #VandeVelde #CyclingLife #TourDeFrance #ProAthleteLife #MarriageAndFamily #ParentingTeenagers #LifeAfterSport #PartnershipInMotion #EntrepreneurLife #WorkingParents #LoveAndGrit #RealConversations #NBCSports #PelotonCommunity #GreenvilleSC #StorytellingPodcast #RelationshipsMatter #BehindTheScenes #ShowUpForEachOther

    49 min
  4. The Enneagram in Real Life: Marriage, Parenting, and Work

    NOV 4

    The Enneagram in Real Life: Marriage, Parenting, and Work

    Self-awareness only matters if it changes how we show up. That’s what this conversation is about. In part two of our Enneagram series, we sit back down with Michael Burditt Norton, a certified Enneagram teacher and conscious leadership coach, to explore what happens when understanding becomes practice. How does awareness change the way we love, lead, parent, and connect?  How do we use the Enneagram as a guide without turning it into a label or a weapon?  And what does it look like to live more awake in our relationships, our work, and ourselves? Michael helps us take the Enneagram off the page and into real life, offering practical wisdom for couples, families, and teams who want to grow with more empathy, honesty, and presence. Takeaways & Talking Points Awareness in Action How understanding your patterns leads to compassion and better communication at home and work. Love and Leadership Why the same tools that deepen marriage can strengthen teams and friendships. Parenting with Perspective Seeing your kids’ worldviews without trying to fix them, and finding grace for your own. Emotional Intelligence at Work How conscious leadership and the Enneagram help build trust, curiosity, and courage in teams. Staying Human Why emotional connection is our greatest strength in an age of artificial intelligence. Things We’re Learning (and Unlearning) Awareness is only useful when it changes behavior.You can’t lead others if you won’t look at yourself.Curiosity is stronger than control.Presence turns conflict into connection.Every relationship gets better with compassion.Stats Worth Knowing Leaders with high emotional intelligence outperform others by up to 30%.Self-aware teams report higher trust and collaboration.Strong relationships are built on understanding differences, not eliminating them.The Enneagram isn’t about who you are, it’s about how you see. When you learn to see yourself clearly, you make space for everyone else to be seen too. Thanks for listening, Justin & Sarah PS: The conversation doesn’t stop here. Visit the Running Ahrens AI Hub to explore our custom AI tools, including EnneaQuest—your guided Enneagram companion. #RunningAhrens #Enneagram #SelfAwareness #Marriage #Parenting #Leadership #PersonalGrowth #ConsciousLeadership #RealConversations #Podcast

    37 min
  5. The Enneagram and Us: Seeing Ourselves Clearly

    OCT 27

    The Enneagram and Us: Seeing Ourselves Clearly

    Some tools help you manage life. Others help you understand it. The Enneagram is one of those tools. This is part one of our two-episode Enneagram series. We sit down with Michael Burditt Norton, certified Enneagram teacher, conscious leadership coach, and facilitator with The Conscious Leadership Group. Michael blends theater training, somatic work, and clear teaching to make a complex system simple and useful. Together we unpack what the Enneagram is, how the nine types work, and why self-awareness changes how we show up in marriage, parenting, friendship, and at work. This isn’t about labels or boxes. It’s about attention, presence, and growth. Takeaways & Talking Points What It Is Nine types. Three centers of intelligence. A map for patterns of attention, not a box for who you are. Why It Matters Self-awareness is the starting point for better conversations, fewer blowups, and healthier teams. Patterns We Live By How our worldview filters what we notice, miss, and repeat under stress. Using It With Care How to avoid typing kids too early. How to use the tool without using it as a weapon. From Insight to Practice Simple ways to notice reactivity in your body, name it, and choose a better next move. Things We’re Learning (and Unlearning) You can’t change what you won’t look at.Labels limit. Attention expands.Curiosity opens doors that criticism shuts.Compassion tends to follow understanding.Presence beats perfection. Stats Worth Knowing 95% of people think they are self-aware, while only 10–15% actually are.Leaders with higher self-awareness often see stronger team trust and better decisions.Couples who can name stress patterns report higher satisfaction.If you have wondered why you react the way you do, or how to grow beyond it, start here. Episode two continues the conversation with real-life application in home and work. Thanks for listening, Justin & Sarah PS: The conversation doesn’t stop here. Visit the Running Ahrens AI Hub to explore our custom AI tools, including EnneaQuest—your guided Enneagram companion. #RunningAhrens #Enneagram #SelfAwareness #MarriageAndParenting #Friendship #Leadership #ConsciousLeadership #PersonalGrowth #RealConversations

    48 min
  6. The Thinker: Jackson on Risk, Reason, and Finding His Own Path

    OCT 13

    The Thinker: Jackson on Risk, Reason, and Finding His Own Path

    In this honest and funny conversation, Justin and Sarah sit down with their second child,  and first-born son, Jackson. A quiet observer, deep thinker, and self-proclaimed nerd, Jackson opens up about what it’s really been like growing up as an Ahrens, navigating sports, college, and now early adulthood. From basement wrestling matches and “Jack accidents” to the discipline of Batavia football and a long recovery from injury, Jackson reflects on how risk-taking, leadership, and comfort have evolved for him. He talks about his shift from wild kid to steady presence, why he doesn’t buy into personality labels, and what studying psychology taught him about people (and himself). It’s a story about growing up in a loud family while finding your own volume. About learning when to push, when to pause, and how to build a life that’s yours, even when your last name is Ahrens. Takeaways & Talking Points: The shift from fearless kid to thoughtful adultWhat football taught him about leadership, pain, and teamworkThe psychology major’s take on why humans changeWhy being “The Ahrens Brothers” came with pride and pressureHow growing up in a creative, entrepreneurial house shaped him, and what he’d do differentlyThings We’re Learning (and Unlearning): Kids evolve faster when they feel trusted, not managedLogical thinkers still crave connectionLabels can help some people grow, and frustrate othersHome doesn’t stop being home, even when you leave itStats Worth Knowing: 73% of Gen Z say mental health is their top personal focus (APA)Only 1 in 4 college grads say they felt prepared for real-world jobs (Gallup)Nearly half of Gen Z describe themselves as “introverted, but expressive” (Morning Consult)This episode is for parents learning to see their grown kids in a new light, and for young adults trying to figure out who they are beyond family expectations. #RunningAhrens #FamilyConversations #ParentingAdultKids #GenZVoices #RealTalk #GrowingUpAhrens #FullHeartLiving #FamilyStories #MarriageAndParenting #ParentingPodcast #LifeAfterCollege #ModernParenting #LeadershipAtHome #BusinessAndParenting#PurposeDrivenLife

    55 min
  7. Uncle Deon: The Power of Showing Up

    OCT 5

    Uncle Deon: The Power of Showing Up

    Some friendships fade when life gets busy. This one hasn’t. For more than twenty years, Justin and Sarah Ahrens have called Deon not just a friend, but family, “Uncle Deon” to their kids and a steady presence through every season. In this episode, Justin sits down with Deon to talk about what it means to build a life that doesn’t follow the script,  and still leads to purpose, connection, and impact. They go back to where it started, Illinois Wesleyan University, and talk about how race, friendship, and shared experience shaped their lives in ways neither expected. Deon opens up about growing up Black in Joliet, the realities of bias he faced on and off the field, and how those experiences built empathy and strength. Justin reflects on learning to see his own privilege and the responsibility that comes with it, lessons that have influenced how he and Sarah raise their kids and build friendships across race, culture, and difference. It’s a conversation about presence, perspective, and the quiet ways people make each other better. Things We’re Learning (and Unlearning) Family isn’t only who you’re born to, it’s who shows up.Real friendship means listening to experiences that aren’t your own.Mentorship is a form of parenting that never stops giving.Community grows when we cross lines of race, story, and background.Legacy isn’t measured by success, but by who you invest in.Gratitude and empathy build bridges that last a lifetime.Stats Worth Knowing 1 in 4 U.S. adults say they rely more on chosen family than biological relatives.Adults with at least one non-family mentor report 3× higher life satisfaction.Over 70% of adults say having “someone who truly listens” impacts their mental health more than professional advice.Nearly 60% of Americans say they have at least one close friend of another race — but only 35% say they talk openly about race or lived experience.People who maintain long-term cross-cultural friendships are more than 2× as likely to describe their communities as “hopeful.”This episode is for anyone who’s ever had someone outside their family change their life, or been that person for someone else. It’s also a reminder that when we make room for stories different from our own, our world,  and our families,  get bigger. #RunningAhrens #FamilyPodcast #ChosenFamily #FriendshipThatLasts #FaithAndPurpose #MentorshipMatters #RaceAndFriendship #CommunityAndConnection #MarriageAndParenting #RealConversations

    29 min
  8. Road Trip Q&A: Talking Life on the Way Home

    SEP 21

    Road Trip Q&A: Talking Life on the Way Home

    Do you talk in the car? We do. Road trips have always been where some of our best conversations happen long stretches of road, a little music, a lot of questions, and even some solid sing alongs. That space has been a thread through our marriage, parenting, and business. So this time, on the drive home from dropping Ava at school in Iowa, we decided to bring you along for the ride. We’re 14 episodes in now, with several more already recorded and being edited. So far, we’ve shared what it means to parent adult kids, to stay married while running a business, to build friendships that last decades, and to walk through hard seasons with honesty. We’ve talked about faith, loss, joy, resilience, and the mess in between. And we’ve sat down with couples and friends who remind us that relationships don’t just happen, they’re made. Looking ahead, we have more conversations coming with our kids, with other couples, and with people who have shaped how we see marriage, parenting, and purpose. But in this moment, on this road trip, we wanted to pause and do a kind of litmus test. What’s connecting with you? What do you want more of? Where should we go deeper? This Road Trip Q&A isn’t just a one-off experiment. It’s something we may bring back now and then, because sometimes the best conversations happen when you least plan them. In this first one, we cover a lot of ground: At The Table – why gathering matters. People who prioritize meaningful connection outside of work report 2x higher life satisfaction.Menopause & health – yet only 1 in 5 doctors has formal training on menopause, even though nearly every woman will experience it.AI & bias – 78% of AI research authors are men. The lack of representation shows up in the answers we get, and in who feels included.Parenting adult kids – 74% of adult children say they want emotional support more than advice, while 43% of parents say letting go is the hardest part.Travel & independence – studies show kids who travel before age 18 are more adaptable and confident problem-solvers as adults.Body image & purity culture – nearly 70% of women say purity culture shaped their views of self-worth and sexuality, while men and women both report double standards that linger.What we’re watching – sometimes the best reflection comes from what entertains us (or what we choose to stop watching).Q&A Feedback Here’s where you come in. As we keep shaping Running Ahrens, we’d love your voice to be part of it. From past episodes: Which story or topic has stayed with you the longest?From this episode: Would you want a full conversation on menopause, body image, purity culture, or AI bias?Looking ahead: What’s one topic about marriage, parenting adult kids, or running a business you’d like us to unpack?Bonus: What’s your favorite road trip or travel game, and do you still play it?And anything else, what do you want more (or less) of as we keep building this show together?Send us a note, DM us on Instagram, or reply in our newsletter. We read every message, and your voice helps shape where we go from here. Glad you are here, Justin and Sarah #RunningAhrens #MarriageAndParenting #FamilyPodcast #ParentingAdultChildren #BusinessAndMarriage #LifeConversations #RealTalkPodcast #RoadTripConversations #MarriagePodcast #ParentingPodcast #TravelAndFamily

    26 min
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4.7
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

One Couple. Two People. Four Kids. And decades of figuring it out—together. Running Ahrens is a podcast about the long game of marriage, parenting, business, and personal growth. Hosted by Justin and Sarah Ahrens, a couple married for over 30 years with four kids and decades of entrepreneurial experience, this show is about the lessons learned through successes, failures, and everything in between. With a focus on mindset, honesty, accountability, and kindness, Justin and Sarah dive into real conversations about building a family, running businesses, navigating faith, friendships, and growing through the hard stuff. Still learning, still laughing, still running together, they share what they’ve figured out (and what they haven’t) with humor, humility, and heart. Along the way, they’re joined by friends, guests, and even their kids for open, often funny, and always heartfelt conversations about what really matters: relationships, resilience, and the lessons that come with time. You’ll also hear about the books, tools, and resources that have helped them along the way, so you can take what resonates and apply it to your own life. If you’re looking for honest stories, practical wisdom, and a reminder that no one’s running this race perfectly, you’re in the right place.

Information

  • Creator
    Justin and Sarah Ahrens
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Running Ahrens and A6 Ventures
  • Show Website
    Running Ahrens

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