Running Strong with CBD: Leroy Calk’s Path to the Missoula Marathon
Meet Leroy Calk, a dedicated runner, business owner, and proud member of the Seguin, TX community. As one of Hemp for Health’s sponsored athletes, Leroy has been training hard for the Missoula Marathon on Sunday, June 29, 2025, a key step toward his goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Over the past few weeks, he’s been incorporating Dr. Vaz’s topical CBD into his recovery routine, supporting his body through the intensity of marathon prep.
In the interview that follows, Leroy shares insights into his journey as an athlete, his aspirations for the future, and how CBD plays a role in his performance and recovery. We hope you enjoy reading it!
Let’s start with your story. When did you first get into fitness and running, and what inspired you to make it a part of your daily life?
Fitness for me started at an early age with sports through grade school. As an adult, fitness came and went in phases but I always seemed called back to some form of exercise routine if I stayed stagnant for too long. My true running journey began when my life-long best friend embarked on a serious self-improvement mission and asked me to join him for his first 5K race to celebrate our 30th birthday (we were born a few days apart). On July 15th 2022 we ran our first 5K and loved it. This then led to our first 10K, half-marathon and full marathon over the course of the next year and a half. Now, nearly 3 years since my first 5K race, I’m set to run my 3rd marathon.
You’ve got a big race coming up! Tell us about the marathon you’re preparing for. Where is it happening, what’s the course like, and what are you most focused on going into race day?
I am currently days away from running the Missoula Marathon in Missoula, Montana. The course is highlighted as having flat roads, beautiful scenery and much cooler weather than most places in the US in late June. After a brutal 12 weeks of hard training in the Texas heat, I’m really focused on making a full recovery during this taper and getting my mind confident and prepared to execute on the race I need to run in order to hit my time goal.
We heard this isn’t just any marathon… You’re aiming for a Boston Marathon qualifying time, that’s a big goal! What does that goal mean to you, and how has it shaped your training so far?
Honestly, sometimes I still can’t fathom that I’m knocking on the door of qualifying for Boston. In my early days of running, this was a feat that seemed incomprehensible but something I seriously aspired towards. Boston has a special place with my family after living there for 2 months when our first-born had a major medical procedure there as an infant. Qualifying for Boston would be a full circle moment for me and adds a lot of motivation to my training.
What’s the long view? When you think ahead to the second half of 2025, 2026, and beyond, what’s your dream for running, fitness, or your life as an athlete?
Seeing how far I’ve progressed over the years is part of the reason I have so much passion for this sport. Not only have I loved discovering the massive mental benefits it provides, but I’ve also loved the pursuit of my own limits. I want to keep finding how much faster and further I can push myself to achieve new goals and find new challenges along the way. I already have a last-man-standing race on the calendar after Missoula, the inaugural San Antonio Marathon in December, and might even add a triathlon or Hyrox event in the future. I’ll always be open to attempting anything with potential to facilitate my personal growth through fitness.
Let’s talk about recovery and performance… We’re a CBD company so we have to ask! You’ve been using our CBD products during your training… has CBD made a difference for you? If so, in what ways?
These last 12 weeks have equated to toughest training block I’ve gone though, and along with that has come the aches and pains of extreme muscle soreness and the difficulty of recovering faster than the body is being drained. CBD has provided major relief from the discomfort that makes getting proper rest and getting out the door for that next run difficult. The stiffness and pain in the legs that makes sleep hard to find, and even walking uncomfortable, has been alleviated greatly by incorporating CBD into my recovery for the first time.
How do you plan to integrate CBD into your marathon routine? Will you be using it more for recovery, pre-race prep, muscle soreness, or a mix of these?
All of the above! The last 14 days have been a gradual taper in training, which focuses on decreasing running milage and making a full recovery to show up on the start of the race line feeling 100% fresh. This sharper focus on recovery has had me integrating CBD even more heavily as I get better quality sleep and attempt to heal every muscle that has been taxed to the max. This will be equally important after the marathon is over as well. I’ve found that after a 26.2 mile race, one of the first things my body needs is a good long sleep, but it’s actually difficult to get when you feel like you’ve been hit by a freight truck. I’m looking forward to using CBD to finally get that deep relaxing sleep I always crave so badly after finishing a marathon.
Which Hemp for Health product is your go-to? Is there a particular CBD product you’ve found especially helpful, and would you recommend it to your friends?
By far my go-to CBD product has been Hemp for Health’s CBD Performance Relief Cream. The addition of the cooling menthol along with the CBD helps to quickly soothe the muscle aches. Also, as someone who often applied this before laying down for the night, I appreciated that it actually absorbed into the skin instead of leaving a slimy, sticky layer on my legs like I’ve experienced with other products in the past. I would definitely recommend runners and all those with an active lifestyle to use this to combat their soreness.
You and your wife Rachael own a local business that’s close to our hearts. Tell us about your running store in Seguin, Suburban Running & Recreation, how it got started, and what it’s been like building that community…
It has been such a rewarding experience launching the first running store in our own small town. We offer running/walking shoes, hiking shoes, and tons of gear and accessories. While we love helping people find the right products for their recreation, the real dream behind the business was to be able to share the benefits we experience through getting outside and being active, and fostering and building a community centered around activities that promote this. The vision we had for this all came together when the chance to occupy a suite at the new Seguin Schoolyard presented itself last year and we jumped on it. Our store at the Schoolyard sits just off the Walnut Springs trail and offers a fantastic social space with a full indoor and outdoor bar, a live music stage, a playground, and plenty of food options, all from other small businesses. This amazing location provides the perfect gathering spot to host our local run club every week, multiple 5K races during the year and a place our young family and others can hang out comfortably. We are proud to have a growing group that all meet together often to run and walk on the trail while sharing life and encouragement with one another. It’s been one of the most rewarding endeavors ever.
What do you want people to take away from your story? Whether it’s chasing a dream, supporting local, or just getting out the door for a run… what message do you hope to share?
After all I’ve experienced these last few years, I believe everyone should know that they are only limited by the limits they place on themselves. As someone who struggled to jog half a mile in the beginning, a marathon sounded insane, until I stopped listening to the self-doubt and I did it. Running a marathon under 3 hours: absolutely impossible. Until I fully committed to pushing to my limits, and ran a 2:59 marathon last year. Sometimes it’s not the internal voice of doubt either, sometimes it’s from others. Here’s a real quote: “Opening a running store in Seguin? There’s no way that survives, that’s something that only works for other cities”. Well, come to one of our Friday social runs and see the fast-growing community we have connected with. You will hear about the goals they are crushing and inspiring each other towards. Each one of them started with a single step. So, whether you’re running your first marathon, walking around your block for the first time, or launching that dream business, it all starts with a single step. Nothing is impossible if you’re willing to take that first step and relentlessly continue to pursue the next one.
Anything else you’d like to add? Any shoutouts, thoughts, or exciting news you’d like our readers to know about?
I definitely need to thank my family here for all the support they give me in the pursuit of my goals. I couldn’t do it without them. Also, a huge thanks to my training partners and running community that I’ve logged hundred of miles with. The encouragement and inspiration I receive from you is incredible. Hopefully the exciting news soon will be punching my ticket for Boston in 2026, but even if I do there will always be new, higher targets I want to aim for. I would encourage everyone to follow our social media pages for Suburban Running & Recreation to stay up to date with the events myself and our team are training for and to know about all the latest products we continue to add to our store. Also, if you’re in the area please come join us at our Friday evening social run or stop by the store anytime to say hi. While you’re there we would be happy to offer you a free personal fitting to see if we have the perfect shoe for you. Thanks for taking time to hear my story. I hope I get to run into you out there soon!
Follow Leroy’s journey on Instagram: @leroycalk
