The Running Explained Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

"Why can't I just THINK my way out of performance anxiety?? I should be mentally tougher!!" Have you ever had this internal struggle?

In this episode, former Division I athlete and licensed mental health therapist Emily Perrin flips the script on "mental toughness" and dives deep into the richer, more holistic concept of resilience. Emily helps us understand how resilience—rooted in childhood development, support, and self-compassion—offers a more complete set of tools for athletes navigating the mental and emotional ups and downs of training and racing.

We explore how grounding techniques, body-based feedback, and self-compassion can turn pre-race jitters into a powerful tool for growth.

With a focus on flexibility, self-awareness, and mindfulness, this conversation is packed with practical tips for building resilience and embracing the discomfort that comes with being an athlete. Coaches, take note: this one's all about empowering your athletes with a strengths-based approach!

GUEST BIO:

Emily Perrin, LMSW, is the CEO and Founder of Perrin Wellness and Performance, where she combines her expertise as a Licensed Master of Social Work, certified mindfulness and meditation teacher, and former Division I athlete to offer holistic mental health and performance coaching. Growing up in a sports-centric family with a Division I college basketball coach father and a background in competitive swimming and soccer, Emily’s journey has been deeply intertwined with athletics and coaching. However, her passion for mental health advocacy stems from her personal struggles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD, which led her to discover mindfulness and integrative health practices. With a Master's in Clinical Social Work from the University of Denver and advanced training in trauma-informed care, Emily is dedicated to transforming sports culture to be more mental health-aware and proactive in promoting overall well-being. She offers education, speaking engagements, workshops, and coaching to support athletes, coaches, and sport organizations in achieving fulfillment, joy, and success beyond just winning.

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🏃‍♀️ Running Explained is here to help you run smarter, get faster, and feel more confident in your training.From trusted education to real-world coaching support, we’ve got what you need: no fluff, no gimmicks, just evidence-based guidance that works.

🎙 Podcast & Blog: Free, accessible, no-BS running education📨 The Weekly Stride: Your favorite running newsletter📲 The Run Club App: Training plans + strength work in one place📋 Downloadable Training Plans: Built for real life, not perfection 🏅 1:1 Coaching: Personalized guidance with expert support

🔗 Start here → runningexplained.com⁠

In this episode of the Running Explained podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with Matt Chittim, coach and host of The Rambling Runner Podcast, about the incredible potential that runners have, no matter when they start. Matt and I dive into how age doesn't have to limit your running goals and why consistent training—what we call "training age"—is so crucial to reaching your full potential. We also get real about the fact that progress in running isn't always linear; there will be plateaus and challenges along the way. But as Matt reminds us, believing in your abilities and giving yourself the chance to see what you're truly capable of is key to unlocking that potential. If you've ever wondered how much faster you might be able to get as an adult runner (especially if you STARTED running as an adult), this episode is for you!

Matt Chittim is a coach, host of The Rambling Runner Podcast, father, husband, and proud masters' runner, helping promote and enhance the world-wide running community through podcasting, video, writing, and coaching!

https://theramblingrunner.com

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🏃‍♀️ Running Explained is here to help you run smarter, get faster, and feel more confident in your training.From trusted education to real-world coaching support, we’ve got what you need: no fluff, no gimmicks, just evidence-based guidance that works.

🎙 Podcast & Blog: Free, accessible, no-BS running education📨 The Weekly Stride: Your favorite running newsletter📲 The Run Club App: Training plans + strength work in one place📋 Downloadable Training Plans: Built for real life, not perfection 🏅 1:1 Coaching: Personalized guidance with expert support

🔗 Start here → ⁠runningexplained.com⁠⁠

HOW TO RUN BETTER IN THE HEAT: everything you need to know about heat acclimation/acclimatization, heat adaptation benefits, how long those benefits last, passive vs active heat training methods, cooling strategies, and hyperhydration!

KEY TOPICS

• Differentiating Heat Acclimation and Heat Acclimatization
• Methods of Heat Training for Runners
• Benefits of Heat Acclimation for Runners
• Physiological Changes in Heat Acclimation
• Cooling Strategies for Hot Weather Performance
• Hyperhydration Strategies for Improved Performance in the Heat
• Considerations for Individual Hydration Needs in Extreme Conditions

Coach Elisabeth is the Founder and Head Coach at Running Explained, 6x marathoner, multi-certified coach, Boston Qualifier, and enthusiastic believer in your ability to turn the impossible into the possible. Whether you're a brand new runner or have been pounding the pavement for decades, she believes there is always more to learn about running and always more that running can teach us about life. C⁠⁠⁠⁠rush your goals with a Running Explained training plan, masterclass, group coaching, or 1:1 coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠, or learn from her meticulously researched ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram posts on a wide variety of running-related topics⁠⁠⁠⁠!

Have you ever had to defer a race? Are you worried about whether you SHOULD race? What about DNFing - why don't we talk about this more? Coach Tucker Grose joins the show for a thoughtful and personal discussion on when to defer, when to DNS, when to DNF, and how to make smart decisions so the worst-case scenario doesn't come to pass.

• When to defer your goal race?
• Back-up planning & adjusting your race day goals
• Why you might (or should) DNS
• When you SHOULDN'T DNS (& overcoming fear of failure!!)
• Racing even when you aren't going to PR
• DNFing for safety
• DNFing because of poor planning/poor execution
• How to AVOID a DNF

Tucker Grose has been running for as long as he can remember and ran his first 5k at the age of 8. He competed in Track and Cross Country through High School in Newtown, Connecticut. Tucker became interested in endurance events in college, completing his first half marathon and sprint triathlon. For the past 10 years, Tucker has been a student of endurance sports, reading many books and learning from other coaches. He experimented with different training methods throughout that time and has developed a formula for long term success. Tucker has been coaching youth and adult athletes since 2012 and has helped teams and individuals make improvements and build confidence with his energetic and positive approach to coaching. Whether you are moving up to a new distance, have seen your results plateau, simply want to get into better shape or run a Boston qualifying time, individualized coaching with Tucker will help you get there!

We all want to be healthy, right? We all want to be faster, better runners, right? What happens when our quest to "be healthier" becomes something more dangerous and restrictive? In this deep and wide-ranging discussion with sports dietitian Kelsey Pontius, RD (@sportdietitiankelsey) about "clean eating", orthorexia, food rules, and more, we cover...

• Why it's so hard to change our deeply held beliefs and emotional ties to certain ways of eating
• The spectrum of orthorexia and the choices we make around food
• The aspirational/socio-economic factors of "clean eating"
• The allure of restrictive diets
• Unintentional underfueling
• "Clean race fuel" options
• Injury risk with underfueling
• RED-S and why weight loss "works" to make you faster at the beginning (before causing serious issues later on)
• How to unpack your own relationship with food
• and more!

🕶️🦩This episode is sponsored by GOODR SUNGLASSES! Get 15% off (my favorite) running sunglasses in the world & support the show using code RUNEXP at www.goodr.com! 🕶️

Meteor Nutrition arose after lifelong athlete, Kelsey Pontius RD, LDN  wished to pursue her passion for the impact of nutrition on the human body in motion. Kelsey grew up playing competitive soccer, and eventually ended her career as a D1 soccer player to transform into a distance runner who since has qualified for the 2020 and 2024 US Marathon Olympic Trials. Through several instances of her athletic background, she felt the ebbs and flows with nutrition on performance.  She knew she was destined to help other athletes benefit from the implementation of optimal nutrition.

Aside from working with ambitious athletes, Kelsey has worked in the clinical arena with a multitude of different medical complexities, and has out an emphasis on injury healing and gut function.  Having a variety of different experiences in dietetics has given Kelsey the necessary tools to allow wholesome food heal and fuel the remarkable human body.

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO FIND A SPORTS BRA THAT FITS??? Sports Bra expert Laura Tempesta (@bravolution, www.bravolution.com) joins the show to educate us all about sports bras, why it's so hard to find a sports bra that fits, and HOW to find one that fits you!

• Why sports bras are a piece of athlete equipment, not 'apparel'
• Compression & encapsulation
• How sizing ACTUALLY works
• Finding your sister sizing
• Features you SHOULD look for in a sports bra
• Marketing buzzwords & features you should AVOID
• Companies that offer inclusive sizing in well-designed bras
• How to properly care for your sports bras
• and more!

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Laura Tempesta is a bra expert, apparel innovator, and an inventor of multiple patented products. After receiving her BA in Medical Anthropology from Stanford University, she began her career in business strategy. Realizing her true calling is in product creation, she later pursued apparel design and development, working at Nike in apparel innovation for over a decade. During her tenure as Sports Bra Innovation Director at Nike, she helped guide and develop sports bra innovation, and is the only person in North America with a master’s degree in lingerie design. Laura is the only person in the world who has studied bra technical design, aesthetic design, and biomechanics all in one degree. She serves as a consultant to the bra and sports bra industries in the areas of design, fit, strategy, costing, manufacturing, testing, supply-chain, and innovation. She is the founder of Bravolution®, a consumer advocacy group and resource providing sports bra reviews and education.  Laura is considered one of the world’s leading sports bras experts and has been featured as a bra expert in Vogue, Teen Vogue, Insider, NBC Today, and Better Homes & Gardens. Her TED talk about bras has over 2.4 million views. She enjoys domestic and international travel and has visited thirty-eight countries and all fifty states. She lives in Vancouver, B.C.

Not all advice, however well-intentioned, is good advice. And some advice is downright bad! Coach Elisabeth addressed some "bad running advice", from the misguided to the misunderstood & misconstrued, to the downright dangerous. 

• How NOT to train effectively
• When NOT to push through the pain
• What DOESN'T determine your readiness to run a marathon
• Why it's BAD when your body stops sweating
• Taking hydration/fueling DOESN'T slow you down
• There's NO one size fits all plan for your goals

Coach Elisabeth is the founder and Head Coach of Running Explained; her goal is to help educate runners of all abilities and experience levels whatever their goals are to become better, smarter, faster runners! Visit runningexplained.co for Fall Training Groups, training plans, and 1:1 run coaching options!

NASTY CRAMPSES! Why do they happen, and always at the worst time? Learn what we do and don't know about the cause of and risk factors for exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC) in this episode with Coach Elisabeth, including...

• A history of the research on muscle cramps in the last 100 years
• The basics of muscle types & HOW your skeletal muscles work 
• The "electrolyte imbalance" theory of muscle cramping
• The "neuromotor" theory of muscle cramping
• Things you can do to help reduce your risk of muscles cramps
• and more!

Visit runningexplained.co for Fall Training Groups, training plans, and 1:1 run coaching options!

🕶️🦩This episode is sponsored by GOODR SUNGLASSES! Get 15% off (my favorite) running sunglasses in the world & support the show using code RUNEXP at www.goodr.com! 🕶️

Are you an "injury-prone" runner? Does it feel like you're playing whack-a-mole with running-related injuries? Dr. Carmen Scuito, DPT, rejoins the podcast to discuss his FREE 5-movement injury risk self-assessment tool for runners who want to learn more about their bodies, movement patterns, strengths, and deficits!

• Why it's important to understand how your body moves
• Going through the screening tool step by step
• The science behind these specific movements/exercises
• Working with a generalist PT versus a running-specific PT
• ...and more!

Dr. Carmen Scuito, DPT, CSCS, is a performance physical therapist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and a running coach out in Las Vegas, Nevada. His passion is helping runners get over their hump, whether it be an injury or a performance block, and get back to setting PRs. Find him on Instagram at @carmen.dpt and @werunvegas

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRACK with Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running! This jam-packed episode covers the basics of using a track in your training along with discussing classic speedwork/workouts that you might perform on a track, and will teach you everything you need to know about using "a playground for runners"!

• What does Jason mean when he calls the track "a playground for runners"?
• Indoor vs outdoor tracks
• What the markings mean & how to use them
• How to properly pace yourself in a track workout
• Track etiquette
• How to run a time trial on a track
• Track footwear/track spikes
• Classic track workouts/how to "read" a workout
• Rest vs easy vs float recovery intervals
• Strides, straights & curves, and 400m repeats

🕶️🦩This episode is sponsored by GOODR SUNGLASSES! Get 15% off (my favorite) running sunglasses in the world & support the show using code RUNEXP at www.goodr.com! 🕶️

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Jason Fitzgerald is the creator and founder of Strength Running. As a USA Track & Field certified coach, he’s helped thousands of runners race faster, get stronger, and prevent injuries since 2010. Jason has been running competitively since 1998 and during that time he’s run a 2:39 marathon, beat almost 17,000 other runners to win a Warrior Dash obstacle race, and won many other 5ks, half marathons, and marathons.

Jason is the host of the Strength Running podcast and is a member of the Greatist Expert Network, and his book Running for Health & Happiness debuted as an Amazon bestseller. Jason was the 2017 Men’s Running Influencer of the Year and his coaching advice has been featured in most major media publications like Runner’s World, Competitor, Forbes, Lifehacker, Health Magazine, Business Insider, Fitness and many more.