Why do a lot of runners wear racing flats during workouts? Why some runners follow a 7 day training cycle vs a 10 day training cycle? Why do runners incorporate squats and deadlifts in their training - What are its benefits? Find out in today's podcast from Coaches Ruairi and Dylan.
Imagine running 250km (about 155) miles in 6 stages across the most inhospitable deserts in the world while carrying everything you need for the entire race on your back. Whether you think that sounds incredible or miserable, you’ll probably agree the idea is fascinating.
Samantha Fanshawe, president of the 4 Deserts Race Series at RacingThePlanet, manages ultra stage races all over the world in some of the harshest conditions from the Atacama Desert in Chile to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to the Namib Desert in Africa to the coldest desert in the world, Antarctica.
Sam tells Coach Claire what it’s like to race these events, what you need to do to train and prepare, and who should (and should not) sign up for an event like this. It’s a fascinating dive into the world of some of the toughest races on the planet, and you can enjoy it from the comfort of home!
Sam has always been a citizen of the planet. She is a Brit, born in Peru and schooled in Pakistan for a few of her early years. She graduated from the University of Leeds with a joint honors degree in Maths and Biology, then went off to explore parts of the world such as Sydney, Australia, before returning to the United Kingdom to work in business development of corporate clients in the recruitment industry. After a couple of years, her company transferred her to Singapore, followed by stints in Penang, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Sam has mastered the art of dragon boat racing, competing in the Dragon Boat World Championships. She also plays squash, hikes, rides horses, and mountain bikes. She fell in love with running while living in Asia, starting with half marathons before running the Singapore Marathon, sprint triathlons, adventure races, and ultimately ultramarathons including the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker, the Gobi March, Vibram HK 100, and Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset.
In 2005, Sam volunteered at the hottest race on record, the Gobi March, a seven-day, 250km footrace. She fell in love with the spirit of RacingThePlanet and became a staff member, and has since worked over 20 RacingThePlanet/4 Desert events.
5:18 You have a very interesting background, living all over the world. How did you first get involved with RacingThePlanet?
6:23 Can you describe what these events are like? I’d love to hear what they are and what kind of people sign up for them?
9:12 How many people actually really run every single day and how many people do more of a walk/hiking?
9:46 The participants pretty much have to bring everything as far as food. They don’t have to bring a tent I understand, but pretty much everything else?
11:02 How has the pandemic affected RacingThePlanet?
12:47 Let’s talk about training for the race. Let’s fast forward to 2021 when everything is perfectly healthy. How would you recommend training for something like this? Is it similar to marathon training?
14:05 Training for the race with a backpack is super important, right?
15:01 I imagine you have a lot of repeat athletes who do this over and over again, but I would love to hear about the first timers. What challenges do the first-time racers tend to face?
16:44 What kind of food do people eat on something like this? I imagine it would be different if you’re running or walking because you can chew a lot better when you are walking, but what kind of foods are most people bringing in their backpack every day?
19:23 You’ve got all of your food for all six stages in your backpack the whole time. Is that what you’re saying? No one takes it for you to the next stage.
19:43 I imagine not everybody makes it to the finish line. What are the reasons that you see that most people have to stop the race?
21:52 What kind of people should NOT sign up for a race like this?
23:03 I bet you have a whole collection of amazing stories from races as epic as this. Can you share a few of the more memorable stories of things that have happened in some of these races?
25:19 I noticed that registration for Antarctica is by invite only. Can you explain?
26:57 I imagine you’re not dealing with heat in Antarctica, but there’s probably some other challenges like dealing with the cold and maybe frostbite. What are the other challenges in Antarctica?
27:56 How many times have you gone to Antarctica now?
28:29 What is the future for RacingThePlanet? Is there anything new in the works?
Questions I ask everyone:
30:09 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?
31:11 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?
32:35 Where can listeners connect with you?
“The whole ethos of the race was not only to take people to amazing places and to achieve things that maybe they didn’t think was possible like covering 250km on foot across a desert, but also to make people realize that you can survive for seven days in a desert without the internet, without your phone, without a comfortable bed, without a shower, and just with everything you can carry on your back.”
“Our goal is to encourage people to finish, but within the cutoff times and safely and when they’re in the right position to do so.”
“When you think you’re done, you think what you’re going through is nothing compared to what some other people are going through, not just in the race, but in life as well.”
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In today's episode, Coach Hayley talks about electrolyte drinks and guidelines for electrolyte replacement. Listen now to find out when do you need electrolytes and when plain water is fine.
Should you accumulate a lot of mileage at an easy pace in training? Or should you try to reach race-specific speeds frequently? Is it necessary to do all of your runs faster if you want to get faster? In today's episode, Coach Claire look at one study that addresses this topic of training intensity problem.
In today's episode, Coach Michael talks about his experience as a high school runner and college athlete, and why is it worth to consider college sports from an athlete's perspective.
Coach Dylan and Coach Ruairi welcome you back to another episode on running headlines where we cover the latest events and actions that happened in the running world during the past week or so. Listen now!
Running, and more specifically, running with her dog helped change Nina’s life and her mental health, and she talks with Coach Claire about how running can be an effective tool for managing mental health issues, the challenges and limitations of running, the importance of community, even a virtual one, for keeping your spirits and your training up, and for all you new pandemic puppy owners, she shares tips on how to run with your new friend.
Her poem "Memorial" won the Dublin Arts Council's Poet's Choice Award and an early draft of her memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink, (previously titled Twenty-Six Point Freaking Two) was short-listed for the William Faulkner - William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition Award. The book was awarded a Maxwell Medal in the Human Animal Bond category of the Dog Writers Association of America writing competition. It is a #1 Amazon Bestseller in the "mood disorders," "bipolar disorder," and "running & jogging" categories. The book was selected by Ohioana Library to be included in the 2020 Ohioana Festival.
Nita also coauthored the popular writing journal, You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving, with Brenda Knight (Women of the Beat Generation.)
Nita earned a journalism degree from The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, a law degree from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She serves on the board of the Women's National Book Association of San Francisco. For ten years, she studied with and assisted best-selling author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) at week-long writing workshops teaching the "rules of writing practice" and leading participants in sitting and walking meditation. Goldberg authorized Nita to teach "writing practice" and Nita has taught for nearly twenty years.
When she's not writing and teaching, Nita runs. She has completed three full marathons, 27 half marathons (in eighteen states), and more than 80 shorter races. Nita lives in central Ohio with her husband and biggest fan, Ed, and her yellow Labrador running partner, Scarlet (aka #ninetyninepercentgooddog).
2:41 Let's start with your running journey. How did you begin to run regularly?
5:03 Your running journey is also connected to your mental health journey. Can you talk a little bit about that?
7:46 What was it like finding a running community?
10:14 How specifically has running helped your mental health?
11:49 I think it’s pretty well known that everybody who gets a running habit going, you feel good, at least when you stop running. Sometimes when you actually are running it doesn’t always feel good, but most of the time we feel good after we run, but there is a limit to that. You can only run so many miles in a day. You can’t always rely on exercise for all of your mental health issues. Where do you kind of draw the line and say, “Yes, running is a tool but I need some extra help?”
14:16 Sometimes you need actual therapy beyond running; don’t you agree?
15:41 I would also like to talk about you running with your dog, Scarlet. A lot of runners have dogs, and dogs help us get moving and get active, but you decided to write a book about that. Can you talk a little bit about that?
19:03 What other tips do you have for someone who just got their pandemic puppy and want to start running with the dog?
20:59 I know a lot of people who run with dogs who will maybe do their warmup with the dog and then circle back home and drop the dog off and then do a longer run. Is that something that you’ve had to do? In marathon training, you can’t take your dog for 20 miles or something like that.
23:21 I would imagine if you’re doing any kind of speed work or some kind of session where you need to do that, that must be a challenge with a dog?
24:21 Many runners have, like you, found running later in life. How has your running changed as you age?
16:13 With your running and the pandemic, all the races have been canceled for the most part, a lot of us are left without goals. Are you still running and training without that goal and deadline?
28:44 I’ve started to see these socially distant races come up, and it just makes me wonder, is everybody going to wear masks when they run, which is obviously hard, and how do you stay six feet apart, what if you want to pass somebody? Have you looked into any of that, like how they’re going to do that?
31:49 I would love to hear more about when you are depressed or going through a mental health episode, you know that running makes you feel better, you know that calling a friend makes you feel better, you know that intellectually, but because you’re depressed and not feeling good, you don’t feel like doing those things. So how do you start moving when you don’t want to move? How do you reach out when you don’t want to reach out? Any tips?
35:37 Let’s say I’m a brand new runner and I want to find community. Where would you suggest me going?
Questions I ask everyone:
38:09 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?
38:55 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?
39:42 Where can listeners connect with you?
“I had to find something that suited me in a way, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally, and running did that.”
“I really think that it’s kind of ironic that I ended up writing a book about running. I couldn’t have done that without the focus and endurance that I had from marathon training.”
“Having gone through an injury, coming out the other side, realizing that it’s going to be okay, that’s been one of the great things of having done anything, but especially running for a long time, seeing those patterns.”
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We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.
The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.
The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!
In today's podcast, Coach Hayley talks about some training tweaks that master runners can make to optimize their running performance and their health going forward. Tune in now!
What is running biomechanics? How improving your mechanics can help improve your running performance and reduce susceptibility to injury? Find out in today's podcast from Coach Claire.
What the running community thinks about participating in 2020 races such as London Marathon? In today's episode, Coach Michael talks about the email responses he received on this topic and the reasons runners gave on why they want to run or not to run a race.
In this episode, Coach Dylan interviews Coach Ruairi about his latest race experience and then both talk about their race plans during this pandemic. Listen now!
3:03 On your bio on the Without Limits website, it says you are a life-long runner and fitness guru. Can you tell us a little bit about how you fell in love with running and eventually became a coach?
4:27 How was your progression from going from running 2 miles to running a 50K or 100 miles? Did you really just get an invitation for a 50K and you were like, “Sure, why not?”
5:18 How did you start getting into race directing?
6:31 Can you talk about some of the events that you organize?
7:35 With the pandemic, most running races around the world have been canceled and runners and race directors have had to make massive changes, and I wanted to talk to you about that. You decided to go ahead with your "Carolina Reaper," which this year was called the "Carolina Rona Reaper." Can you talk about the decision to go ahead and what safety measures you had in place?
9:31 I would love to get into the details of the safety measures you have in place. So for the Rona Reaper race, how did you actually do it? What do the safety measures actually look like?
11:06 Were runners wearing masks during the race?
12: 01 What’s your advice if somebody did want to sign up for one of these races? How do you pass somebody at a socially safe distance?
13:01 It's my understanding that the governor of SC issued an executive order prohibiting large groups, but it's up to local law enforcement officials to enforce that if they choose. How did you address this issue? Did you work with local law enforcement while organizing your event?
14:13 How do you address those who might be critical to hosting events like this during the pandemic, especially as cases are rising?
15:23 What about the next races coming up? Any particular challenges with those?
16:24 I’ve seen a lot of thumbs up for what you’re doing. What are some of the people who have attended your events or wanted to attend your events, what kind of reaction are you getting from them?
17:12 I would imagine if you were positive for COVID, it would be pretty hard to run a 30-mile or a 30-hour race?
17:57 What do you think is the future for racing in general? All of the majors have been canceled, the major marathons, with the exception of London. Probably by the time this airs, London will finally kick the bucket. What do you see as the future of racing?
21:39 Are there any silver linings or things that you have learned from this whole experience that you think will help you put on better races in the future?
26:03 I’d love to talk a little bit more about virtual races. Obviously, for a lot of people, that is the only option, and it’s harder obviously mentally to train for a virtual race. It’s not the same dopamine rush as it is having a real in-person event. How would you as a coach coach somebody who is training for a virtual event, or somebody who is just not on board with virtual but needs that carrot?
29:16 How do you feel about virtual racing? With technology there are a few things happening that some companies are doing to make it a little more interactive and make it feel like you’re racing somebody else. Have you seen any of these new technologies?
32:13 What is up next for you and Upstate Ultras?
Questions I ask everyone:
33:22 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?
34:06 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?
35:34 Where can listeners connect with you?
“Once I knew I wanted to start coaching and I wanted to meet some runners, I’m like, ‘Well, you know what? The best way to meet runners is to put on a race.’”
“Everything in life has a risk. We did everything that we possibly could to minimize the amount of risk that I thought was basically attainable for us as a race organization, but you’re going to have risk whether it’s endurance running or walking down the street or driving your car to Target. There’s always a risk.”
“We just focused on what can we do for the community right now, and putting on a virtual race is a great way.”
Take a Listen on Your Next Run
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We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.
The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.
The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!
In today's podcast, Coach Hayley gives her top five tips to prevent injury that she mastered over 20 years of running. Tune in now to find out what mistakes she made along the way so that you don't make the same ones again!
What is balance training? What is the science behind it? Is it worth doing balance and proprioception exercises as a runner? How improving your balance can help prevent injuries? Find out in today's podcast from Coach Claire.
In this week's episode, Coach Michael talks about the new venture of our RC founder Jeff and how this company helps runners during this pandemic time. He then shares inspiring stories of one of our RC athlete - Sabina Havkins.
Coach Dylan and Coach Ruairi do a recap on some running related news that has happened during the last one to two weeks in today's podcast. Listen now!
2:35 You are a 79 year old plant-based ultra runner and I suspect that you are healthier and fitter than most people listening to this show! Can you talk about how you first started running and how you came to adopt a plant-based lifestyle?
12:12 How do you take your ego away from the finish line in a race?
12:27 You've talked about your life being structured around "Nature's Wisdom." What does that mean for you?
23:24 You’ve said that you’re just a normal person that does a whole lot of good things. Well, I don’t know. Four hours of sleep doesn’t sound too normal. You said that you don’t need any recovery and you can still run 100 miles a week at almost 80 years old?
25:00 Have you ever been injured?
32:37 What foods do you eat every day?
Questions I ask everyone:
40:39 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?
42:06 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?
46:06 Where can listeners connect with you?
“I don’t know how many marathons, I’ve lost track, but I do know at some point I was at 85 marathons, and I have run marathons on each of the seven continents.”
“My running is passion. My running is perseverance. Those two things are great for all of life, not just running.”
“I bring all of my food to all of my races. I also have a log with the food items across the top, and across the left side going down, I keep track of when I’m eating what. Once I’m into a six-day race and it’s day three, I’m not going to remember when I drank the last water.”
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We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.
The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.
The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!
In today's episode, Coach Hayley shares tips on how to train for the half marathon and how you can improve your running performance for that distance. Tune in now!
What causes runner's knee? How common it is among athletes? What are its symptoms? How to treat and prevent runner's knee? Coach Claire explains in this episode.
In this week, Coach Michael talks about one of our athletes - Sabina Havkins. Find out why she is such an inspiration among our running community and the unique advice she gives to fellow runners.
Having trouble finding motivation to workout? Worried about your fitness? Not able to set running goals ? What can you do now to remain focused on your plans? In this episode, Coach Dylan talks about how to stay motivated and get going during this challenging times. Listen now!
Some big changes have been happening this year at RunnersConnect. You may or may not have noticed that company founder Jeff Gaudette has been a little quieter than usual while working on a mystery project and Michael Hammond has stepped up as CEO. Coach Claire interviews them both to find out what’s been going on and what RunnersConnect members can expect to see going forward.
First, Head Coach Michael Hammond tells us who he is, what big changes were happening in RunnersConnect heading into 2020, and how the company has pivoted in response to the pandemic. How does an online coaching platform focused on training runners for races stay relevant during these unprecedented times when essentially every race for the year has been canceled?
Next, Jeff Gaudette discusses his exciting new company he’s been working on behind the scenes to help you stay motivated and at your running best during this new norm of virtual racing. He’s come up with a great new way to make individual racing fair, fun, and more engaging. There’s definitely a lot to look forward to!
Jeff Gaudette is an elite marathoner who founded RunnersConnect in 2011 as a better way to coach his personal clients. He was a two-time Division-I All-American in Cross Country at Brown University and competed professionally for four years afterwards. He has competed internationally in numerous marathons with a personal best of 2:22:02, and has recorded Olympic Trials qualifying times in the marathon and 10,000 meters.
Jeff’s coaching career started in 2004 when he was a member of the Hansons-Brooks professional team. He’s had success at all levels of coaching; high school, college, local elite, and everyday runners. Under his tutelage, hundreds of runners have finished their first marathon and he’s helped countless runners qualify for Boston. Jeff has been featured in Running Times magazine, Endurance Magazine, as well as numerous local magazine fitness columns.
Michael Hammond is the Head Coach and newly appointed CEO of RunnersConnect. He competed in cross country and track while at Virginia Tech, earning two ACC titles and four NCAA All-American honors. His individual efforts led his team to four ACC team championships: one in cross country, two in indoor track, and one in outdoor track.
Post-collegiately, Michael has competed formerly as a member of Furman Elite in Greenville, South Carolina and currently as an independent athlete. He now trains at his alma mater while also serving as a volunteer assistant with the team.
Michael’s passion for helping athletes succeed began while counseling high school runners at cross country camps. Since then he has coached several local athletes of various ability levels while continuing to gain experience at the college level. You can catch him every Friday on the Team Update segments of the Run To The Top podcast.
2:35 2020 has been a historic year, to say the least, with everything that is going on in the world. Big changes were going on in Runners Connect before the pandemic hit and we expected an exciting year, but obviously nothing like this could have been predicted. If we can rewind to December 2019, what was your vision for Runners Connect in 2020?
6:24 Most of our listeners do know what RunnersConnect offers, but for those who don’t, could you just give just a quick elevator speech of exactly if you go to RunnersConnect, what are you looking at? What would you get if you go to RunnersConnect?
8:31 Let’s get into all the races being canceled. Traditionally, RunnersConnect has always been race-oriented, meaning that most of our athletes sign up with a particular race in mind, so obviously RunnersConnect had to make some changes. What were the changes that RunnersConnect made?
13:45 Speaking of getting fitter and stronger, you have been doing something a little special with strength training. Do you want to talk about what you’ve been doing pretty much since the pandemic started to help people get strong?
22:00 You mentioned that you and Jeff came up with this idea for live sessions, so we’re going to hear from him at the end of our conversation, but I would love to talk about Jeff while he’s not here for a second. We at RunnersConnect never really made a big splash or a big announcement about where is Jeff and who is this guy Michael? So I’m going to give the ball to you and talk about that. What on earth has happened to Jeff Gaudette and who are you, Michael?
28:57 We’ve got some great things coming up for our RC members, and I will ask Jeff when he comes on about some of those exciting new features, but before we wrap up with you, Michael, what do you see happening in the future of RunnersConnect? I know it’s hard to see so far with nobody knows when this pandemic’s going to end, but anything you’d like to share about how we’re moving forward?
40:18 Jeff, can you talk about your new company Fitually, how it started and why it’s so special?
Questions I ask everyone:
33:39 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?
35:16 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?
37:49 Where can listeners connect with you?
“We want to provide every single resource we possibly can to give you what you need to run your best.”
“So much of RunnersConnect in the past has always been like a utility. You want to run ‘X’ time or finish ‘X’ race or run ‘X’ distance, you come to us; we help you achieve that. Bam. That’s it. Whereas there’s so much more to it than that. People desire so much more to it than that. So I think that’s been a huge learning point to me in doing live sessions.”
“We’re definitely going to do everything we can to improve the running lives and just the lives in general from a holistic standpoint of everyone who’s one of our athletes or one of our listeners.”
“I started to think, is there a way that we can make virtual events better? Is there a way we can bring some of the elements that make in-person races exciting to a virtual event?”
Take a Listen on Your Next Run
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We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.
The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.
The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!
Why we need strong calves? How strong your calves are? How to strengthen your calf muscles? Coach Hayley explains in this week's ExtraKick episode. Listen now!
What are the common misconceptions about base training and how they came about? How to take a more modern approach when you structure your base training phase? Find out in today's episode from Coach Hayley.
In this week's Team RC Update, Coach Michael talks about the current situation related to the major marathon events and what we can do to move forward with our race plans. Listen now!