Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Tales from the Valley Podcast
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
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| TFTV ft. Sarah Reiter (Boston Marathon Recap) | 24 Apr 2025 | 01:24:47 | |
Sam and Katie catch up with Sarah Reiter, Tracksmith athlete and longtime friend of Katie’s from college. Sarah’s resume is stacked with personal bests ranging from 16:21 for 5,000m to 2:31 for the marathon. Most recently, she placed 24th at the Boston Marathon, clocking a solid 2:33 on a course that chewed up many. Sarah gives us an inside look at her peak training week, logging 85 miles (~137km) with plenty of hills and a mix of threshold, marathon pace, and anaerobic sessions. This was one of eight intense weeks during her marathon build. She walks us through her taper, mental approach, and how she pulled off a near-perfect day in Boston—running a controlled, even effort with just a one-minute positive split in the challenging second half. Then, Sam shares the story behind pulling out of the Christchurch Marathon and skipping the New Zealand trip. Instead, he jumped into the Canberra Half Marathon, where he powered through a tough course before bouncing back quickly the following Saturday with a 30-minute tempo, including parkrun. Katie rounds out the episode with her own racing update, taking 4th overall at the Run the River Half and clocking a strong 1:23. She’s stringing together some consistent work and looking sharp. Café Kit of the Week ☕️
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| TFTV CTMF Race Recap ft. 2025 Winner Myles Gough | 18 Apr 2025 | 00:47:05 | |
Myles Gough re-joins the podcast after his 2nd win at Canberra Marathon last weekend in 2:30:08 Myles walks us through his training block as well as his taper and exciting race recap.
It was a tactical day out and an exciting race, this ones a must listen! | |||
| TFTV ft. Jack Ratz | 09 Feb 2025 | 01:35:26 | |
Sam, Katie, and Mitch catch up with Jack Ratz. Jack resides in Canberra and runs with the Deagony of Defeat Run Club. However, his partner's family is from Pambula, so he often visits the Sapphire Coast. Jack started running during COVID. He used to play AFL and coaches gymnastics, so he has an impressive power base. He has run some blistering times in a short period, including a 16:10 for 5k and 2:39 for the marathon. Jack trains with power as a metric, with Zaine Upton as his coach. Katie recaps her week of sickness, missing her heat for her race but managing to get into the community B race, where she runs 17:40 for the win. Mitch runs 16:33 to come in 2nd in the community race after leading for the majority of it. He also gets a bit of a down week as part of his taper. Jack is getting back into the swing of training since Melbourne but still manages to complete an impressive 7 x 1k at a pace faster than 3:30. Sam logs 78km this week and continues to rebuild his mileage positively. Café Kit of the Week
Round the Club Shoutouts
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| TFTV ft. Rede Carney | 02 Feb 2025 | 01:34:41 | |
Sam and Mitch sit down with Rede Carney, who has some impressive personal bests—all achieved after breaking the three-hour mark at the Sydney Marathon last year. He has run 17:11 at the GONG5000 and placed second at the recent SMC Road Series Half Marathon with a time of 1:19:32. Rede took up running in his 30s but has prioritized health and fitness since he was 17. Coming from a triathlon background, he considers himself to have a "diesel engine" and has recently incorporated speedwork into his training. As a result, his performances over shorter distances have improved rapidly. Rede shares valuable insights into how he has achieved these times and how he balances running with a busy family and work life. Sam kicks off his training with a Tuesday track session, featuring fast 400m and 200m reps, followed by a hard 2K effort at the end of the session in 7:03 (did he mention it was 25 degrees?). He follows this up with a tough tempo session and plenty of strength work. Mitch walks us through a challenging 7 × 1K session on Tuesday, though he feels his week was compromised by poor recovery from last week's long run. It’s hard to tell, though, as he still manages to put together another 100+ km week. Rede had a strong swim and run at the aquathon last Sunday, so he only joins the JT Running crew for the 400m and 200m reps on Tuesday. However, he still completes a tough early-morning treadmill tempo session before heading back to work. Café Kit of the Week
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| TFTV ft. Hollie Betts (Narooma Run Club) | 28 Jan 2025 | 01:18:36 | |
Sam, Mitch, and Katie chat with Holli Betts, the founder of the Narooma Run Club. Despite being relatively new to running, Holli has made remarkable progress. Inspired by Mel Jefferis, she started running regularly and has already completed two half marathons, improving her personal bests (PBs) for the 5k and 10k, including a fresh PB at Wagga Wagga Parkrun last week. The Narooma Run Club began with just seven women meeting on Sundays to run at Bar Beach, Narooma. However, as interest grew, it quickly outgrew a simple group chat. Holli started promoting the weekly runs on social media, attracting families and local residents who are now regulars. The club fosters an inclusive and fun atmosphere, generating excitement in the local community. Holli shared insights into managing the club and remains eager for feedback. The club’s merchandise and social media feature artwork by local talent Shelly Healy. In this episode:
Café Kit of the Week:
Round-the-Club Shoutouts:
Referenced Links: Narooma Run Club Instagram | |||
| TFTV ft. Maddi Costanzo | 19 Jan 2025 | 01:21:34 | |
Sam and Katie chat with Maddi Costanzo. Maddi has played soccer at an elite level since the beginning of high school, competing across Europe and the U.S. She was on track to go pro but suffered an ACL injury during a game, requiring extensive rehab. A few years later, after returning to the field and performing well, Maddi experienced another ACL injury. However, she turned this setback into a positive by completing several courses to develop a holistic understanding of health and fitness. Now, Maddi coaches large groups of younger kids in areas such as strength, nutrition, and mental health. Maddi decided to take up running, heavily influenced by her best mate, Tom Baker, who has been training for marathons for a few years. She is now signed up for the Gold Coast Marathon and plans to rely on her experiences to help structure her training program. Katie kicks off the week with a solid 123 km of running, leaning on the JT Running Group sessions to keep her paces controlled. Sam covers all bases this week with strong workouts, three strength sessions, and a two-hour long run to round things off. Maddi enjoys a bit of a rest period on the Gold Coast but still manages to fit in a few runs and continues her usual hard work in the gym. Café Kit of the Week
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| TFTV 1st Birthday | 17 Jan 2025 | 00:36:14 | |
A quick message from Sam on the 1st year of the podcast, followed by Russ and Sam's 'practice' podcast before the original launch. Enjoy, thank you to our listeners and our partners. | |||
| TFTV ft. Chloe Pateman | 12 Jan 2025 | 01:14:10 | |
Sam, Katie, and Mitch are joined by Chloe Pateman. Chloe is a Wollongong local who has recently moved to the Gold Coast. She boasts an impressive list of personal bests from 2024, including 4:37 for 1500m and 36:37 for 10k. Chloe started running in Year 10 and has been part of several squads, including Vicki McPhillips' group running around Blackbutt and the HIRT Squad. She has now joined GC Run Co, a group she connected with during a training camp in Perisher. Chloe enjoys running as it helps her break up her routine and stay focused on the task at hand. Mitch kicks off the week with an impressive 20 x 400m session on Tuesday but slightly overreaches during his Friday tempo. His Strava blue bars are looking strong, though! Katie hangs on for 16 of Mitch’s 20 reps, clocks another 121km week, and decides to give up mowing due to the physical demands. Chloe has a stellar week, indicating she’s in shape for more PBs, with three quality sessions, including thresholds in the 3:30–3:40 range and solid 2km reps. Meanwhile, Sam fits in nicely with the JT Running Group, finding a great bunch of people to execute solid track and threshold sessions with. Café Kit of the Week:
Round the Club Shoutouts:
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| TFTV ft. Amy O'Halloran | 06 Jan 2025 | 01:37:09 | |
Sam, Katie, and Mitch chat with Amy O’Halloran. Amy has delivered some big performances, winning the Sydney Harbour 5k in 2019 and placing 2nd at the Newcastle Marathon in 2022 with a time of 2:53. Despite her fast road times, Amy also boasts impressive track performances, having run 4:22 for 1500m during her college years in the US. Amy is extremely passionate about running but has recently faced injury struggles and opened up about their impact. Her goal is to reach the start line in sub-2:50 shape within the next four years. Sam kicks off training this week, hitting the track and getting dropped by Katie. Despite this, he’s happy to be logging some normal weeks and is keeping things conservative. Katie logs 124 km this week, including two very strong sessions. Amy has an impressive week of training with lots of intensity but ends up with a potential Achilles tear. Mitch stacks his ninth consecutive 100+ km week, coming off the back of a bout with Covid. Café Kit of the Week:
Round the Club Shoutouts:
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| TFTV ft. Nathaniel Brisbane | 31 Dec 2024 | 01:21:03 | |
Nathaniel Brisbane joins Sam, Katie, and the infamous Russ Dessaix-Chin on the podcast this week. Nathaniel has achieved remarkable progress in a short period of time—he set a goal to break 25 minutes in the 5k late in 2022 and brought his time down to under 17 minutes within a few months. This year, Nathaniel has run several impressive personal bests, including 4:07 for 1500m, 8:47 for 3k, 15:14 for 5k, 32:47 for 10k, 72:10 for the half marathon, and capped it off with a 2:36 marathon at the Gold Coast. Nathaniel credits consistent training for his success and has recently joined Brendan Hince’s training group. Despite a heavy study load at UOW, Nathaniel stays committed to high mileage and smart training. Sam completes his first full training week since rehabbing his shin, including a grass track session in the Bega Valley, though his Parkrun in Pambula was less successful. Russ is returning from a heel injury, pushing hard to finish his week with 1:40 at 4-minute kilometers. Nathaniel continues to build solid training, completing a Mona Fartlek at North Gong Parkrun, running fast despite the challenging mixed terrain. Katie stays on top of her workouts, finishing a strong 20k progression during her long run. Café Kit of the Week
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| TFTV ft. James Tunbridge | 23 Dec 2024 | 01:53:15 | |
Sam, Katie, and Mitch catch up with James ‘Tunnaz’ Tunbridge, whose impressive personal bests include 8:26 for 3000m and a recent 2:32 marathon in Sydney. James, who played high-level tennis in his teenage years, naturally ran 5Ks in the low 16-minute range without structured training. In 2011, after a chance encounter with Russ Dessaix-Chin at parkrun, James joined Russ for training sessions to elevate his performance. Recently, James launched his own running business, ‘JT Running,’ which has been buzzing with activity. The business offers Tuesday track sessions, Friday tempo runs, dedicated programming, and strength training. Sam is back at the track with the crew, hitting 800m reps on Tuesdays and logging 62km over five days. Katie slows her long-run pace this week, completing an impressive 26km at 4:09 per km, totaling 120km for the week. Mitch continues his steady progress with 108km and a strong progressive run. James (Tunnaz) stays involved, jumping into reps during JT Running sessions. Over the holidays, he heads to Tasmania, enjoying cooler weather for his long runs. Café Kit of the Week
Round the Club Shoutouts
References
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| TFTV ft. Karyn Hamilton | 16 Dec 2024 | 01:30:15 | |
Sam, Mitch, and Katie catch up with Karyn Hamilton, an avid runner who has completed 42 half marathons—and counting! Interestingly, Karyn wasn’t always passionate about running. She discovered her love for it after the birth of her daughter, initially running with a pram. After completing the Gold Coast Half Marathon, Karyn was hooked and participated in numerous events within the following 12 months. Karyn shares her balanced approach to "Gym to Run" programming, explaining how she aligns her strength training with race schedules. She also provides insight into her weekly routine, which includes a mix of running and strength training. Her typical week consists of 50 km of running, highlighted by a 23 km long run incorporating Parkrun. Sam gives a quick update on his shorter week of running as he recovers from COVID, while Katie focuses on building her fitness and speed, logging an impressive 115 km at the track. Meanwhile, Mitch continues to deliver strong sessions with the JT Running Crew, clocking 110 km for the week. Café Kit on the Way
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| TFTV ft. Adam Brill | 07 Apr 2025 | 01:34:48 | |
With Katie back in the US, she and Sam are taking the next few weeks to catch up with some of our amazing international listeners. This week, they’re joined by Adam Brill, a passionate runner based in Boston, former colleague of Sam’s, and long-time listener of the show. Adam shares his unique running journey, which began after his professional golf career didn’t quite hit the heights he had aimed for. Determined to keep chasing goals, he set out to run the New York Marathon—his debut coming in around 4 hours 20. Since then, Adam has gotten serious, joining track groups and bringing structure to his training. His hard work has paid off: he ran a 3:21 at the 2023 London Marathon and is now laser-focused on a Boston Qualifier (3:10) to earn a start in his hometown race. With 7 weeks to go until London, Adam is putting in his biggest training weeks yet, including a full slate of Yasso 800s and a tough 20-mile long run. 🏃♀️ Training Updates
☕ Café Kit of the Week
📣 Round the Club Shoutouts
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| TFTV ft. Ralph Mathiessen | 09 Dec 2024 | 01:19:36 | |
Sam, Mitch & Katie chat with Ralph Mathiessen. Ralph has run 50 marathons since he started running 11 years ago, having recently run the Berlin Marathon as his 50th, which was also the 50 year anniversary for Berlin. Ralph got into running to simplify his commutes to Tafe, though had a knack for cross country with his mates throughout high school. Since his dad had dragged him into doing marathons at the time. Ralph shares some funny marathon experiences with us including some stomach issues with the Gu Salted Caramels at the M7, getting caught for 3rd place just 100s of metres from the finish line. Ralph ran an impressive 2:50:53 at Melbourne Marathon in 2022 however. Ralph trains to Power recommendations set by his STRYD foot pods and he gives us a summary of how that works and why he finds that conducive to his training. Ralph is gearing up for Newcastle Marathon next year to secure a qualifier (sub 2:55) for Chicago 2025 and New York 2026. Ralph runs us through a maintenance week before things ramp up in his marathon prep running around 65km for the week with some 1-minute harder efforts on session days. Mitch has another very impressive week progressing his 800 reps to as fast as 2:28 and running his threshold at 3:28s on Friday. Katie puts more bricks together and nails both of her sessions capping a 20 minute threshold at 3:46 mostly into the headwind. Sam runs 44km pain free but suffers another set back picking up Covid on Friday evening. | |||
| TFTV - Christmas Gift for Runners Guide | 03 Dec 2024 | 00:41:17 | |
Katie and Sam catch up to share some gift ideas for runners. Tune in if you're struggling to come up with your own wish list or are looking for some inspiration to buy for your loved ones! | |||
| TFTV ft. Pete Naseby | 02 Dec 2024 | 01:35:42 | |
Sam, Katie & Mitch speak with local physio and runner Pete Naseby. Pete has some handy PB’s ranging from 17:53 for the 5k and 3:06 for the Marathon at Sydney this year. Pete has been a long-time member of WTC training with Tunners and Frosty throughout Uni. Due to family demands Pete took some time off consistent running training and programming but is back in the thick of things now having recently run some solid PB’s. Pete explains how he uses his physio knowledge to compliment his own running, and also runs us through the recent treatment approach of Sam’s Shin. Sam kicks off his training week with more of a back to running program, but he finally gets down to Kiama Run Club for his first ‘no stops’ run of the rehab program which goes to plan. Pete runs us through his week as prescribed by newly announced coach James Tunbridge, which includes a mix of hill strides, 400s, cross-training and capped off with a solid sub 19 run at the GONG5000. Mitch has a hectic week organizing the GONG5000 event, but this didn’t stop him from running 16:29 and finishing strong in the 5k race at the Unanderra Crit Track. Katie also runs the GONG5000 coming 2nd in the Female field running 17:47, a great first run back post injury but knows there’s more in the tank for next time. | |||
| TFTV ft. Daniel Wood | 25 Nov 2024 | 01:18:10 | |
Sam, Mitch & Katie chat with Daniel Wood. Dan has been cleaning up the local 5k races winning both Shellharbour 5k and Husky 5k in the last few months. Dan trains with Coach Rob McDonald with Nowra Athletics Club, but lives in Culburra Beach. Dan has run 16:59 at Husky Parkrun, and 35:45 at Sydney10 earlier this year. Dan started running a few years ago to sharpen up for touch, casually running 1:22 at Shellharbour Half. Shortly after he ran 52km fundraising for charity and days later tore his ACL playing Touch Footy. That gave him time to think about what direction he will go with his running and has taken a conservative training approach which is proving to be very successful. Mitch walks us through the GONG5000 event at the Unanderra Criterium Track Saturday November 30th with races starting at 6pm. Katie runs some solid reps this week, though the crew struggle to convert the paces from Miles to KM's. Dan knocks both interval sessions out of the park and even does his first double threshold session on Saturday. Sam continues Zwifting riding 211km on the bike this week with 24km of running and all of his rehab activities. Mitch does his first Deeks Quarters session and continues consistently building up his Blue Bars on Strava. | |||
| TFTV ft. Holly Howell | 17 Nov 2024 | 01:14:50 | |
The crew speak with Holly Howell this week. Holly is a couple of weeks off her win at Husky Marathon where she ran 3:02. Holly ran more casually years ago completing the London Marathon and the Great Wall of China Marathon. After having a few years off Holly joined Savvy runners here in the gong and after a couple of years nailed all of her PB’s this year. She also came 3rd overall in the Gold Coast Marathon Half and Full Marathon combined event running 1:25 and an impromptu 3:17 marathon. Sam reluctantly provides a ‘shinjury’ update, but is positive that the cautious approach is the right call. Katie puts together solid sessions and some quick ‘K’ reps with a week total of 112km. Mitch strings along more great running as he pushes the pace in his session and stacks another brick in the form of a 100k week. Holly bounces back from Husky with an 85km week with hill reps and some fast threshold reps to get back in the swing of normal training. | |||
| TFTV - Men's Mental Health Chat | 16 Nov 2024 | 01:27:33 | |
Inspired by the vulnerability of our guests on the Podcast, Sam, Mitch & previous guest Dane Ottesen decide to open up about some of their personal mental health issues as they relate to running. We talk about some distressing mental health topics to please consider that before listening in. | |||
| TFTV ft. Meg Dougherty | 10 Nov 2024 | 01:34:38 | |
Sam, Mitch, and Katie speak with Meg Dougherty following her impressive performance at the Husky Half last weekend. Meg, who grew up in Kiama, is currently spending time with her family there but usually resides in Yamba. She and her family have just returned from a caravan trip around Australia, where she managed the adventure with five kids in tow. This year, Meg has broken several of her previous PBs, running 18:17 at the Nightcliff parkrun in 31-degree heat, completing a 38:03 time trial along a 2k-long driveway in the NT, and recently clocking 1:22 at the Aldinga Half Marathon in South Australia, where a large portion of the race was on sand. To make these achievements even more remarkable, Meg has been running exclusively in an old pair of ASICS Nimbus, even in races. Sam opens with an injury update, noting that his shin splints have returned, but he caught them early. After getting an MRI, he learned they are only classified as Grade 1. Mitch joined the WTC sessions, deviating from his Runcrew program and racking up 106km for the week. Katie continues to train consistently and had a solid session, though she got called out for wearing AlphaFlys on her long runs. Big congratulations to Clayton Rugg, Mel Frost, and Tereza Olbrich for winning our LSKD giveaway, and thank you to everyone who entered! | |||
| TFTV ft. Harry McGill | 04 Nov 2024 | 01:29:59 | |
Sam, Mitch & Katie speak with Harry McGill. Harry has had an extremely exciting year being a big part of Jess Hull’s Olympic Campaign joining her workouts during her Europe training season. Harry talks us through how that arrangement came about and shares some of the experiences from being a part of the group. After recapping some of Harry’s PB’s they are even more impressive factoring in he did them the day after training sessions (14:16 for the 5km is one of them). He also shares a funny story how his mate said he’d give him $10 for every minute he ran under 3 hours for the marathon on a casual Sunday long-run. Mitch takes the win in the community NSW state 3k this weekend in 9:43 this week, though wont be caught dead celebrating. Sam nails both sessions this week but his shin is presenting some signs of discomfort so backs things off and hits the bike rather than jogging. Katie gets down to the track for some fast 800s and 400s on Tuesday and then hits the sand dunes for some sprints later in the week. Harry eases back into training with his sites on a fast 1500m early in 2025, though may be a cameo at the next GONG5000 event on November 30th. Tune in for lots of familiar names, great coastal running stories from a lot of races this weekend. | |||
| TFTV ft. Alex Seal | 28 Oct 2024 | 01:27:33 | |
Sam, Mitch, and Katie chat with Alex Seal. Alex competed in college for Boston University and walks us through his move from Australia. He ran 4:01 three times in a row for the mile, but unfortunately never broke the 4-minute barrier, though he boasts a range of impressive personal bests. Since moving back to Australia, Alex took a break from running but returned early last year. Since then, he’s run 30:40 at the Sydney 10k this year and 1:11 at the Wollongong Running Festival. Alex is currently managing an Achilles injury but is keen to increase his mileage and work toward a sub-30-minute 10k in the coming year. Katie keeps piling on the kilometers, determined to beat Sam at the WTC 5k on November 30th, clocking 109 km this week. Mitch logged 102 km, training with Liam Manton, Rhys Thorp, and Josh Engel on the track, and stepped out of his comfort zone with an all-terrain race. Sam had a good week down in the Bega Valley Shire, including a parkrun and a long run with Tunnaz, Frosty, and Pete. | |||
| TFTV ft. Jack Tidd | 21 Oct 2024 | 01:16:56 | |
This week we’re joined by Jack Tidd who ran 2:58 at Melbourne marathon last week to wrap up his sub 3 journey. Coached by previous guest and Ironman Italy winner Chris Beckmans Tiddy has seen rapid improvement in the marathon, running a sub 90 half only 12 months ago. Tiddy loves the routine of running and the community, and seems to be gravitating to longer distances as he gears up for Kosciuszko 100k in December. | |||
| TFTV ft. Pat Miller | 30 Mar 2025 | 01:21:08 | |
Sam and Katie chat with Pat Miller, a core member of JT Running. Pat got into running a couple of years ago, initially as a lighthearted challenge to beat his business partner in a race. What started as a gag quickly became a valuable routine for his mental well-being, so he committed to it seriously. He later joined Savvy with a friend and hasn’t looked back since—quickly improving from a 21-minute 5K to 19 minutes. Pat now boasts personal bests of 10:24 for 3K, 17:51 for 5K, and 1:29 for the Half Marathon. Despite a demanding, labor-intensive work schedule and a busy family life, Pat has impressively carved out time for consistent training. Pat’s training week kicks off on Tuesday with a JT track session: a 6-minute tempo, 2 minutes of rest, then four sets of (2 minutes on / 1 minute float, repeated twice) with 75 seconds of rest. It was a tough session, but Pat nailed it. On Friday, he dialed into goal race pace for 25 minutes, maintaining a solid 3:45/km. Sam ran the same session as Pat, hitting his tempo at 3:42/km and executing all "on" reps between 3:20 and 3:25/km. However, by Friday, fatigue had set in, so he opted for a 30-minute tempo at 3:58/km instead of the planned progression run. Despite this adjustment, Sam still completed a 90 km week, including three gym sessions. Katie’s week started strong with mile repeats and a fast 400m rep on Tuesday morning, but she battled food poisoning throughout the week. Still, she joined Loz and Michelle for a Friday threshold session, completing 12, 10, and 8-minute intervals while progressing the pace. She capped off the week with a speedy 32 km long run on Sunday, finishing with an impressive 105 km for the week. Café Kit of the Week
Round the Club Shoutouts
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| TFTV ft. Marc Bergmeier | 13 Oct 2024 | 00:58:09 | |
Sam and Katie chat with Marc Bergmeier. Marc grew up in Wagga and played AFL during his junior years but gravitated toward running a few years after finishing high school. He works on the farm back in Wagga intermittently, but when he doesn't, he lives in Wollongong. This year, he has been training with Liam Mahoney and Brendan Smith, and all three of them reached their lofty goal of running sub-3 hour marathons. Although Marc didn’t have the best day at the Gold Coast earlier this year, he made up for it in a big way by running 2:54 at Sydney, taking the pressure off and just running to feel.
Katie logged 95 km of mileage this week, although she had a tough long run at the end of last week. Sam is battling through the flu but manages to maintain his routine of two sessions and a long run. Marc is starting to recover post-Sydney Marathon and is ready to inject some intensity back into his training program now. | |||
| TFTV ft. Renee Placek | 06 Oct 2024 | 01:15:41 | |
This week Sam and Katie chat with Renee Placek who has been winning lots of local races including Shellharbour 10k. Renee has run 10:21 for 3km, 18:36 for 5km, 38:50 for 10k, 1:25 for the half and 3:38 at New York Marathon 10 years ago. Renee has had a long running career being into middle distance as a junior and completing her first marathon in her mid 20s. Over the last couple of years after Renee has returned to running after having 2 kids and has focused on structured training, nutrition and regular racing with Kembla Joggers. Renee’s recent form has been unbelievable and her experience and knowledge makes it obvious why. Katie deals with ‘Bali Belly’ off the back of her holiday, so dials back the intensity on sessions and jogs this week fuelled only with bread and flavourless Mi Goreng. Sam tapers for a race, but picks up a stock standard taper flu 2 nights before the race so pulls the pin and chalks it up as a down week. Renee recovers from her win in the Shellharbour 10k last week and picks up covid so is recovering from sickness. We discuss our approach to training when we are sick fittingly and when it’s appropriate to keep training and when to hang up the trainers. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Brendan Smith | 30 Sep 2024 | 01:06:58 | |
Sam and Mitch chat with Brendan Smith, who has run 2:55 at both the Sydney and Gold Coast Marathons this year. Despite only training intentionally for a short period, Brendan has improved rapidly from his 3:33 marathon debut in Sydney last year. He has benefited from the Never Lazy Run Club’s inclusivity and structured training. With a competitive nature and disciplined work ethic, Brendan shows us that a lot can be achieved in just a few months if you put your mind to it. Mitch is back into solid training after Sydney, stringing together 96 km despite missing a day. Sam runs his first 5k race at Shellharbour post-injury, finishing in 18:36 on a hilly course. A solid rust buster, he secures 4th place after being dropped from the podium in the last 100 meters. Brendan balances travel and work as he gears up for the Melbourne Marathon, with a short turnaround after Sydney. | |||
| The Russell Dessaix-Chin Wag - Sydney Marathon Recap | 29 Sep 2024 | 01:17:35 | |
Welcome back to the Russell Dessaix-Chin Wag! Mitch and Russ recap their Sydney Marathon experiences. Mitch, despite less-than-ideal preparation, makes his debut with a 2:54 finish, picking up momentum in the final 10 kilometers. Russ, initially planning to pace only until 30 kilometers, missed a drink at the halfway mark, falling 30 seconds behind the group he was pacing. However, he rallied and surged past with a mile to go, finishing in 2:32. Tune in for a few Wollongong shoutouts, two outstanding performances, and a verbal breakdown of the course. And, of course, we’ll discuss the massive poster of Russ from the expo, which has now found a new purpose as a doona cover! | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Brad Dryburgh | 25 Sep 2024 | 01:59:32 | |
Gear up for a packed episode this week as Sam and Katie chat with Brad Dryburgh. Brad hosts his own podcast, A Lot to Talk About, but today we focus on his running journey. Brad shares his experiences living with cystic fibrosis, which didn’t hinder him too much until he was 18, when he began to experience lung-related effects. His distance running journey started with the Active Boys (the previous name of Never Lazy Run Club), where he completed a month of 5km runs. Afterward, he had a health episode and found himself in the hospital. Determined to complete a marathon and raise funds for cystic fibrosis research, he launched 42forCF, preparing for his first marathon in just a few months. Brad started running four times a week and hitting the gym twice a week. However, another episode occurred a month before the race, forcing him to begin an early taper. On race day, Brad completed 42.2km in 4:17, an unforgettable achievement for him and his family. He continued with 42forCF, completing multiple marathons and raising over $100,000 for cystic fibrosis research and development, while also improving his marathon time to 3:55 at the Melbourne Marathon in 2022. Sam has returned from New Zealand after an exhausting week spent in four different cities. He feels he has turned a corner, with his pacing improving. He completed his Sunday long run in Taupo, logging 102km for the week, along with a gym session and 27 holes of golf. Katie also caught the travel bug and has been in Bali. Now back, she’s resumed treadmill sessions while battling the humidity, totalling 70km for the week and showing a lot of positive signs. Brad was gearing up for the Shellharbour Marathon this week, but due to issues with gout, he is now planning for a marathon in early to mid-2025. He discusses his typical training structure and considers whether he should introduce speed work into his routine to further improve his personal best. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Lucy Holman | 15 Sep 2024 | 01:19:12 | |
Sam and Katie chat with Lucy Holman. In just five short years, Lucy has won the Husky 10k twice in a row with a PB of 38:05 (even after getting taken out by the lead bike and hitting the deck). She also finished the UTA 100 in under 12 hours, despite tearing an ankle ligament 14k into the race. It’s clear that Lucy leaves nothing on the table when she races, and she talks to us about how she balances a busy family life with a demanding running schedule. Lucy is preparing to race her first marathon at Shellharbour in a couple of weeks, aiming for a sub-3 finish. Katie has ramped up her mileage to 68km this week, and the HR monitor is back. Sam is focusing on time management in his sessions this week and has seen stark improvements compared to an identical session two months ago, logging 104km. Lucy is balancing travel and home life this week with some impressive progression runs and 107kg squats, complementing a solid 68km week, just a couple of weeks out from the Shellharbour Marathon. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Sharon Sutherland | 09 Sep 2024 | 01:08:47 | |
Sam and Katie speak with Sharon Sutherland, a 2016 Bravehearts 777 participant and key organizer for the Kiama Running Club. One of Sharon’s most impressive accomplishments was participating in the Bravehearts 777 event, which required $10,000 in fundraising for the leading child protection foundation and involved running a half marathon each day for 7 days in 7 different states. The travel and physical demands were daunting, even just to listen to. Sharon has also run a handful of World Majors and talks about the remaining ones she intends to complete. Sharon’s work in formalizing the Kiama Running Club has been successful, with just under 1,000 Facebook members and upwards of 50 participants in community runs, including Wednesday Hill Reps at Kiama, Saturday 5km from Kiama Surf Club, and a Long Run option at Shellharbour Surf Club on Sunday. Katie runs 48km this week, picks up a new gig mowing lawns, and is staying very active while building up her kilometers nicely. Sharon eases back into training in anticipation of the RunShellharbour 10k and either the Noosa or Tokyo Marathon early next year. Sam gets back to the gym, complains about the heat during his tempo run, but still manages to put together another 100km week. We all share our experiences with niggles during our typical training weeks. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Sam Jones | 02 Sep 2024 | 01:44:13 | |
Sam, Katie, and Mitch speak with Sam Jones. Sam has very impressive personal bests, including 14:55 for 5K and 68:30 for the half marathon. Sam was involved in athletics when he was younger but found more enjoyment in downhill mountain biking. However, running made its way back into Sam’s life out of necessity during his travels. Being self-coached, Sam wanted to remove the stress of creating his own training programs and enlisted Brady Threlfall to take the reins. Sam manages to balance a demanding job with his running program and finds that there is a fine line for him in maintaining healthy running habits. During the training week, everyone discusses their warm-up and cool-down routines. Katie put together a 42km week, seeming to bounce back from her injury. Sam Jones balances his hectic work schedule and is recovering from some sickness, but keeps his focus on his Sunday long runs. Mitch struggles with motivation but keeps grinding, completing 102km, including an impressive impromptu Mona Fartlek on Saturday. Sam battles through Achilles and back pain but manages to put together a 100km week with two sessions and a hilly long run around Candelo. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Claire Rayner | 25 Aug 2024 | 01:32:39 | |
Sam, Katie, and Mitch chat with Claire Rayner. Claire has had a long and successful running career, boasting a 35:00 10K personal best at just 16 years old. More recently, she ran a 2:58 marathon in Newcastle on a lapped and windy course. Claire shares her journey of moving from Canberra to Wollongong for university and how she has learned to manage her training load and intensity over time. We hear how Claire benefits from training with a squad and incorporates strength training into her routine. Recently, Claire has been dealing with hip issues, which have prevented her from maintaining a high-mileage training regimen. She has since pivoted to the increasingly popular Hyrox events, where she walks us through the specific exercises and asserts that they are even more challenging than an all-out road marathon. Sam kicks off his week with lighter training, recovering from an adductor strain. He manages to log 85 km of running and 40 km of cycling, but ends up with a sore back after being knocked over by a large dog during his Saturday session across the road from Warrawong Maccas. Katie, feeling pain-free, strings together a few runs along with her usual cross-training, while Claire puts her to the test with a Hyrox training session. Mitch caps off his week with a 79-minute half marathon at Olympic Park. It wasn’t his best day, but he grinded it out and is proud of his effort.
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| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Liam Manton | 18 Aug 2024 | 01:21:46 | |
Katie, Mitch, and Sam speak with Liam Manton this week. Liam is fresh off his 2:54 marathon on the Sunshine Coast last weekend, so we’re lucky enough to get a current recap. Liam has an eclectic endurance history, spending a lot of time in the gym with kettlebells and biking. Liam started running with Runcrew but recently began working with Pulse and has seen great results. His other PBs include 17 flat for 5k, 34:47 for 10k, and 1:18 for the half. Sam put the tools down for 4 days last week with a self-diagnosed adductor strain, which seemed to improve by the weekend. Katie is also cautious with her injury and is waiting for X-rays from her doctor. Mitch runs 102 km this week, off the back of C2S, and manages to find some good trails after a big chunk of climbing early on in Cessnock. | |||
| TFTV ft. Harm Schaap | 25 Mar 2025 | 01:31:57 | |
This week, Sam, Mitch, and Katie catch up with Harm Schaap, who boasts some blistering PBs, including 3:51 for 1500m, 8:38 for 3000m, 14:58 for 5000m, and 31:12 for 10K. These times were set a few years ago, and Harm shares his long training journey with Hince’s Horses, moving from Mollymook to Wollongong for university. He recently ran a very minor PB for 1500m—less than a second faster—but it was a confidence booster, and he feels his current PBs are under threat this year after consistent training. He also takes us through some fiery training sessions with Luke Hince, a must-listen segment for any running enthusiast. Training Updates:
Café Kit of the Week:
Round-the-Club Shoutouts:
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| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Dane Ottesen | 11 Aug 2024 | 01:11:38 | |
Sam, Katie, and Mitch are joined by WTC member Dane Ottesen. In just a few short years, Dane has run an impressive time trial of 15:04 on the Picton Parkrun course (though not during an official event), but officially clocked 15:37 at the Wollongong Running Festival, 31:55 at the Sydney 10K, and 71:50 at the Gold Coast Half Marathon. Dane started running when Picton Parkrun began, initially finishing in 22 minutes. He improved to 18 minutes on his own until Myles Gough traveled up for Parkrun and introduced him to WTC. Since then, Dane has been coached by IRP’s Brady Threlfall and has seen great improvements in his running. Currently, Dane is managing his work-life-running balance and trying to string together more consistent training. Mitch is back from Spain. Despite the jetlag and a bucks party on Friday night, he managed to run 49:50 at C2S today. Katie is building on her running while continuing to work through her hip injury. Dane put together a solid week with strong sessions and an unintentional 2-hour, 20-minute long run, which included a 9-meter fence climb. Sam hit 100 km for the week, his first time reaching that milestone since March. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Jaymee McPherson - Just Another Run Club | 05 Aug 2024 | 01:15:16 | |
Sam, Katie, and Josh are joined by Jaymee McPherson, the founder of Just Another Run Club. Jaymee started JARC in January this year as she wanted to have a safe space for women to get into running. Jaymee also provides holistic programming for running, cross-training, and strength training. Jaymee ran her first half marathon at Kiama Classic this year and feels ready to step up to the marathon, though she is biding her training efforts while she deals with a few niggles. Katie is slowly ramping up her running as she does 25 km featuring a lot of cross-training. Josh is stacking brick on brick with a very solid long run on Saturday with some hills, 3 x 6 min at half marathon pace, and 30 min at marathon pace. Jaymee mixes up her training in the gym, on the bike, walking, and with the JARC run on Sunday. Sam has a scheduled down week, complains about three days of quad DOMs, and Katie calls him out for uploading strength sessions to Strava, but he walks away with 90 km for the week. Join us for the usual segments and find Jaymee’s Instagram for her PT services and Just Another Run Club below: | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Myles Gough | 29 Jul 2024 | 01:30:47 | |
Sam, Katie, and Josh catch up with Myles Gough. Myles won the Canberra Marathon in 2021 with a time of 2:25 and holds some other impressive results. To our hosts' surprise, Myles only picked up running in 2016, starting at Parkrun to meet new people. Myles explains how his running developed, taking many learnings from local coach Barry Keem. He shares how he stayed fit during injury through cross-training and recently ran 2:39 at the Gold Coast Marathon. We also hear how Myles manages the challenges of balancing work, family, and running at a high level. Myles takes us through his training week, balancing cross-training with key workouts like sessions and long runs in the lead-up to the Sydney Marathon. Katie gets two more runs on the board and racks up hours of cross-training. It’s business as usual for Josh as he puts together another impressive training week, and Sam runs his first-ever trail race, coming 4th in the Summit Shoalhaven half marathon over the weekend. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Rohan Laurendet | 22 Jul 2024 | 01:24:22 | |
Mitch is living it up in Spain, so Joshua "JOSH10" Engel is here for a few weeks to fill in. Sam, Josh, and Katie are joined by national middle-distance runner Rohan Laurendet. Rohan has run impressive times of 1:52 for 800 meters and 48.77 for 400 meters. However, he has found success in the 400-meter hurdles, running 51.56 in April this year. Rohan provides some interesting insights about his time spent transitioning from flat running to hurdling.
Rohan is also a physio, so he talks us through his strength and conditioning protocols, as well as providing feedback to our hosts this week. Josh stacks some tempo running on top of some solid weekly mileage (109 km), all while adjusting to his new strength program prescribed by Rohan. Rohan talks us through his program, which is typically set in three-week blocks, including hill efforts, gym routines, cycling, and the "Kamikaze" Saturday Session. Sam stacks a 92 km week together with two sessions and a trip to Dalmeny. Katie gets some running advice and starts to do some jog/walking, while she smashes out hours of cross-training. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Kate Matts | 15 Jul 2024 | 01:11:08 | |
Sam, Mitch, and Katie are joined by Kate Matts, Head of Saucony Australia. Kate has been with Saucony since before the launch of the Endorphin line, so she has extensive knowledge of how Saucony’s incredible range has expanded over the past few years. Kate is able to give us technical insights into some of the upcoming shoes in the range over the coming months and years, as well as insights into how design choices and product direction are determined. Kate also provides a unique perspective on her own running, given how she came to running after starting work with Saucony. Katie is back on Australian soil and is spending a lot of time on the bike. Sam has improved ever so slightly compared to last week, both in terms of sessions and overall mileage, which is now at 84 km. Mitch runs 144 km of jogging but spices things up by revisiting his old training diary.
https://www.saucony.com.au/
Tune in for our usual segments and also some exclusive intel on Saucony's upcoming range. | |||
| The Russell Dessaix-Chin Wag - Gold Coast Marathon Recap | 12 Jul 2024 | 00:56:57 | |
Sam and Russ catch up for the first time since the Christchurch Marathon, off the back of Russ’s stellar performance in the Gold Coast Half Marathon. Russ talks about his training since Christchurch and his new coaching relationship with Barry Keem. Russ has his eyes on C2S and the Sydney Marathon, but his ultimate goal for this year is to run a fast marathon in Japan. Russ recaps the Gold Coast Marathon weekend for us, and then the guys shout out some coastal results. Tune in for the first episode of the Russell Dessaix-Chin Wag, and congrats to all of those who ran on the Gold Coast last weekend. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Steph Auston | 07 Jul 2024 | 01:14:47 | |
Mitch and Sam catch up with Steph Auston this week. Steph is a highly credentialed road and trail runner with a stack of podium finishes and wins. Steph spent a lot of time living in Merimbula at the start of her trail running journey, though she currently resides in Newcastle. In 2019, Stephanie achieved her peak road Personal Bests, marking a significant milestone in her career before transitioning to trail running. Her trail running breakthrough came with a golden ticket to Western States, earned through a second-place finish at the Black Canyon, and another ticket secured at Tarawerra in February 2023. Stephanie's impressive athletic achievements span various distances, including a 10k time of 35:37 at the Sydney 10 and a marathon best of 2:43:33 at the Canberra Marathon. Notably, she has excelled in ultramarathons and trail races, consistently placing high in competitions like the Tarawera 102km and the iconic Six Foot Track Marathon. Sam talks about his first regular running week (2 sessions and a long run) to finish up with a 79km week. Mitch’s hamstrings finally get the better of him where him and his coach Gary Howard make the call to just jog for a few weeks, though even with a couple of days off he edges out Sam’s mileage with 84km for the week. Steph puts together another ‘Bread & Butter’ 200km week with some up-tempto efforts. Lots of shoe discussion tonight, as well as the usual Café kit of the week and Round the Club Segments. For more insights into Stephanie Auston's journey and achievements, check out her profiles on UTMB and World Athletics. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Trent Macleay | 01 Jul 2024 | 01:05:58 | |
Sam and Mitch catch up with Trent Macleay this week. Trent has run 17:27 for 5000m, 52:44 at C2S, 1:22 for the half, and 2:56 just a few weeks ago at the Noosa Marathon. Trent came into his own as a runner after picking up the running bug from the rest of his family, running his first C2S around a decade ago. Trent tells us how he has evolved as a runner since then and has started to run these impressive PBs. Coached by Barry Keem, Trent is keen to keep improving on these times with a big focus on the marathon PB. Mitch runs 121km this week, with more progress in sessions, outperforming his splits from the same session a few weeks ago. Sam runs his first session back from injury and is surprised by how well it went given the circumstances, slowly building back with a 63km week. Trent is just building back after the Noosa Marathon; however, he runs two very impressive sessions with some blistering 400s and a kickdown long run on Sunday. We shout out members of Narooma Run Club, Team Keem, and Sapphire Coast Runners. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Lauren Mitchell | 24 Jun 2024 | 01:18:42 | |
Lauren ‘Loz’ Mitchell Joins Mitch, Sam & Katie on the podcast. Loz ran a World Jrs Qualifier in the 800m of 2:06 as well as 4:23 in the 1500m. Loz took some time away from the sport following her success as a Junior however has run very impressive PB’s from 17:29 in the 5k to a 2:59 Marathon. Loz talks us through the importance of training sensibly and enjoying running as a sport. Loz runs with the HIRT squad run by Ian Hatfield and Debbie Holland. Loz walks us through her recent training philosophy leading into Gold Coast Half Marathon. Katie gives us an injury update as she clocks up 9 hours of cross-training, Loz dials into Half-Marathon pace a couple of weeks out from her race at Gold Coast, Mitch clocks up 114km of solid work & links up with Sam during the On Wear Testing NLRC x WTC Long Run on Sunday. Tune in for some bizarre bits of equipment to bring to the café, as well as Round the club shoutouts. Remember to tag us on insta for a chance to win a TFTV exclusive Tee and $50 LSKD voucher in your freshest running gear. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Alex Bui | 17 Jun 2024 | 01:29:26 | |
Mitch and Sam catch up with Alex Bui. Alex has completed an Ironman in 11:06, UTA100k in 13:52 and also has run 4:53 for the Mile, 16:50 for 5k and just over 3 hours for the marathon (not to mention some impressive lifts in the gym). Alex posts a lot of great content on Instagram documenting his fitness journey, the latest endeavor being his sub 2:50 attempt at the Gold Coast in a couple of weeks. Sam puts 29km down in his first week back to running, Mitch continues another week of solid training hit 120km last week and Alex nails his peak marathon session putting down 30 of his 36km at 4:05 pace. Links to Alex’s Socials to follow his running journey below: | |||
| TFTV ft. Matt Johnsen | 16 Mar 2025 | 01:24:01 | |
Sam and Mitch catch up with Matt Johnsen, an impressive runner who grew up in Broulee. After winning numerous national medals in the steeplechase, Matt made the choice to move down to Melbourne to pursue running. Once in Melbourne, Matt's teammates began going to college, and he felt he had the potential to do the same. He achieved remarkable personal bests, including 14:14 for the 5000m and 29:25 for the 10,000m. After college, Matt returned to Melbourne and was coached by Brad Croker, achieving times of 1:05 for the half marathon and 2:23 for the marathon. Shortly after these successes, he moved back to Broulee, coinciding with the onset of the COVID lockdown, which made it challenging to stay competitive without races. Since then, Matt has shifted his focus to enjoying running and has adjusted his goals while still believing he can shave a couple of minutes off his marathon time. Additionally, he coaches local kids once a week and participates in community running groups to promote the sport in the area. In training, Sam tackles chaotic K repetitions in the Bali heat, contending with scooters and dogs on the roads of Canggu, but soon falls victim to Bali Belly. Meanwhile, Mitch takes his session from lane 8 to the Unanderra criterium track, logging 24km on Tuesday and setting up for a 129km week. Matt reintroduces sessions into his training, including 8 x 3 minutes on Wednesday, and pushes through a hot, hungover long run over hills on Sunday, totaling 87km for the week. Café Kit of the Week:
Round the Club Shoutouts:
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| Tales from the Valley Podcast - Wollongong Running Festival Recap ft. James Tunbridge | 13 Jun 2024 | 00:24:39 | |
Sam sits down with James Tunbridge to discuss another successful Wollongong Running Festival Event. Tune in for a full recap and also Tunnaz’ race against Novak Djokovic. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Kristina Jankulovska | 10 Jun 2024 | 01:26:01 | |
Sam, Katie & Mitch are joined by Kristina Jankulovska the founder of the ‘Coast to Mountain’ Running store based in Port Kembla. Kristina talks to us about juggling parenting, running the store, working full-time and managing her own running journey. Kristina recently completed the UTA50K race in the blue mountains and walks us through a very deliberate training plan from nutrition all the way through to 4am gym sessions and cross-training. Mitch walks us through his race at Wollongong Running Festival where he ran 1:19 in the half marathon, and Katie takes out the win in 5k Female Category. Mitch puts together a solid training week despite a hammy niggle. Katie talks us through her MRI which indicated a stress fracture of the femur which means she will be out of action running wise for a little while. Sam talks about his return to running as he got the all clear post MRI with no indication of a shin stress reaction, though thinks he will need time to adjust and get conditioned to string together training weeks. Tune in for our usual segments (Café Kit of the week, and Round the Club shoutouts). Keep trying JOSH10 at all running stores for a discount, though it probably won’t work. Follow the Links below for more on Coast to Mountain running and get down to the C2M community runs every 2nd Wednesday at 5:45pm: https://coasttomountainrunning.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/coasttomountainrunning/ | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast ft. Luke Hince | 20 May 2024 | 01:23:43 | |
In this episode, the hosts are joined by Luke Hince, who shares his experience running a 29:57 at the Sydney 10 race. The day after his impressive performance, Luke discusses the race and his training strategies. Mitch recaps his recent training sessions, balancing two gigs, and his performance at the Sydney 10. Katie provides an overview of her week of training, talks about undergoing VO2 max testing, and discusses dealing with a recent niggle and its impact on her training. The episode also includes special discussions about how each host ended up with their current coaches, exploring the journey and decisions behind their choices. Additionally, Luke shares his favorite characters from "Gilmore Girls." Listeners can enjoy the usual segments and engaging discussions, making for an informative and entertaining episode. | |||
| Tales from the Valley Podcast Ft. Glenn Edmonds - Interview w/ James Tunbridge | 13 May 2024 | 01:45:34 | |
Mitch, Katie and Sam welcome Glenn Edmonds, a key figure in the Sapphire Coast Runners community. Glenn shares his impressive running journey, from clocking a speedy 15:30 in the 5k to a solid 2:58 in the marathon, spanning different stages of his career. Beyond his own achievements, Glenn also shares insights into coaching a talented group of runners on the South Coast, with promising results. Katie dials back her training this week in terms of intensity, though still clocks 119km, while Mitch maintains his consistency with 109km logged. Sam returns to running after addressing ongoing shin concerns, though he's scheduled for an MRI next week to ensure everything's on track. The episode features regular segments like Cafe Kit of the Week and Round the Club Shoutouts. Plus, stick around after the main show for Sam's interview with James Tunbridge, who's become a familiar name on the podcast. | |||