The Strength Running Podcast

I met Ian in August, 2016 one day before the Leadville Trail 100. We got coffee with a friend of ours and then watched a Beer Mile (it took place on the road behind us in the above picture). Ian officiated – starting the race and cheering on runners as they raced and chugged beers. Two days later, Ian crossed the finish line of the Leadville Trail 100 in first place – his third victory. He's no slouch in the world of ultra running. In fact, he's one of the best ultramarathoners in the world: 3 x winner (and course record holder) of the Rocky Raccoon 100 3 x winner of the Leadville Trail 100 Completed about 200 ultras and 100+ marathons (!) Record Holder – Grand Slam of Ultrarunning 7 x silver medalist at the Comrades Marathon And over the last year, I've been fortunate to work with Ian on a few different projects: He contributed a training case study that highlighted his toughest workouts before Leadville. And he shared his best injury advice in the Little Black Book of Prevention & Recovery. Now he's back to talk about running an 11+ minute personal best at the Mt. Charleston Marathon. But it's not all training geekery. Did you know Ian has run dozens of marathons in costumes? In fact, he's run a 2:40 marathon as Spider Man! This is going to be fun 🙂

23 Maj 201749min

I invited Tom Foreman on the podcast to philosophize about running, goals, and racing throughout life. You might recognize Tom as an emmy-award winning journalist at CNN. He's reported on wars, natural disasters, and political skirmishes across 20 countries. He's also quite the runner. Author of My Year of Running Dangerously, Tom has a handful of marathons and ultramarathons under his belt and is chasing a BQ soon at the Cincinnati Marathon. More than anything, Tom has a unique perspective on what running means at various stages of life. Speaking with Tom is always a treat so I hope you enjoy this conversation. I think it will bring you new appreciation for running!

15 Maj 201755min

Is it surprising that I don't think strength workouts are cross-training? Rather, strength work is just part of your training as a runner. Cross-training is supplemental exercise that can be helpful to your running, like cycling. But just like form drills, strides, or dynamic flexibility exercises, I consider strength training to be an integral part of how to train distance runners. If you're not strength training, then you're not training. And to help you get things right in the weight room, I invited top strength and conditioning coach Tony Gentilcore on the Strength Running podcast to talk about: What are the benefits of strength training? Do runners need to lift differently than other athletes? How do you strength train without a gym membership? What are the most common mistakes in the weight room? Do women need to lift differently or tweak their programs? What are the "little things" for weight lifters? Cofounder of Cressey Sports Performance, Tony now owns his own gym outside of Boston and trains top-level athletes and everyone else. A frequent contributor to major fitness and media outlets like T-Nation, Women's Health, and The Boston Herald, Tony also runs a popular strength training blog. Tony made my job easy as podcast host because he has a great sense of humor and can make exercise science seem easy. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I did speaking with Tony. Even if you're comfortable in the gym, you won't want to miss this episode.

9 Maj 20171h 4min

You might recall George from episode 6 of the Strength Running podcast. We talked about a lot: What's the ideal length long run during marathon training? And half marathon training? Should you keep running marathons if your ultimate goal is to run a faster marathon? If your long runs are already 15+, what types of LR's should you focus on during a marathon season? How long should you run at tempo pace during training? What is the optimal marathon pacing strategy? George wanted help planning for a PR attempt at the half marathon. Episode 6 was a "behind the scenes" coaching call where we strategized on how he could make it happen. Now, he's back on the podcast to see if my ideas actually worked! For a long time, George's episode was the most downloaded show because folks loved listening "over my shoulder" as we strategized. And I think you'll enjoy this show just as much.

1 Maj 201747min

It's not every day that you meet somebody with so many varied interests. And when you do, pay attention. Their insights and mental models are light years ahead of the average person. Simon Donato is one of these "Renaissance Men." His many accomplishments include: A PhD in Geology from McMaster University and a Masters in Paleontology from Western University Credit as the creator and host of the television show Boundless chronicling his pursuit of adventure and ultra-endurance Creator of both Stoked Oats and Adventure Science Finishes at the world's toughest races, including 220km of stand-up paddle boarding to running 250km across the Sahara Desert He's on the podcast today to help us find more adventure in our life. I think runners are uniquely suited to be adventurers because of our endurance, appetite for suffering, and thirst for new experiences. This episode is an excerpt from an interview included in Team Strength Running - affordable coaching with teammates, proven training, me as your coach, and team perks like discounts and other bonuses. If you'd like to learn more about the team, sign up at http://strengthrunning.com/tsr/ (we're opening soon!).

19 Apr 201740min

Boston is unlike any marathon in the world. It first started in 1897 with a whopping 18 runners. In 2011, nearly 27,000 runners ran the race on "Marathon Monday," also known as Patriot's Day in Massachusetts. In one of the most famous stories, Kathrine Switzer finished Boston as the first woman with a race number in 1967. She registered as "K.V. Switzer" to avoid detection since women were not allowed to run at that time. When officials found out she was running, they tried to physically eject her from the race. Luckily another runner body checked the official to the ground and she was able to keep running. Her historical finish proved that women could run marathons and sparked a women's running revolution. Race officials eventually recognized the female race winners from before they were officially allowed to compete in 1972. After Bill "Boston Billy" Rodgers, a Boston legend, won the race four times in trademark style in the 1980's, the race has become one of the most competitive marathons in the world. With a prize purse approaching $1 million in 2011, the best marathoners in the world show up to give it their all. Showcasing the extreme competitiveness of Boston, in 2011 Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai overtook early leader Ryan Hall and crushed the last 10k to finish in a mind-blowingly fast time of 2:03:02. Yes, you read that right: the world's fastest time is an average 4:41 mile pace over 26.2 miles. In this podcast, Jason shares some words of wisdom before you line up in Hopkinton to race the world's most prestigious marathon.

12 Apr 20174min

Nate is the cofounder of The Run Experience. And he doesn't just have a USA Track & Field coaching certification. He's also completed continuing education courses in: USA Triathlon CrossFit CrossFit Mobility CrossFit Endurance Carol Paoli's Free Style connections Like me, he recognizes that injury prevention and athleticism are what make faster, healthier runners. And in this conversation, we dive deeper into mobility work for runners and how to implement a daily mobilization routine into your schedule. Plus, the differences between mobility and flexibility. You'll notice that Nate has quite the background in CrossFit. While I've gone off on CrossFit in the past, we acknowledge the helpful parts of this sport that runners can use to design smarter training. If you're injury-prone or looking for ways to level up your training, you don't want to miss this episode.

3 Apr 201756min

Diet is more important than most runners realize - and the effects of poor eating habits can derail anybody's running: If you don't eat enough, you're more prone to running injuries and won't run as quickly during races or workouts If you eat too much, you'll gain weight and running economy will suffer A sub-par diet results in poor recovery (and could result in weight gain, too) A sub-par diet also causes low energy levels outside of running But if you dial in your nutrition then performances will improve, recovery will be faster, and you'll just feel better. And I think every runner would benefit from that. To help optimize our dietary choices and approach to fueling, I invited author Matt Fitzgerald onto the podcast today. Over the last several years, Matt has been investigating the eating habits of professional endurance athletes around the world. And his findings are powerful. World-Class runners in the United Sates, top swimmers in Australia, and champion triathletes in South Africa all have one thing in common: their diet. There's overwhelming evidence from around the world - and indeed, from every type of endurance sport - that the best runners in the world all eat the same way. Matt calls this approach The Endurance Diet and outlines five foundational habits that shape how elite runners fuel their training. And on the podcast, we outline each of these habits and how you can apply them to your life. Enjoy!

22 Mars 20171h 3min