Hosted by multi-certified run coaches and fitness professionals, Amanda Katz and Nick Klastava, The Running Explained Podcast is your go-to resource for actionable insights, expert tips and motivating advice to help you become the best runner you can be. We take a science-backed approach to running and fitness, offering practical strategies for athletes at all stages of their journey. Whether you're struggling with injury, wondering how to fuel your long runs or trying to nail your race day strategy, we've got you covered with expert interviews, listener questions and so much more.
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Runner Q&A with Sports Dietitian Stevie Lyn Smith: Carbs Per Hour, Ferritin, Burnout, and First Marathons
Season 6 · Episode 30
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 01:01:45
We did an old fashioned listener Q&A, and because you all sent in a stack of nutrition questions, we called in the big guns: sports dietitian Stevie Lyn Smith, RD, CSSD, back for round two.
Coach Amanda and I cover the coaching side while Stevie brings the fueling science. We get into how many carbs per hour you actually need on long runs (and why the answer is a range, not a flex), how to juggle fast 5Ks, marathons, and heavy lifting by building training seasons, and how to keep burnout from wrecking your year. Amanda goes on a legendary rant about lottery FOMO. I explain resiliency data points and why belief beats hard work at your absolute peak.
Then we help a first time Philly marathoner avoid the mile 20 wall, dig into the new ASH ferritin guidelines (and why ferritin alone does not tell the whole iron story), and answer the big one: can you safely cut weight before a marathon? Spoiler: Stevie said yes to cutting a bagel. That is it.
Today's episode is sponsored by CEP and Running Explained listeners get 15% off their entire order when shopping CEP Running online through November 15! Shop CEP Running or enter code LRL-NYC-15 at checkout.
Offer ends November 16, 2026, at 3:00AM EST. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
Listener questions answered:
1. How many carbs should I take on long runs for my December half marathon?
2. I love fast 5Ks, long distance, and lifting heavy. How do I prioritize?
3. How do you keep from burning out?
4. How can I help my brain catch up to my running and believe in myself more?
5. I'm running my first full at Philly. How do I push without hitting the wall at mile 20?
6. Why do runners need higher ferritin levels than non runners?
7. Can I safely cut weight before a marathon for performance?
Enjoyed this format? Rate and review the show and tell us. If you want more Q&A episodes, we will make it happen.
Bone Density, Menopause & Marathon Training
Season 6 · Episode 29
Thursday, September 17, 2026 • Duration 58:17
Coach Amanda and Coach Nick talk masters running with coach Kim Nedeau (Training Inclined) about how mileage, recovery, and strength work should change after 40, plus what the research really says about bone density, menopause, and weighted vests.
Kim built her coaching practice, Training Inclined, and her women's community, Train Like a Master, after her own injury-prone running years. In this episode: deload weeks and recovery science, the strength work masters runners can't skip, telling normal age-related slowdown from an actual training gap, bone density and perimenopause, training through osteopenia and arthritis, whether weighted vests actually build bone, and navigating body image and weight gain through menopause.
Today's episode is sponsored by CEP and Running Explained listeners get 15% off their entire order when shopping CEP Running online through November 15! Shop CEP Running or enter code LRL-NYC-15 at checkout.
Offer ends November 16, 2026, at 3:00AM EST. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
Our Guest
Kim Nedeau is a running coach, educator, and the founder of Train Like a Master, a training and education community for women 40 and over who want to keep running, get stronger, and perform well as they age.
Kim has spent more than a decade coaching runners and exploring the intersection of running, strength training, injury prevention, and healthy aging. Her work focuses on helping women understand how their training needs to evolve as they get older, which can mean setting new personal records or sometimes slowing down. Kim is also a masters runner herself, so she knows the highs and lows firsthand, sometimes finding herself running surprisingly fast for a master, and other days wondering how she got so slow.
Ferritin, Iron & Anemia and What the Labs Really Mean
Season 6 · Episode 28
Thursday, September 10, 2026 • Duration 01:03:06
A single ferritin test isn't the whole story. Coach Nick and Coach Amanda talk with sports dietitian Callie Roseland about the difference between low ferritin, iron deficiency, and anemia, why runners are especially prone to running low, and the ferritin number that actually supports performance versus the number that just clears a lab's "normal" range.
We also cover when to (and definitely not to) get iron labs drawn, how hard training affects iron absorption through a hormone called hepcidin, and why more iron isn't always better.
Guest
Callie Roseland, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD, IFNCP, EP-C is a Sports Dietitian who specializes in helping endurance and mountain athletes fuel for performance, recovery, and long-term health. She has 9+ years of experience in high-level performance nutrition, including more than 7 years as a Tactical Performance Dietitian supporting U.S. Special Operations Forces within a multidisciplinary human performance team.
Through her private practice, Fueling Upward, Callie works with adult athletes who lift, run, and climb mountains while balancing serious training with full-time work, family, and real life. Her background in exercise physiology, sports nutrition, and integrative and functional nutrition allows her to take a comprehensive approach to performance, with particular interests in endurance fueling, performance labwork, gut health, hormone health, injury recovery, and optimizing nutrition to support high-level training and performance.
Fueling Upward offers 1v1 virtual nutrition coaching, group education, and on-demand resources to help athletes have more energy, ditch gut issues, and fuel the training it takes to cross finish lines and climb mountains.
Email: callie@fuelingupward.com
IG: @fueling.upward.rd
Website: www.fuelingupward.com
Strength Training for Runners: The 5-Move Formula You Need (w/ Natalie LaMendola, DPT)
Season 6 · Episode 27
Thursday, September 3, 2026 • Duration 46:45
Strength training gets thrown around as a cure-all for runners: fix your injury, run faster, never break down. Coach Nick and Coach Amanda sit down with Natalie LaMendola, DPT, a running-specific physical therapist and Running Explained coach, to separate what strength training actually does for runners from what the internet claims it does.
We cover the exact framework Natalie uses with runners (squat, hinge, push, pull, carry), how to know if your program is even working, the real reasons runners skip strength work, and what changes once you hit master's age. We also get into why strength training is not a quick fix for an injury, no matter what your Instagram feed says.
In this episode
• What actually counts as strength training (and what doesn't)
• Why strength training improves running economy and tissue durability
• The squat, hinge, push, pull, carry framework for building a session
• How many heavy compound lifts, single leg exercises, and plyometrics you actually need
• The weekly benchmarks that tell you your program is working
• The real barriers keeping runners out of the weight room, and how to work around them
• Strength training for master's runners: consistency, calf work, and tendon health
• Do men and women need different strength programs? (Mostly no, with one hormonal exception)
• Why strength training won't fix an active injury, and what it actually does instead
About our guest Natalie is a running-specific Doctor of Physical Therapy and certified run coach based in Kansas City. When she's not working with runners in the clinic, you can find her chasing her own goals on the run alongside her husband, twin toddlers, and hound dog. Her passion lies in helping runners of all abilities achieve their goals and get back to the miles they love.
The Carb Ceiling Myth and What Actually Fuels a Long Run
Season 6 · Episode 26
Thursday, August 27, 2026 • Duration 54:03
The 60g-an-hour carb ceiling isn't real, it was just the limit of one transporter. Sports dietitians Emma Harvie and Jaclyn Sklaver, CNS, LDN, join Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to explain the glucose plus fructose fueling strategy pushing runners past 90 to 120 grams of carbs an hour, why underfueling wrecks your hormones (yours included, men), and how to build a fueling plan months before race day instead of the week of.
Topics covered
• The real science behind the 90 to 120g/hour carb range
• Glucose vs. fructose absorption pathways, explained simply
• Gut training for race day fueling
• Low energy availability and the "low T diet"
• Hormones, iron, and fat intake in endurance athletes
• Refueling after long runs even without an appetite
Guests: Jaclyn Sklaver, CNS, LDN (Athletes Nutrition / Athleats) and Emma Harvie (board certified nutrition specialist).
Jaclyn Sklaver, MS, CNS, LDN, is a board-certified integrative sports nutritionist and founder of Athleats Nutrition, where she works with active gym-goers, competitive athletes, and everyday clients seeking sustainable performance and body composition results. Drawing on a functional medicine approach, Jaclyn goes beyond calories and macros to address the root causes behind plateaus, fatigue, and stalled progress, from gut health and hormone balance to inflammation and recovery. Her personalized nutrition programming has supported some of the world's top athletes, including professionals in the NBA and NFL, alongside a wide range of committed gym-goers looking to train harder, recover faster, and feel better in their bodies. With over a decade of clinical experience, Jaclyn pioneered the private-practice model in sports dietetics and continues to bridge performance nutrition with whole-body, functional care.
Bone Health for Runners and the Injury Warning Signs You're Ignoring w/ Dr. Hoyt
Season 6 · Episode 25
Thursday, August 20, 2026 • Duration 51:57
Runners are great at ignoring pain. That is exactly the problem. In this episode, physical therapist Dr. Lisbeth Hoyt joins Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to break down bone health, the injury continuum, and how to actually catch a bone stress injury before it becomes a 12-week stress fracture.We get into why women are not small men, how hormonal shifts across your life (adolescence, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause) change your risk, and why the least exciting habits (strength, fuel, sleep) are the ones that keep you running. If you have ever pushed through a nagging shin or told your doctor you "jog occasionally," this one is for you.
IN THIS EPISODE
● Why bone is a living, dynamic tissue, and how running builds it stronger
● The number one warning sign that shows up BEFORE the aches and pains
● How to tell a normal bad run from an early bone stress injury
● Why running-specific PT matters, and how to advocate for yourself
● The life stages when women need to train and fuel differently
● The three "boring" basics that prevent most injuries: strength, nutrition, sleep
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome and introductions
00:26 Meet Dr. Lisbeth Hoyt, PT (and the fitness enthusiast title)
04:18 Today's topic: starting with bone health
05:09 Bone as living tissue: how it breaks down and rebuilds
07:00 Why male-centric research fails female runners
07:56 Nutrition habits that build bone early in life
11:52 The injury continuum: early warning signs runners dismiss
15:07 Why runners swing between panic and pushing through
How Many Marathons Is Too Many? w/ Coach Corky
Season 6 · Episode 24
Thursday, August 13, 2026 • Duration 51:10
Running one marathon used to be the whole goal. Now it’s normal to stack two or three in a single fall, chase every world major, and call the easy one “party pace.” This week Coach Nick and Coach Amanda sit down with New York marathon coach Corky (@CoachCorkyRuns) to ask how many marathons is actually too many. We get into what the research says about performance and mental health, why party pacing rarely works the way runners think, the REDs and rhabdo reality behind the highlight reel, and what real recovery looks like. It’s a love letter to the marathon and to your long-term relationship with it.
WHAT WE COVER
How marathon culture changed, and why stacking races got normal
How many marathons a year is actually too many
The “Berlin goal, NYC party pace” trap and who it really works for
What party pace actually costs your body
REDs, rhabdo, and the toll behind the highlight reel
What real marathon recovery looks like, day by day
Fueling your race to protect your recovery
The questions to ask if you’re chasing likes instead of the goal
Building a running life that lasts decades, not seasons
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome and meet Coach Corky
01:11 Who is Coach Corky
04:45 How marathon culture changed over the last decade
06:34 Why the marathon became “the event”
08:32 Social media, algorithms, and FOMO
10:15 What the research says: 2 to 3 marathons a year
11:01 The “Berlin goal, NYC party pace” trap
15:04 Intention vs impact
16:46 Love of running vs external validation
18:44 Why pros can stack races and most runners can’t
21:04 What “party pace” really means (and fueling for it)
Run Clubs Get a Bad Rap. Here's What's Actually True
Season 6 · Episode 23
Thursday, August 6, 2026 • Duration 01:06:50
Run clubs get called dating apps with cadence, influencer marketing for the warm-up, and content farms in matching kits. Some of that is fair. Most of it misses what these groups actually do every week.
Coach Nick sits down with two founders running clubs on the ground: Sydney Hara of Slow Girls Run Club in Vancouver, BC, and Will Walker of A Tribe Called Run in Baltimore, MD. They get honest about the criticisms and the parts nobody talks about.
In this episode:
Whether the "dating app" reputation is fair, and why intention is the whole game
Brand partnerships and content: building a community vs. farming your runners for a free commercial
The pace problem, and what "all paces welcome" actually requires (caboose crews, walking trails, wolfpack long runs)
The runners who never would have started without a club to show up to
What run clubs do for mental health that has nothing to do with fitness
Giving back: diaper drives, beach cleanups, back-to-school drives, and rallying around members in hard moments
Starting your own club: two things to do, one thing to never do
The question to ask any club before you join
Find the guests: Slow Girls Run Club (Vancouver, BC): @slowgirlsrunclub. Runs Wednesdays at 6 PM.
Sydney Hara is the founder of Slow Girls Run Club, a women's running community in Vancouver built around one idea: movement should feel good, not intimidating. What started as her own search for a space without pressure or pace expectations has grown into an active community of women who show up every week to run, connect, and have a genuinely good time. Events sell out. Friendships form. People come back.
A Tribe Called Run (Baltimore, MD): @atribecalledrun. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
Will Walker is the founder of A Tribe Called Run, a BIPOC lead running group based in Baltimore, MD. Will is an engineer by day, but in his free time, he loves spending time with his family, connecting with friends through food and building communities focused in wellness! Will found the sport of endurance running during one of the most challenging times of his life and recognizing how much it helped with his mental health, wanted to share that gift with others. This lead will to only create an amazing Run community, but also to become an RRCA certified coach!
REDs Explained, Why Underfueling Doesn't Have a Look w/ Dr. Melissa Lodge
Season 6 · Episode 22
Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 56:02
You can run well on too little fuel for a long time. Right up until you can't.
This week, Coach Amanda and Coach Nick sit down with Dr. Melissa Lodge (PhD in exercise science and sports nutrition, RD-in-progress, and the mind behind @fed_collaborative) to unpack REDs: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. It's one of the most misunderstood, under-screened issues in endurance running, and it does not have a look.
We get into why low energy availability sneaks up on runners (intentional and inadvertent), why weight is a terrible way to diagnose it, and the hidden biomarkers worth advocating for on your next blood panel (hi, T3). Melissa breaks down what's actually happening beneath the surface when you underfuel: bone loss, suppressed hormones, disrupted cholesterol, and a body quietly triaging which systems it can afford to keep running.
We also cover:
Why a "withdrawal bleed" on hormonal birth control isn't a period, and what you lose as a vital sign
The adolescent window for bone development that you genuinely cannot get back (essential listening for parents and coaches)
Within-day energy deficits, backloading calories, and why "I fueled my long run" isn't the finish line
How to raise concerns with a teammate or friend without pointing fingers
The carbohydrate revolution in endurance sport, and the trap of nailing one thing while ignoring the other 22 hours of your day
The throughline, in true Running Explained fashion: nail the basics first. Eat enough, eat often, and stop making fueling harder than it needs to be.
Bio: Melissa Lodge, PhD, is an exercise physiologist and soon-to-be RD. Her research focuses on the physiological and psychological impacts of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), particularly in female athletes. As a former elite runner, Melissa is especially interested in REDs prevention to improve the health and performance of athletes across the lifespan. Melissa also runs the social media platform @fed_collaborative, where she translates complex research on exercise physiology, REDs, and sports nutrition.
More Salt Isn't the Answer: Summer Fueling and Hydration w/ Stevie Lyn Smith
Season 6 · Episode 21
Thursday, June 25, 2026 • Duration 01:08:57
It's getting hot out there, and your fueling and hydration plan needs to keep up. Registered dietitian and board-certified sports nutritionist Stevie Lyn Smith (fresh off running 460-ish miles from Buffalo to Brooklyn, as one does) joins Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to break down what actually changes when the temperature climbs.
We get into why more electrolytes isn't automatically better, the real reason carb-based sports drinks help you absorb water faster, and how to run a simple sweat test at home so you can stop guessing. Stevie walks through her own half Ironman fueling strategy (carbs, caffeine timing, and cooling tricks included), what to grab on course when your gut says no to one more gel, and how to think about caffeine dosing without ending up with heart palpitations on the treadmill.
Then we go down a couple of rabbit holes you asked for: iron and ferritin (when to supplement versus when to dig into the why), and peptides (spoiler: the human research is thin, and we aren't rats). Evidence-based, occasionally unhinged, zero filler. Exactly how you like it.
Find Stevie on Instagram, stevielynrd.com, and on her podcast Real Fuel with SLS. Grab her book Power Up: A Young Woman's Guide to Winning with Sports Nutrition wherever books are sold.
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Through her coaching, writing, and educational work, Kim brings an evidence-informed but practical perspective to topics like muscle loss, bone health, menopause, injury, recovery, and performance in the masters years.
Find Kim Nedeau:
• kimnedeau.com / https://traininginclined.com/
• Instagram: kimnedeau_traininginclined
Reach out via email at hello@runningexplained.com
More from Running Explained
@runningexplained on IG
www.runningexplained.com
Rate and review the podcast wherever you listen. It helps more runners find the show.
Reach out via email at hello@runningexplained.com
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@runningexplained on IG
www.runningexplained.com
Rate and review the podcast wherever you listen. It helps more runners find the show.
Find Natalie: lamendolapt.com or on Instagram @runwithnat_dpt
More from Running Explained
runningexplained.com
Rate and review the podcast wherever you listen. It helps more runners find the show.
Emma Harvie, MS, CNS, LN, is a Licensed Nutritionist and Board Certified Nutrition Specialist specializing in functional medicine and sports performance nutrition. She brings a lifelong history of athletics to her clinical work, including as a former professional bodybuilder and current avid CrossFit athlete. Born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, Emma has run Grandma's Half Marathon every year since she was 15 years old, now an 18 time finisher and one of her favorite hometown traditions. Drawing on her firsthand understanding of what the body demands under training and competition, she works with clients using a practical, realistic, and root cause approach, building highly personalized nutrition strategies that recognize the unique needs and lifestyle of each individual patient. Emma has had the privilege of working with NBA players, celebrities, and elite, collegiate, and Olympic athletes to reach their health and performance goals. She loves helping clients overcome barriers to health to achieve meaningful, sustainable, and lifelong improvements in well-being.
Hosted by Coach Nick and Coach Amanda for Running Explained.
CONNECT WITH RUNNING EXPLAINED
● Website: runningexplained.com
● Instagram: @running.explained @amanda.katzz
17:51 Running-specific PT vs. generic PT, and advocating for yourself
21:56 Why we keep you running instead of shutting you down
25:07 The comprehensive intake: sleep, stress, nutrition, life load
30:32 The biggest red flags: sleep and nutrition
32:34 Life stages that demand more intention around bone health
37:00 Perimenopause, misdiagnosis, and the research gap
39:48 Training through pregnancy and the postpartum rush back
45:10 The three things to start today: strength, nutrition, sleep
49:27 Rapid-fire questions with Dr. Hoyt
52:30 Where to find Dr. Hoyt and work with her
CONNECT WITH DR. LISBETH HOYT
Lisbeth is a running specialized physical therapist at Custom Performance, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, RRCA-certified running coach, and certified mat Pilates instructor. She's been working exclusively in the running world at Custom Performance for the past 10 years. Lisbeth has been a lifelong athlete who found her way to distance running following the end of organized team sports (aka college graduation).As a physical therapist Lisbeth believes running should be fun and part of a balanced, active lifestyle, and meets each client where they are in their running journey. Her goal is to help runners build the strength, movement skills, and confidence they need to keep doing what they love.Lisbeth is a 4 time marathoner, many times half marathoner and a mom of 2 toddlers which requires more energy than any race she's run before.
● Custom Performance, Midtown Manhattan (41st and Madison)
● Email: lisbeth@nycustompt.com | Front desk: info@nycustompt.com
● Free phone consults available
● Instagram: @lisbethh.jennings
CONNECT WITH RUNNING EXPLAINED
● Website: runningexplained.com
● Instagram: @runningexplained @amanda.katzz
Rate and review the podcast wherever you listen or watch
23:03 The influencer highlight reel: REDs, rhabdo, and what you don’t see
25:26 The hidden mental toll of chasing marathons
28:17 Mental recovery and the marathon hamster wheel
31:45 What good marathon recovery actually looks like
34:30 Reintroducing running and the reverse taper
35:04 Muscle memory, a 31-mile run, and fueling for recovery
37:33 Training your gut and fueling for longevity
38:45 Staying flexible: adjust your calendar, respect the big picture
40:30 Questions to check your real motivation
43:30 Why DNS and DNF should always be options
44:03 Racing for yourself vs racing for the feed
46:31 Building a lifelong relationship with running
48:25 Super secret guest interview questions
51:03 Where to find Coach Corky
51:54 Wrap-up
Corky has been coaching and supporting runners since 2014, when she launched Coach Corky Runs. Her favorite distance to coach and race is the marathon, though she has extensive experience on the roads from the 5K through Ultra distances. While Corky coaches clients virtually anywhere in the USA, in person she's made a name for herself in the treadmill group fitness world. She was a full time coach at Mile High Run Club from 2015-2019, and joined Precision Run at Equinox in 2019, and is still currently coaching in person in NYC. She's also one of the Precision Run coaches on the Equinox+ app, guiding members through treadmill and outdoor programs. Corky is still competing, and while she loves to race, her favorite part of being a runner is truly the training. coachcorkyruns.com, @CoachCorkyRuns on Instagram and Threads, and teaching at Equinox NYC.
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Find Melissa on Instagram at @fed_collaborative.
This episode touches on disordered eating and bone health. If any of it hits close to home, please reach out to a sports-medicine-informed physician or dietitian.
