Welcome to Am I Nuts. This is the fourth episode in a special series of ten weekly podcasts from us at the Women’s Running podcast. I am your host Esther Newman, and she is your other host Holly Taylor.

To coincide with World Mental Health Day this  October, we wanted to explore some of the things that we’ve talked about on our big podcast – that’s the Women’s Running podcast  – that don’t necessarily have anything to do with running. Hol and I are natural born worriers, but with many of our worries, we’ve thought we were the only ones. We thought we were nuts. So for this series, we’re going to be chatting about the worries that make us feel that way.

If this episode resonates with you, or you have something you think we should talk about, or get an expert on to discuss, then please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk

In this episode we talk about our worries about what other people think of us. We’re often told on social media that we shouldn’t worry about what other people are thinking because we literally can’t control it, but it’s something that in we want to discuss as we worry about it all the time! Are we nuts for worrying about other people’s opinions?

Am I Nuts is brought to you by the Women’s Running podcast – do please check it out wherever you listen to your podcasts for longer episodes to keep you company while you run. And if running is your thing, or you’d like it to be your thing, check out Women’s Running magazine, which currently has a brilliant offer for new subscribers: if you buy a year’s worth of Women’s Running magazine, you’ll save a whacking 30% AND you get a year’s subscription to running app Coopah, worth £79.99, absolutely free. Go to womensrunning.co.uk, click on SHOP and use the code X24WRPOD at the checkout. 

Do also think about join us on Patreon – it’s not all about running, this is about a community! For just £2 a month, you get newsletters, Live chats, and you can join our exclusive Discord community for support from women just like you. Go to patreon.com/womensrunning to find out more.

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Welcome to episode 220 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel & Hydration – you can get 15% off their whole range here!

We’re discussing the hottest topic in running– where to get the best post-run roast in the Bath area. Running is optional. This is all on the back of us talking about nutrition and the best things to eat before, during and after a run.

Small aside here: we talk about food you should and shouldn’t eat in pregnancy and I truly don’t know what I’m talking about – please take no medical advice from me.

So what do we eat before our runs, and during them, and are these the right things? And of course because we’re talking about food, we end up talking about ALL food.

We also continue, by way of your emails, our conversation about neurodivergent runners. Please forgive any amateur chats about ADD and ADHD; we are totally unqualified but very curious to find out more from you. Do email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with more on this – we would love to hear from you.

Little nudge to subscribe to the magazine here, and I’m only going on about it, cos this offer will end soon. If you buy a year’s worth of Women’s Running magazine, you’ll save 30% AND you get a year’s subscription to running app Coopah, worth £79.99, absolutely free. Go to womensrunning.co.uk, click on SHOP and use the code X24WRPOD at the checkout. 

Lovely extra bits

• This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel & Hydration, which has all this helpful stuff for you:
•  Are you fueling adequately to maintain health and performance?
• The Fuel & Hydration Planner
• Get 15% off Precision Fuel & Hydration
• Subscribe to Women’s Running – and you’ll get a year’s subscription to Coopah for FREE!
• Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we’ve been using it for ages and LOVE IT
• Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunning
• Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 214 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.

Holly is feeling unwell, and is super-stressed with a house move, so there’s lots to talk about right away. And then of course it’s the London Vitality 10,000 this weekend, and it’s been suggested we run it in our pants. Of couse we jumped at the chance! Only joking. I’ll be running in a wetsuit as usual. If you’re coming, we can’t wait to see you there.

I’ve also been training for my trail marathon in October, which is a beautiful run organized by new event company Trail Escape – do check them out to see what’s coming up next year as I think they’re plotting some gorgeous events.

Then on to the big conversations – how do you feel about men taking their tops off in public (aside from at the beach). Holly is in the defense corner, and it doesn’t take long to work out why… Listen in for a surprise guest appearance.

Now I keep on banging on about subscribing to Women’s Running magazine, but forgive me please, because a) it’s my job, and b) this is a ridiculous offer. Right now you can get your first six issues of Women’s Running for just £6! Go to womensrunning.co.uk, click on SHOP, and use the code SEP24WRPOD at the checkout. Or just go here.

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.
• Subscribe to Women’s Running – join us today for 6 issues for £6!
• Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we’ve been using it for ages and LOVE IT
• Check out the races on offer from Trail Escape
• Download a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/run
• Buy a Pod Squad t-shirt!
• Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunning
• Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 148 of the Women’s Running podcast. Because it’s pretty hot right now, and layers are being discarded, we launch into body positivity – or at least the wish for body neutrality that we both want.

We’re also still talking about slow running, as that’s been a topic of interest since our last podcast. Esther has attempted to follow an 80/20 plan this past week, and she has some thoughts on that.

After our usual random chat, we introduce the lovely Anne Quick, Business Development Manager for Garmin. We asked her on because we wanted to ask her loads of sports watch related questions including, what is V02 max, how does Garmin work it out, and what are the things that can impact the score. We also chatted about a bunch of other clever bits that can help our running and wider lives, from the Training Readiness feature to breathing exercises.

Once we’re back in the room, we get back to our running efforts over the past week or so, and what we’re going to do going forwards to try and improve that Vo2 max score. Plus we’ve got a lovely listener email, some exciting new SPF bits to try (that don’t sting), and we’re very naughty on Instagram Stories.

Do join the Women’s Running Wave and run Vitality 10,000 with us!

Just go to vitalitylondon10000.co.uk and enter the Women’s Running wave!

Join the Women’s Running Wave and run Vitality 10,000 with us!

Just go to vitalitylondon10000.co.uk and enter the Women’s Running wave!

Subscribe to Women’s Running now and you’ll save a third off the cover price! That’s at shop.womensrunning.co.uk

Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunning

Please continue to donate whatever you can to our fundraiser for the Trussell Trust – Holly and I ran 5K and donated £5, but you can give whatever you can afford. Search Anthem on Justgiving

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

Fabulous non-stinging SPF perfect for runners here https://colorescienceuk.com

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Welcome to episode 147 of the Women’s Running Podcast. We get straight into it this week with a spot of imposter syndrome, which is something both Esther and Holly feel a *lot*, especially when it comes to running.

We then charge into the idea of slow running and how it can affect our pace and endurance and our health much more positively than the usual running we do, which tends to be staying vaguely in heart rates zone 3 and 4. We discuss how hard this it is to run slower.

And we also discuss the concept of slow running making our harder/faster running better – because if we’ve recovered well, we can basically put in more effort on those technical sessions.

Other than that, Holly has been exploring wild swimming as a cross training activity and thoroughly enjoyed herself, but the end result has been less than brilliant.

And here’s a quick reminder for the event of the year. We want you to come and run with us at the London Vitality 10,000 this year on Sunday September 24th. We have our very own Women’s Running Wave, which means we can all run together, and there’s enough space for everyone. There’ll be a special meet and greet area just for us in the park, so we’ll be able to chat with you before and after the run, and we can all celebrate together.

We can’t wait to run with you!

Join the Women’s Running Wave and run Vitality 10,000 with us!

Big long clicky link here just in case:

https://www.letsdothis.com/gb/checkout/ticket?eventId=18139&reservationCode=re_w37-cc3zed54&utm_organiser_id=29443

Subscribe to Women’s Running now and you’ll save a third off the cover price!

Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord!

Please continue to donate whatever you can to our fundraiser for the Trussell Trust – Holly and I ran 5K and donated £5, but you can give whatever you can afford.

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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This episode is brought to you by the triple whammy that is hot running, half term juggling and booze.

Now that the sun's out, we talk about sunscreen and sweat, and finding the elusive sun block that doesn’t sting. We also talk about dehydration in the heat, and how to prevent that, which brings us neatly to our next point.

We talk about managing moderate drinking and training, and how that’s tricky especially in the summer when you may have more social engagements. We also talk about the effect that booze can have on our health and our lifestyles, and also on our running. We also touch on running and anxiety and depression, and that link between alcohol and our mental health.

I then have a small whinge about running and juggling time, as it’s half term and it is HARD to do these things. Esther copes a little bit by planning ahead and putting timed slots in my diary. That’s just one way of doing it, there are others! Also, as Holly says, you don’t have to run!

Lastly, we have a big announcement. We want you to come and run with us at the London Vitality 10,000 this year on Sunday September 24th. We want you to come and run with us – and we have our very own Women’s Running Wave, which means we can all run together, and there’s enough space for everyone. There’ll be a special meet and greet area just for us in the park, so we’ll be able to chat with you before and after the run, and we can all celebrate together.

We can’t wait to run with you!

Join the Women’s Running Wave and run Vitality 10,000 with us!

Big long clicky link here just in case:

https://www.letsdothis.com/gb/checkout/ticket?eventId=18139&reservationCode=re_w37-cc3zed54&utm_organiser_id=29443

Subscribe to Women’s Running now and you’ll save a third off the cover price!

Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord!

Please continue to donate whatever you can to our fundraiser for the Trussell Trust – Holly and I ran 5K and donated £5, but you can give whatever you can afford.

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 145 of the Women’s Running podcast. We start this issue talking injuries! A runner’s favourite subject, right?

We’re chatting about all the injuries that we’re suffering from, and most of them have been on Esther’s hit list: from runner’s knee to ITB irritations, weird toe things, and a pulled quad. Plus, also, as ever, lower back issues. A catalogue of running disasters.

But we come bearing good news, because Esther has been to the chiropractor and feels like a new woman. Perhaps not 100% cured but almost nearly, so we have lots of thoughts and feelings about that, exploring the concept of traditional vs alternative medicine.

Then along with all the different physical injuries we’ve been suffering from, we’ve also got a bit of anxiety chat cos Holly’s been having a bit of a crappy week as far as that’s concerned.

We also, you’ll be pleased to hear, manage to segue between how much we love routine into some pretty decent Harry Potter impressions. Really, honestly, there’s an enormous bit of content on Harry Potter here. Enjoy!

Subscribe to Women’s Running now and you’ll save a third off the cover price!

Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord!

Run 5K and donate 5K on May 28th, World Hunger Day

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 144 of the Women’s Running Podcast with your hosts Esther Newman and Holly Taylor. In this episode, we delve into various topics, including Eurovision, running injuries, mental health, weight and running, and finding the balance between gentle and punishing running practices.

We start with Eurovision, because that’s the way we roll. Yes, we’re going to talk about running, but we need to prioritise here. Of *course* Holly is hugely invested in this, but it may come as a bit of a surprise that Esther is also a Mega Fan. We debrief the best bits from the weekend, and Holly gets a chance to do her very best “douze points”.

Esther shares her struggle with a persistent running injury that has persisted since completing the London marathon. We explore the importance of post-race rest and care for our bodies.

Continuing the discussion, we delve into the relationship between running and mental health. Esther opens up about feeling down due to her running injury, emphasising the emotional toll it can take. We reflect on the need to prioritize mental well-being alongside physical fitness.

One of the effects of not being able to run is the feeling of a lack of control and an increased tendency toward self-loathing as we anticipate changes in our bodies. We discuss strategies for maintaining a healthy mindset.

We explore the concept of running as punishment and using food as a reward. Finding the right balance is essential, and and how we need to try and find that sweet spot between being too gentle and too punishing.

• Subscribe to Women’s Running now and save one-third off the cover price!
• Join us on Patreon and become a member of our new Pod Squad community on Discord!
• Run 5K and donate 5K on May 28th, World Hunger Day. Join us in supporting this meaningful cause.
• We'd love to hear from you! Please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories.

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In this episode, we’ve moved on from training for a marathon, to recovery from that marathon, and ploughed straight into injuries.

Esther has got a catalogue of them, and what we’re discussing here is, is it common to fall prey to injuries once you’ve completed a marathon – not in your training block, and not on the day itself, but afterwards, when you’re slowly beginning to start running again.

And it sounds like it’s a resounding yes, as many of you have already responded to on Instagram to say you’d had something similar – but we thought it was surprising that there doesn’t seem to be a lot online about it as a Thing.

We talk about one method of healing post injury, which has been suggested – and that’s going to a chiropractor. We will of course report back, as we've now been persuaded that this might be the way to go in terms of preventing injuries in the future, particularly if they stem from bad backs.

Speaking of backs and cross training, we chat about yoga and bootcamps and strength and mobility, all of which we need to upweight in order to prevent those annoying injuries.

By the way do please subscribe and leave us a lovely review if you can, cos the last one that’s up there is MEAN – we discuss in detail.

Come and join us on Patreon so that you can join our lovely Pod Squad community in our exclusive chat room - which we’ve made just for you, so we can all discuss running and races, health and nutrition, and also all of that non-running stuff too.

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel & Hydration!

Get 15% off Precision Fuel & Hydration

The Fuel & Hydration Planner

How to measure your sweat rate

How to estimate how salty your sweat is

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord!

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In episode 142 of the Women’s Running Podcast, Esther and Holly talk about recovery and finding new joy in exercise regimes.

It’s a week after the London Marathon, and this episode is a load more joyful than episode 141, because Esther is no longer in huge physical and emotional pain! We talk about running and routines and how we discover ourselves again after we’ve achieving huge running goals like, for instance, a marathon.

We also discuss marathon recovery – you have to listen to Holly explain exactly how she goes to the loo after a race when the DOMs mean lowering on to a loo seat is the worst pain in the world.

We also chat about the concept of “one and done”. Just because you’ve run a big goal distance or race, that doesn’t mean you need to go on and do more of them, or longer distances. You can just stop! But if you’re able to, and you fancy it – it’s a great thing to continue to do. However you don’t have to carry on chasing goals if you don’t want to.

Come and join us on Patreon so that you can join our lovely Pod Squad community in our exclusive chat room -which we’ve made just for you, so we can all chat about running and races, health and nutrition, and also all of that non-running stuff too (the important stuff).

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel & Hydration! You can get 15% off using the code WR2023! Go get ‘em.

Head over there, too, to find out How to carb load before your next race and to sort out all your nutrition with the clever Fuel & Hydration planner.

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord!

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It’s time for the London Marathon debrief. At time of recording, it’s the morning after the day before, and Esther feels a bit broken.

We need to talk about marathon recovery here, which we’ll go into more next episode of the Women’s Running podcast, bearing in mind how blue many of us will feel in the days after a big race, for so many reasons.

And then, hormones. Because of one thing and another, Esther was running the day before her period. This, as we all know, is the very worst day of the month, and has at least served to answer questions around why she didn’t enjoy the day as much as she had wanted to. What are your experiences of running, periods and hormones?

On the plus side, Esther had a lovely stay at the Westin London City the night before, and managed to actually sleep this time round. And another thing that worked was the mental strategies that she used during the race – it turns out it isn’t just your legs that get you round.

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel & Hydration. You can Get 15% off Precision Fuel & Hydration using the code WR2023

Go here too, with fuelling questions, such as are you fueling adequately to maintain health and performance?

And make sure you check out The Fuel & Hydration Planner

Esther stayed at the Weston London City: a beautiful, centrally located hotel perfect for runners!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive behind-the-scenes newsletters and extra podcasts!

Find out what to do in the last week before a marathon

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 140 of the Women's Running Podcast, hosted by Esther Newman and Holly Taylor. In this episode, we discuss Holly's exciting weekend and hanxiety which leads us to talk about our usual state of generalised anxiety in the face of challenges, especially with the London Marathon just around the corner.

Esther shares her nervousness about the upcoming London Marathon and being in the taper phase, which involves less running and more eating (and more sleep, which she just remembered!). She talks about her fears and classic maranoia, trying to learn from last year's marathon mistakes, such as not thinking about food until a couple of days before the race. Esther also looks forward to post-marathon fun exercise, taking inspiration from Holly's approach.

We also dive into the topic of perimenopausal symptoms and how they are affecting Esther's stress levels ahead of the London Marathon, particularly heavy periods and frequency. We discuss symptoms, periods, and tactics for managing them, sharing new insights that are news to both of us.

This episode is sponsored by Precision Fuel and Hydration! Need help with your fuelling and hydration? Don’t we all! That’s where their Fuel & Hydration Planner comes in. Also they have the answer as to whether female athletes’ carbohydrate needs are different to mens’. AND while you’re thinking about it, you can get 15% off Precision Fuel & Hydration with the code WR2023 Boom.

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive behind-the-scenes newsletters and extra podcasts!

Find out what to do in the last week before a marathon

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Today, we’ve got a couple of things to get off our respective chests, running-wise. We talk about how running with other people can be “unexpectedly good” for those of us who tend not to. We also chat about time management and my favourite topic, emotional load. You can get a lot more of this sort of thing if you subscribe to Women’s Running magazine btw, currently with a stupendous offer of 3 issues for the price of 2. Bargain.

We also return to one of favourite ever previous sections on the podcast that we’ve not discussed for ages. It’s pet running peeves! Hurrah! This is only because I was stopped while I was out running by a tourist asking for directions. This drives me absolutely nuts! Possibly because I run around a tourist hotspot, and I’m more likely to be running around it than walking around, but it seems to me that I’m way more often asked for directions while I’m running than while I’m walking. I’ve even had cars stop alongside me to ask for directions while I’ve been running! It makes me so cross! So because we loved having that chat, we want more of your pet peeves please!

We also talk about tapering, cos I’ve got London in about 9 days time and it’s filling all my waking thoughts, and all of my googling. There is some sensible advice about what we need to be doing in the last week before a marathon on the website, as Holly points out, thankfully.

And very quickly, do come and join us over on Patreon, as we’ve got our next Women’s Running Live next Wednesday 19th April at 7pm, exclusively for patrons. Come for chats!

This episode is sponsored by Higher State! Head to their partner SportsShoes.com and use the code HSTWR20 to get yourself 20% off when you buy 2 Higher State things!

Do join us on Patreon to come along to our next Live event on Wednesday 19th April!

Find out what to do in the last week before a marathon

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 213 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.

I’ve had a stressful start to Sept, but finished off the first week with a very un-Esther trip to a spa, and have some thoughts on it. We also have another look at the 5K running controversy from a couple of months ago as we’ve had a lot of emails from you guys and we want to hear them and talk about them,

We also talk about menopause, and another point of view that we hadn’t considered that raises some extremely valid points. And you know I always talk about how we talk about last night’s tv in the preamble. Well, here we talk about last night’s TV. Fill your boots.

And in a new Tales from the Pod section, we talk to gorgeous Pod Squadder Alice who ran with us in Paris last year, and has been a firm fixture on the Pod Squad scene ever since. Alice’s fitness story started with scuba diving – scary seal stories ahoy!

Now. Patreon. Apologies for those of you who are already members of our fabulous club, but for those of you who aren’t, pop along to patreon.com/womensrunning to find out about our Discord forum, our Live episodes and our silly newsletters, which are all yours for just £2 a month. Come and join us!

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.
• Subscribe to Women’s Running – join us today for two years for the price of one!
• Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we’ve been using it for ages and LOVE IT
• Download a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/run
• Buy a Pod Squad t-shirt!
• Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunning
• Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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I start with the chaos in my life at the moment, and because that’s included a trip to A&E, I have a little weep within about five minutes. While it isn’t directly running related, it is something I wanted to talk about in the context of the emotional mental load that women so often carry. I’d be really interested to hear what you think about with. But It’s an important topic to discuss because the fact remains that we are the ones that carry the majority of that load, and how on earth do we train for a race, whether it’s 10K or a marathon, if we’re doing all of that?

But because I’ve had a rubbish week you have to forgive us as we then have a delicious conversation about reality TV. Holly is at pains to tell me that EVERYONE wants me to watch Love is Blind.

We also talk about fasted running. We’re both guilty of accidental fasted running, but we get into the logistics here, based on some very quick google research, on whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing to do. Obviously if it works for you, then that’s great, do let us know your thoughts please on this, and any other topics at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk.

This episode is sponsored by Higher State! Head to their partner SportsShoes.com and use the code

HSTWR20 to get yourself 20% off when you buy 2 Higher State things!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 137 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I am your host Esther Newman, and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. We’ve got a lot to get through this episode, not least because of the reaction to my controversial parkrun comments last episode, so of course that means we spend the first 20 minutes discussing Oodies for kids and British Summer Time.

Then we truck on with some dedicated running chat. I’ve just completed my penultimate long run before the London Marathon – so we have thoughts about that, and there’s a small tangent off into stress incontinence. If you know, you know.

Holly discusses what she should train for next – should this be a 10K? Or a virtual thing? Or a cumulative thing? At the moment, she’s enjoying no pressure training, but we know that goals are our friend, so there are a few things to ponder here.

And then, of course, the parkrun controversy continues: we had a full mailbag this week with plenty of you weighing in on the debate. So we talk about your thoughts, and how we can create more of a non-competitive atmosphere for our weekly meet ups.

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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We launch into this episode with a dabble in what Holly’s been doing with her running, but then swiftly into a controversial topic: and that’s parkrun. And we want to know what you think: do you love it? Or are you a little more ambivalent?

Don’t get me wrong here, we both know how brilliant parkrun is, it’s bloody wonderful and it has singlehandedly persuaded countless people to move their bodies and to enjoy the feeling of running who wouldn’t otherwise have done so – and it’s a great way to celebrate running your first 5K. But, the run-not-a-race thing is the bit I have an issue with, as it can feel really competitive – and that’s great for a lot of people, but not necessarily for all of us. Holly, for one, didn’t like having stats sent to her – she suggests an option to opt in and out of those stats. Maybe that could be a thing.

We then talk about our different personality types AGAIN (this is endlessly fascinating for us, I’m afraid) and the ways in which we fulfil smalltalk. We end on magnesium (one of the supplements it’s often suggested we take), something I’ve been researching for whole actual minutes, so that you don’t have to. We talk about the benefits for women and runners. Yes it’s nice to have a bath in it, but what does it actually do?

Before I forget to say, we’ve just released a new Extra Mile podcast on Patreon, which is full of additional silliness just for patrons on the Cheer Squad tier. Join us to listen to it, and to access lots of other lovely bits besides, all from just two quid a month. Total bargain.

This episode is sponsored by the lovely people at Yeo Valley: try the Organic Kefir, it’s proper lush

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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This episode is all about recovery! I ask Holly what she’s been doing to recover from the Paris Half and, without consulting a single google search, it sounds like Holly is doing all the best things.

She’s doing exercise for the fun of it, rather than for a goal, and she’s also been eating and drinking for pleasure and whenever she damn well wants. The trick here, however, is to view your recovery as something that’s just as important as your last few weeks’ training, because it’s your rest and recovery that will repair your body and bring you back even stronger for the next goal in your running career.

We also talk about introverts and extrovert, nausea on a run, breathing exercises that actually work, and smutty books we love.

This episode is sponsored by the lovely people at Yeo Valley: try the Organic Kefir, it’s proper lush

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Read our full review of the Paris Half Marathon experience with Sports Tours 

Grab yourself a copy of Josie’s book, the Ten Pillars of Success, and bag some of her motivation for yourself

Book yourself a race with Sports Tours International!

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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This is a very special episode indeed, so it makes sense to release it on International Women’s Day. To be fair, in a roundabout way, we celebrate women in every episode, but this one has real significance.

We recorded a portion of this episode live in front of an actual audience. This was in Paris, an hour or so after we ran the Paris Half Marathon with 50 Pod Squad listeners, thanks to Sports Tours International. We gathered together with a glass of something chilled in a not very glamorous room filled with laundry, which felt very on brand, to congratulate each other and talk about our races. Here is all our excitement, our tears and our thoughts – we’ve also written our full review of the Paris Half. 

Holly talks through all her favourite bits and her worries - as she says herself, she was absolutely dreading it, with a run up and training regime that had been hampered by Covid and anxiety and various things that had derailed the running she had wanted to do. With only an hour’s long run in the bank, she was having a full scale wobble. So find out how each of our half marathons went, from start to finish, and discover the clever ways we kept ourselves motivated en route, thanks to the wisdom of sports psychologist Josie Perry who joined us as well.

And also here, find out how bloody brilliant it was to meet up with, and run with, 50 brilliant women – we suggest you do this as soon as you can to be reminded of how wonderful we all are. 

This episode is sponsored by the lovely people at Yeo Valley: try the Organic Kefir, it’s proper lush

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Read our full review of the Paris Half Marathon experience with Sports Tours 

Grab yourself a copy of Josie’s book, the Ten Pillars of Success, and bag some of her motivation for yourself

Book yourself a race with Sports Tours International!

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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In this episode we’re covering everything from anxiety and post-covid concerns to half marathon techniques and long run disasters.

New coffee addict Holly is buzzing about caffeine, but also about our Paris half marathon coming up in just a few days. We’re both enormously excited, but also extremely nervous. Holly’s training isn’t where she’d like it to be, so we figure out some easier Jeff splits for her (find out more about walk/running) and she tries to calm her anxious brain a little.

I’m also worried about my training – London is fast approaching, and I’m not sure I’m where I need to be in terms of strength or technical training. I completed a long run at the weekend, and I’m 90% happy with it. You will have to discover if the remaining unfortunate 10% has anything to do with Runner’s Trots by listening right through, you lucky lucky people. Honestly the things we do for this podcast...

This episode is sponsored by the lovely people at Yeo Valley: try the Organic Kefir, it’s proper lush

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Drop off some food this February for Food Bank Run – there are families out there who really need our support

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Holly opens this pod giddy with a recent purchase – while I’m not entirely positive that she’s target market, I am absolutely NOT judging.

Moving on to actual running, Holly has made the decision that she’s going to definitely walk/run Paris, and all her confidence has come back in droves, in no small part due to all the messages she received after the last episode. She had been feeling so stressed and so ill, and was so unsure about everything. But she has now faced up to her anxieties, and is both pragmatic and excited about Paris.

We have a chat about nutrition for the half marathon – Holly does well these days at eating before she runs, but she hasn’t practised running and eating at the same time, so I’m here with all the tips on what she can practice with, without impending doom. We talk about what our A goals and B goals are for both Paris and London.

We talk about the possibility of running a race while drinking booze at the same time – we’re aware food and wine races exist. But I can’t help but wonder here, does celebrating en route mean you then can’t celebrate post race? Tricky tricky.

Holly is loving her new BAM kit

We also talk about Revvies, Bounce and Tribe – nutrition fit for queens

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Drop off some food this February for Food Bank Run – there are families out there who really need our support

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 131 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman, and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. This episode is all about illness and recovery, because Holly is firmly in the doldrums, in terms of her physical training, but also her overall health and the impact that’s having on her mental health.

So it turns into a bit of therapy session between us, to which you are all cordially invited. Holly is finding herself enormously stressed about our impending half marathon, she’s worried about her training having taken a tumble, she’s worried about pleasing people (or not), and she’s also worried about not doing it.

Because if only it was as easy as saying she didn’t need to run it – which I do say, and she needn’t, but her conflict is caring for her mental and physical self vs that part of her that really wants to be wearing her medal with the gang on the finish line. So we talk through how she encourages that first part of her to also be that second part of her. It’s tough.

She’s also worried about not being Top Form Holly when we’re in Paris. As she says: “Because I’m worried people won’t love me”. I’m positive that all of you are with me, when I say that EVERYONE will love her even more when she makes it there, but she needs a lot of convincing.

Go and get coached by Runna – it’s just ace

Enter our competition to win entry to Ultra X Scotland and a night’s stay in a luxury hotel for two

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Drop off some food this February for Food Bank Run – there are families out there who really need our support

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 130 of the Women’s Running Podcast, sponsored by Runna. Holly is talking health and mental health. Both have taken a bit of a pounding over the past month and it’s overwhelmed her training and exercise schedule, no matter how hashtag-be-kind she’s been to herself.

I’ve had a big old menopause symptom and it’s made me feel like SHIT, so I fess up all of it, which has taken a bit of courage because we know that not only do you lot listen but so do our bosses! Anyway. I wanted to share, because we need to talk about this stuff. 

We also talk about being given the fear by Martin Yelling, using the mantra “this is my race”, troughing on vegan croissants from Paul’s, Aunty Praline makes a guest appearance, there’s a little bit of Paris nonsense, and we have loads of lovely emails from listeners including one that’s a little bit shady to a competitor. And we’re keeping it in.

We also make time for a quick mention for Food Bank Run, which would be great to do in February – link below. And also the wonderful 1% club, being run by Earth Runs (link also below), who will plant a tree for every day you’re active in 2023.

Now. Do sign up to be a patron. If you’re in the Cheer Squad tier, you’ll be able to listen to exclusive monthly podcasts – which we’ve decided to call the Extra Mile – created specifically so you’ve always got a bit extra to listen to on your long runs, in which we promise to do our best to talk about anything *apart from* running. The latest one was released just this Tuesday, do go and have a listen.

Go and get coached by Runna – it’s just ace

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Drop off some food this February for Food Bank Run – there are families out there who really need our support

Join the 1% Club and they’ll plant trees for every day you’re active – you’ve nothing to lose!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 129 of the Women’s Running Podcast. This week, we are sponsored by Runna. We have a LOT to talk about today. We’ve got to cover off training for the Paris Half, insecurities about that training, motivations for running in the first place, menopausal symptoms and, lastly, figs.

So first of all we chat about Holly’s training for the half. She’s having all the wobbles about Paris, post Covid. Her long runs haven’t quite hit the mark, although she has been doing some cross training, and she’s really worried about how things are going to go on the day. I try and soothe her fears, but I’m sure you guys can do that better than me!

I talk about menopause a bit here, because I’ve realised that periods and hormones (or lack of them) have been having an effect on my training. We talk through as many symptoms as we can before we run out of time – I’m fully aware that there are more, but also that a number of these can affect our lives and our running. And that it’s important to remember that they are wildly diverse and sometimes it’s difficult to join the dots between all these different things. Have a look on Women’s Running womensrunning.co.uk for great advice on menopause and running.

Lastly: are figs vegan? An expert weighs into the debate and we are, obviously, delighted. This, and more hot topics, including the ever present Veganuary wind situation, are discussed in detail. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Find out more about Runna and download the app!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 212 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.

We’re back from all our various holidays and have much to discuss. First up, though, a quick reminder that we’re running the London Vitality 10,000 on Sunday 22nd September – if you’re running too, come and meet us at our lovely Women’s Running tent, and run with us in the Smiles for Miles wave!

Holiday running has had some figurative and literal ups and downs, so we talk about hills and hard running, and how to cope with the plan when you’ve not been able to stick to the plan, like I have.

Because of a narrow escape at a naturist beach, we then move on to body neutrality and how to find acceptance and gratitude for our bodies rather than peering at them with disgust in the mirror.

Now. Patreon. Apologies for those of you who are already members of our fabulous club, but for those of you who aren’t, pop along to patreon.com/womensrunning to find out about our Discord forum, our Live episodes and our silly newsletters, which are all yours for just £2 a month. Come and join us!

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.
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• Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 128 of the Women’s Running Podcast – this episode is sponsored by Runna. We launch right into it, with some vegan nonsense, but then very quickly we move on to the National Running Show, which we attended at the weekend in Birmingham. We had an absolute blast, we saw so many of you Pod Squadders, and are just giddy with the happiness of it all. We talk here about just some of the brilliant people we met, about Holly getting the spooks in her hotel room, dog biscuits, flapjack, and lots of wine.

We eventually get on to our own running, and how our training is going. Post-covid it’s been a bit tough for both of us. In terms of the upcoming Paris Half, Holly is really worried about where she is, and whether she’s not as strong as she was ahead of the Bath Half last Oct. BUT she’s been doing strength training and mobility, and I have a sneaking suspicion that she might actually be in a stronger place on the start line of the Paris Half.

I’m also feeling a bit uneasy about where my running is, so I whinge about that for a bit. We also talk about Strava etiquette – which I am terrible at – and also how we shouldn’t measure ourselves by our Garmin stats. Tricky, tricky.

Find out more about Runna and download the app!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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This episode is again bought to you by the powers of Covid. I’ve picked it up for the first time, unfashionably late to the party as ever. Apologies here for covid coughing throughout. We talk through health anxiety, symptoms, and worrying about the unknown. We also have a chat about the guilt of missing out on training through illness.

Moving on from covid, we talk about our ongoing experiments with veganism, which are mostly positive with a few tofu pitfalls. This, unsurprisingly, segues into a discussion on bowel habits and then IBS – not that either of our experiences with IBS have anything to do with veganism.

Speaking of food, we have a big old chat about a new campaign called Food Bank Run. I spoke to Sarah Donaghy recently, who set this up, and it’s genius. I’d love as many of us as possible to sign up to doing this. The idea is that we all go for a run in February, when demand is at its highest, to drop off some food at a food bank to help people who desperately need our support right now.

Why don’t we do our first Food Bank Run as a Pod Squad thing. I suggest we all go for a run in the week beginning 6th February. So that means we’ve all got a whole week to do a run of whatever length you like and drop off one or two things to your local foodbank. My nearest food bank is just a few minutes away – it’s easy to check online if you’re not sure. There’s more information in this podcast and in the links in the show notes if you want to find out all about it.

Thanks to Wassen for sponsoring this episode. Go to Boots to discover the full range of Wassen powders!

Find out more about Food Bank Run

You can check here to see what’s needed in your area

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

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Welcome to episode 126 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman, and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. This episode is our first chat since Christmas so we’re a bit giddy with it. Hol has had a bit of a cruddy start to the new year, and it’s mostly Covid based. It’s obviously knocked her training a bit, and she’s been worried about the Paris Half as a result – something I think that will resonate, with so many of us getting bugs at this time of year. If you need help with that, we’ve got lots of info on how to get back to running after illness.

I gave her a load of advice the day before which I’ll put here even though we don’t go into it much, as I think lots of us will have woken up on the 1st a bit worried about the half marathon training ahead of us. So first of all I said she can come to Paris and not run it! Shock horror! Of course that’s fine. And the same is true of any race, from parkrun upwards. Or she could always come to Paris and Jeff like all the best runners. Running for 5mins and walking for 30 seconds is a brilliant strategy. And let’s all bear in mind the reasons WHY we’re running that half in Paris – because it’s not to knock minutes off our PBs, it’s to be a tourist and to meet up with the Squad and to have fun! It’s certainly not to get stressed about it beforehand.

We talk about running in Jan and Feb, and kudos goes again to RED January for keeping us moving in the most miserable of months. I talk about my running, I’ve now started my London Marathon training and I’m absolutely terrified, all over again. It doesn’t feel like a very long way away, and my training plan looks really scary right now.

On top of all of that, we talk about periods, wasps, Pilates and on-screen bums (you can find Holly’s right now on our Insta grid). We also have huge NRS gossip from last year, and Holly divulges a massive scandal that has rocked her world, and it involves pine needles.

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Come along to the National Running Show in January, and say hello!

Thanks to Wassen for sponsoring this episode. Go to Boots to discover the full range of Wassen powders!

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Happy new year to all you lovely listeners! We start off today as usual, with me complaining – this time it’s about my back pain, which went a bit crazy just before Christmas. All good now, though. Aside from that, it’s a corker of an episode as today we’re talking to Laura Barnhouse, nutritionist, PT and friend of the pod.

We’re after a bit of a health rejig in January, even if we are all perfect already (which we are), so we hauled Laura in to help us do exactly that, and to talk about this January diet culture, and body image generally.

We talk about the whole concept of women and weightloss – the feeling of taking up too much space in the world, and feeling like we have to address that. We talk about how times have changed in terms of the pandemic, and what that’s done to our sense of self and our looks and weight. Again, we talk about school experiences having such a negative effect, both on our perception of exercise and also how we perceive food and our bodies.

The really useful bit here is that we ask Laura’s advice on how to have a healthy relationship with food and eating, which leads her on to talk about our motivations for getting healthier, and where those motivations come from, and how important it is to figure that bit out first if you’re striving for a healthier life and attitude. Really clever stuff that will help all of us this January, no matter what our goals are.

Win a pair of Brooks Ghost 14 GTX, worth £140 by entering this podcast-only compo!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Come along to the National Running Show in January, and say hello!

Follow lovely Laura on Facebook  

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This episode we have the wonderful Molly from the Simply Vegan podcast (and also from our company, so we know her well and have got hugely drunk with her – we are mates!) to chat to us about all things plant-based before we head into Veganuary. We start off by discussing our past drunkenness, but quickly move on to actual food.

We discuss what we’re eating for Christmas – even though this is, as we all know, what Holly refers to as our ‘perineum episode’. So our tenses are all over the place while we discuss the stuff we eat, which allows me to talk through the legendary reason why I love sprouts so much. But it also means we can ask what actual vegans eat for Christmas, and – whisper it – it doesn’t actually sound that bad.

Then we cover a ton of must-know topics for those of us facing Veganuary: such as, can we eat figs? And is vegan cheese any good? Molly then explains how to make tuna out of chickpeas, which blows our tiny minds, and talks us through her favourite vegan meals to give us a bit of inspiration. Importantly, she tells us what puddings and sweet things are intentionally vegan or accidentally so.

But we also have a small ulterior motive here, as Molly joins us because she is going to be running the London Landmarks Half Marathon in March, and she wants our advice on running, so we eventually get on to some running chat, answering a few of her worries and questions about her training up to that first half marathon. And for podcast keeners, you’ll be able to hear me and Holly over on the Simply Vegan podcast at some point in January gassing on at length with a load of training tricks and tips for our favourite vegans.

Listen to the Simply Vegan podcast for more of Molly!

Check the Vegan Food and Living website for tons of recipes and fun vegan stuff

Chris Packham discusses the importance of wasps

How to check if your booze is vegan on Barnivore

Win a pair of Brooks Ghost 14 GTX, worth £140 by entering this podcast-only compo!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Come along to the National Running Show in January, and say hello!

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Welcome to episode 123 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I am your host Esther Newman and she is your other host Holly Taylor. We start today with Bake Off, which might seem like a bit old hat, but we’re talking about new things, I promise. Then, obviously, we move on to favourite TV comedies, before eventually settling on Christmas. Because, like it or not, it’s Christmas and there is no rest for the wicked. Or the runners.

While we loosely chat about the running we’ve been doing (which adds up to very little indeed because of various injuries and tattoos, for some reason), we are giddy with excitement about the main event, which is our Great Big Christmas Quiz! We’ve drawn up a set of Mr & Mrs questions for each other – and get this, some of them include actual references to running! To be clear, neither of us are drinking in this episode, even though it sounds like we have been. Copiously.

A quick reminder here that we’re going to be at the National Running Show in January in Birmingham at the end of January. Do please come – it would be lovely to see a friendly face or two. We’re on stand P20 right in front of the Inspiration Stage, on which I’ll be chairing some menopausal chat at 11.30 on the Saturday. I mean advice-drive menopausal chat, rather than just general chat from menopausal women... So that just leaves me to say, have a very happy Christmas, enjoy all the fun and festivities that it brings, and we shall see you on the other side!

Win a pair of Brooks Ghost 14 GTX, worth £140 by entering this podcast-only compo!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

Come along to the National Running Show in January, and say hello!

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Welcome to episode 122 of the Women’s Running podcast. I am your host Esther Newman, and she is your other host Holly Taylor. We’re kicking off with some advent calendar content, just so Hol can eat some chocolate live on the pod.

Meanwhile, I’m being a Moaning Myrtle cos I’ve done my back in, and take the opportunity to talk about it here at great length (Anna McNuff did something similar last year and has brilliant advice about injury prevention). While it’s not a running injury per se, it’s worthwhile bringing up because it has stopped me in my tracks. And while one part of injury is how you recover best from it and prevent it from happening again, the other part is the mental distress from not being able to run, and I’ve got the latter half of that for sure. So lots of Injury Sadness.

But the main part of this pod is about food, as we’re staring January in the face, and lots of us will be having thoughts around this. We are getting our lovely nutritionist Laura Barnhouse on to talk to us about food, fuel and body image in the first week of January, so there will be actual expertise then.

Quick content warning here, as we talk about food, control and disorders at length here. We talk about the food we should be eating, and how we’re supposed to get our heads around the whole body neutrality thing, so we pre-empt all of that by talking through our histories with eating and diets. We talk about food and control, body image, and the complex relationship between food and emotions and relationships. I think we discover quite a bit about ourselves in this episode. More expertise in January. Next week, we have the Women's Running Podcast Christmas quiz! Hurrah!

Win a pair of Brooks Ghost 14 GTX, worth £140 by entering this podcast-only compo!

Do join us on Patreon for exclusive newsletters, free monthly Live chats, and Patreon-only episodes!

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Welcome to episode 121 of the award-winning Women’s Running podcast! I am your host Esther Newman, and she is your other host Holly Taylor. We recorded this on the 1st December, so we’re in the middle of some strong Advent content. We then slowly move on to our very excitable chat about our big award win. We are chuffed to bits that the Women’s Running Podcast – this podcast you’re currently listening to - has been voted Podcast of the Year for the second year in a row, and we have a lovely pink award, and two very large hangovers to show for it.

Then we finally move on to running. We talk about running a 5K round Battersea Park, which we did last Wednesday evening for SportsShoes at the RunThrough Chase The Moon event, which we thoroughly recommend, with lots of high vis and bright lights and nice snacks. We also talk about our slightly epic journey back to Bath afterwards. 

I talk about a big fat new year’s resolution with my running here, but it’s not what you might think – it’s not distance or pace or number of races or anything like that. Holly is also gearing up for her new year’s resolution, and it’s also not what you might think either. Lots of surprises here today.

And then we have a bloody huge announcement about food, because we’re going to do Veganuary with our friends over on the Simply Vegan podcast, and we’re a bit scared about it, because Holly loves her cheese, and I love my bacon. But we’re getting our own back by helping them train for a half marathon, which is around the same time as Paris, so we’re all going to be training together, powered by Shroomdogs and  Facon. What larks.

Join us on Patreon for exclusive episodes and newsletters from me and Hol!

Use this to train for a half marathon by time rather than distance

It’s not too late to join us in Paris!

Buy yourself the best Chrimbo present in the shape of a Women’s Running membership

Interested in the Simply Vegan podcast? You should be! It’s here.

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Welcome to episode 120 of the multi-award winning Women’s Running Podcast. We don’t scream about it here, because we recorded before we knew, but we have won Podcast of the Year at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards last Friday – for the second year in a row! We are giddy with it, and will chat about it to DEATH in the next podcast. For now, we’re talking about being ill, not washing our duvets, and how marvellous our Podcast Live was last week. New date for the next one coming soon!

We talk about Raynaud’s (which I suffer from), and running in the cold and dark. We asked our lovely patrons on the Live about how to motivate ourselves to run in the winter, and they came up with some ace suggestions which we go through here. We start talking too about when we need to start our training for the Paris half marathon, which is slightly sooner than Holly thinks.

We’ve had an email in that we’d like to discuss from a listener who is recovering from anorexia, so we chat about that – not from a medical perspective, but we chat about injury, strength training and overtraining, touching a little bit on RED-S, more of which in a future episode.

This leads us on to chats about our own struggles with body neutrality, and body. We end by confessing our favourite body parts – and this is where you will instantly (because I will) be googling the phrase Thigh Brow.

Links

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Use this to train for a half marathon by time rather than distance

It’s not too late to join us in Paris!

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This episode we have a special guest in the shape of Claire Maxted, co-founder and formed editor of Trail Running magazine, the owner of the Wild Ginger Running YouTube channel, and the author of the Ultimate Trail Running Handbook, so she knows a thing or two about trail running! 

We talk here about PE days again, because I’m slightly obsessed with them, and how they can give us such a negative experience of sport and movement, and as we chat about here, it’s not necessarily the sport itself that makes us hate it, but all the other peripheral stuff  like communal showers. 

The big reason I got Claire on here was to try and persuade pavement pounder Holly on to the trails. If you’ve never randomly decided to head down an unknown footpath, it takes a lot of courage to tread the path less travelled. Claire is here to instill us all with a bit of trail confidence, and my favourite tip she gives us here is about navigation which can feel like a bit of a dark art, but as she said the easy way to discover a path is to run down it and then we can run back again! Claire is a joyful, enthusiastic trail runner, and it doesn’t take long to persuade Holly to try something new, and hopefully you’ll get some of that enthusiasm too.

And then we eventually discuss Bake Off and what actually constitutes a flan. We get in a bit of a muddle about summer pudding, bread pudding and bread-and-butter pudding. No haters, please.

Links 

Join us on Patreon for an exclusive podcast

Watch Claire’s fab films on trail running

And you can also buy her brilliant book from the same place

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Welcome to episode 211 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.

In big news, Holly has been to the physio, and as a result she’s been spending a bit of money buying her first indoor gym kit, which unsurprisngly leads me on to being a bit teachery and chatting about kettle bells at length (sorry).

Then we move on to running and illness – I have a theory and would love to know your thoughts on it. Is running when you’re ill actually *good* for you?

We have bit of menopause chat because a recent conversation made me realise that we’re not talking enough to our younger friends and family members about the menopause – symptoms are still confusing us, especially when we’re younger than we think is the classic menopause age. Let’s get educating!

Finally we address the running controversy that we spoke about a couple of weeks ago, when I ran a women’s only 5K that was also run by a handful of men. We slagged them off a few weeks ago, but now we’ve received an email that sets us straight (at least for one brilliant man). Listen through to find out more!

Remember, right now you can get your first six issues of Women’s Running for just £6! Go to womensrunning.co.uk, click on SHOP, and use the code SS24 WRPOD at the checkout. Or just go here.

Lovely extra bits

• This episode is sponsored by Runna - For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.
• Subscribe to Women’s Running – join us today to save loads, it's only £6 for 6 issues
• Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we’ve been using it for ages and LOVE IT
• Download a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/run
• Buy a Pod Squad t-shirt!
• Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunning
• Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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BIG shout out to join us on Patreon to chat to us on our Podcast LIVE on Wednesday 23rd November at 7pm (GMT), exclusive to patrons on all levels. 

We start with Bake Off, obviously, but the issue here is that Holly hasn’t seen the most recent episode, and so I have to lie to her and tell her that everything is okay and Janush is definitely still in it. She knows now, it’s fine, but I just needed to make sure *you* knew that she knows and I’m not being a bad person for mentioning it here. She’s fine, by the way, although we’re both firmly in denial. Then we’re on to the main meat of the podcast, which is the kit we’re loving right now. We do this every year around this time to give you some ideas of kit that we like in case you might want to circle a few things for your own Christmas lists. So we talk through our favourite tights, tops, bras, shoes, and various other bits and pieces. Please note: this episode is not sponsored by any of these brands, they are genuinely the bits that we have loved running in, working out in, and just slobbing about it.

Links

Ful:ki leggings, the hoody from Thought, the brilliant On Cloudneo, get a pair of Monkey Sox! (Better still, get a FREE pair when you subscribe to Women’s Running), I swear by these pants by Nixibody,  this brilliant top by BAM, the Maaree Solidarity, the Shokz headphones 

The Sweaty Betty Powers, leggings from Salomon, the HOKA Kawana, running tee from Runr, good value headphones from Edifier, holly’s bra from Sportjock 

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This episode is sponsored by Sweaty Betty. In this episode, it’s the morning after I’ve been out-out. I’ve been to see the Scummy Mummies and begin this episode retelling a joke that’s too rude to repeat here. After a long section on hair removal, for which I make no apology, we have a bit of a chat about what we’re up to. And then we decide to go back to the beginning to discuss where we’ve come from and where we’re going. This is a little bit like one of those Insta squares where people go, “ooh I’ve got a million new followers, I should introduce who I am!” – and that’s exactly what it is, without the million followers. We want to properly introduce ourselves and explain how we’ve got to where we’ve got with our running and our lives and how we view sport and our bodies. All of this colours what we want to do next – our goals and ambitions with running, so there are a lot of uncovered secrets and honesty in this episode about how we felt about exercise and all sorts through school, university and beyond. We end with the advice we’d give our younger selves, and how we’ve devised our own life philosophies, which we’re obviously extremely pleased about.

Links

Pre-register for the Women’s Running Podcast Paris Half Marathon (aka Pod Squad Go Mad in Paris) right here. Come join us! We can’t wait!

Join Holly and me this January by taking on RED January – you dn’t have to run every day, you just have to MOVE ever day, and you can print out a lovely calendar to pop on your fridge and tick off as the month goes on.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly, and invites to patron-only zoom chats with us too!

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is sponsored by Sweaty Betty. We start off by talking about herbal teas and Hoovers, because that’s the way we are. We then move reluctantly on to running. Holly is planning her first 5K post half marathon, and I have some ideas about keeping her running oar in so to speak. At this point we chat about the Paris Half on March 5th 2023, as this will be her biggest motivator when it comes to winter running. This is big for us as we want you to join us! We’ve partnered with Sports Tours to organise a nice discount and a load of other benefits to try and get as many of you along with us as possible. All you have to do is pre-register for just £50 – that £50 is then fully refundable against the price of the package. Full details of the packages will be released on November 24th, but as a guide package prices start from £219, based on two sharing, without flights (but flights are super cheap at the mo). The package includes accommodation in central Paris, support from expert Sports Tours reps, a shake-down run, a pasta party, and post-event drinks with us featuring – we hope - a live podcast recording! Plus everyone that joins us will receive a limited edition Women’s Running Sports Tours hoody! It’s almost too exciting. Link below!

We also talk about other things we can do to keep our fitness up through the winter. I touch on SAD and depression, so please be aware of that if it’s triggering for you. Full disclosure, I find winter very hard in terms of my mental health, but one thing I found extremely helpful this year was signing up to RED January – having a calendar to tick things off was very grounding, and helped move me through the month. And I truly believe that building new habits in terms of my fitness has prevented injuries and has made me a better runner. I reckon you should all do that with Holly and me, too, and this is a bit easier as it’s free. Sign up below.

We finish with the obvious bake off chat.

Links

This episode is sponsored by the very lovely Sweaty Betty

Pre-register for the Women’s Running Podcast Paris Half Marathon (aka Pod Squad Go Mad in Paris) right here. Come join us! We can’t wait!

Join Holly and me this January by taking on RED January – you dn’t have to run every day, you just have to MOVE ever day, and you can print out a lovely calendar to pop on your fridge and tick off as the month goes on.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly, and invites to patron-only zoom chats with us too!

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is sponsored by Wine52, which is thoroughly appropriate. Today’s episode is about one thing, and one thing only – and that’s Holly’s half. Mine too, but mine is nowhere near as important. We start this conversation the day after the Bath Half talking about French school songs and novelty loungewear. But then we’re into the meat of it, with Holly talking through her nerves, her carb strategy and how she felt on the morning of the race. She was really nervous ahead of the day, but she used all the mental strategies that we’ve been talking about over the past few weeks. There’s a lot to talk about in terms of race days throwing curve balls at us – the weather was warm! And that had an impact on our running and our hydration, so there are a lot of learns there, but not least that you have to expect the unexpected. She is so proud of herself, and I am so proud of her. It’s my first race after the London Marathon, and it was actually okay – slightly painful but okay.

It’s also time for our Big Announcement about what we’re going to be doing in March 2023, and we’d like to involve you. I was hoping to share a discount code here, as you’ll hear on the pod, but we’re not quite there yet – next week, we’ll have it for sure, and it’s better than I thought! More details to come. And of *course* we finish up with some intense Bake Off chat.

Links

Claim your three whole, proper sized full bottles of wine from Wine 52, and you just have to pay 8.95 to cover the cost of postage.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly, and invites to patron-only zoom chats with us too!

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

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 Today we have a very special guest in the shape of Charlie Watson, who you might know better as Runner Beans. Charlie was one of the first runners I followed on Instagram many, many years ago, and her enthusiasm and realism when it came to training, goals and nutrition have been fundamental to my own running journey, so we were thrilled to speak to her here. Charlie has had an adventurous journey so far, from aspiring marathon runner, to NHS employee in the face of the pandemic, and she has also very honestly documented her journey to parenthood, of which she touches on at the end of this podcast. To begin with I ask her, now that she’s just completed her 16th marathon, does she still have the fear when she steps on the start line? We also talk about how she got into running in the first place, and how she moved into her new career as an NHS dietition – a sidestep that is in fact entirely linked to her running. Both Holly and I are desperate for advice ahead of Holly’s half marathon, so we quiz her here on training and nutrition, and if there are any shortcuts we can take ahead of our next goals. I think you all know the answer to that one...

Next episode: Holly's half marathon debrief!

Links

This episode is sponsored by Merrell! All podcast listeners can get an exclusive 20% discount off all Merrell Orders over £50 at SportsShoes.com. Just use the code OUTOUT20 at the checkout on any Merrell products.

Sign up to Charlie’s free, monthly Rise & Run from the Westin. 

Both Charlie and I stayed at the Westin London City ahead of the marathon – you can’t get a better location! Check it out if you’re running in April, or just planning a visit to the Big Smoke.]

Follow Charlie on Instagram.

Check out her brilliant book, Cook Eat Run – the best cookbook for runners.

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First things first – I need to give you a big old trigger warning here, as we’re chatting about pregnancy and I also bring up the topic miscarriage. Please stop here, if this chat isn’t for you.

This episode we welcome our third, very beautiful, wheel in the form of Kate, who works with us on Women’s Running and is – SPOILER – up the duff. We wanted to bring her on as she is a personal trainer and a runner and a pregnant person, and we thought it would be wonderful to combine all those things and talk about running and pregnancy.

Kate talks us through her experiences with training and pregnancy through the first and second trimester. Her experiences will not be applicable for everyone – they’re certainly not the same as mine – so I’m not asking her about these as guidance for pregnant people, it’s just what she has experienced and how she has managed her training. As a sensible woman and through her experience working in fitness, it turns out that her saving grace was the trusty Couch to 5K app, which she used when she started running again after her morning sickness had subsided.

I talk about the miscarriages I went through before having children – so if this is triggering for you, do please avoid this episode. I only wanted to bring this up because my experience was that I gave up running and exercise immediately when I got pregnant because of having those miscarriages and wrongly assuming one had something to do with the other, while Kate has continued to exercise and is reaping the rewards from that.

Kate has also some sensible words on eating and pregnancy, and how that it has actually been a refreshing thing for her, to be able to see food as fuel.

Speaking of fuel, we end with Bake Off. Obvs. Oh and we start with conkers. Standard.

Links

This episode is sponsored by Merrell! Use OUTOUT20 at the checkout at SportsShoes.com on any Merrell order over £50 to receive an exclusive 20% off. 

Please support us on Patreon and you can join us for our SECOND Live event on Thursday 20th October for a chat on Zoom!

Get your hands on Women’s Running magazine for half price, and bag yourself a pair of exclusive Monkey Sox running socks! Just enter X22WRP at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

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This episode is about one thing and one thing only (with a few tangents): the London Marathon! We’re speaking here at 10.30am on a Monday morning, the day after the London Marathon and this is the first chance I’ve had to talk to Holly about it all. There is so much to discuss! We talk about the sleepless night beforehand, the famous people I had pep talks from, and the surprises along the way. The actual running was almost just a secondary part to a day that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I had specifically downloaded an audiobook purely for its distraction techniques, but as I divulge here, I didn’t listen to any of it (aside from the sexy bits). Instead I was entirely distracted by the experience itself – the sights, the crowds, and managing my running. Please bear with me here: I’m extremely sweary, but emotions are high, and mostly high because I’ve finished it, but also because I loved it. I can’t wait to do it again. And a very big shout out to you, our wonderful podcast crew: I had so many messages of support and so many donations to my sponsorship page, that I felt lifted by all of you. You made me cry, but in a very good way. We also, in this episode, discuss Holly’s latest running adventures. Two weeks out from her half marathon, she’s had a little wobble over the weekend, but I hope I’ve seen her right. Finally, it’s been the third episode of Bake Off and we have had a few thoughts about that, which we have to talk about now that we are the unofficial Bake Off podcast (with a bit of running on the side).

Links

This episode is sponsored by Maaree, makers of the most wonderful running bras in the whole wide world. Fact.

Please support us on Patreon for exclusive weekly newsletters!

Get your hands on Women’s Running magazine for half price, and bag yourself a pair of exclusive Monkey Sox running socks! Just enter X22WRP at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

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Welcome to episode 111 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host, Esther Newman, and she’s your other host, Holly Taylor. We start this podcast just as you might imagine, with a full debrief of the first episode of Bake Off. Then we’re on to the boring running bits:  we talk about preparing for the long runs, and the psychological tricks our minds play on us.

I am SO proud of Holly, her long runs have been going spectacularly and she’s surprised herself with how brilliant she’s felt during them, and after them, recovering quickly and well. We talk about pace – we still haven’t quite got to grips with this yet! And we remind ourselves to focus on our ‘why’ – which is very different from our goals. My goal is to run all the way round without stopping for any considerable amount of time. But the why is why I’m doing it in the first place – and mostly it’s to prove that I can do it. And in order to do it, that doesn’t have a focus on time, that has a focus on getting to the finish line, no matter what the time is. So I’m going to work really really hard in those first few miles to keep  an eye on my pace and bring it right down, so that I have an easy first half (hopefully an easy first three quarters) so that the last bit isn’t that awful.

We talk about our first ever Podcast Live, taking place this Thursday 29th September, which I just have to get in there. It’s free for patrons, so head over to patreon.com/womensrunning to sign up.

We chat too about the pros and cons of a running coach – and discuss whether they’re for the rest of us and not just for elites. And we talk through a reader email who has some nerves ahead of a race – and we truly empathise with all of that! Next podcast will be recorded the DAY AFTER the London Marathon. Oh em gee, wish me luck!

Links

This episode is sponsored by Maaree, makers of the most wonderful running bras in the whole wide world. Fact.

Please support us on Patreon and you can join us on Thursday 29th September for a chat on Zoom!

Get your hands on Women’s Running magazine for half price, and bag yourself a pair of exclusive Monkey Sox running socks! Just enter X22WRP at the checkout.

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In this episode we welcome back Friend of the Pod, Anna Harding, a woman who has knocked out a number of marathons and ultras. I wanted to get her back to pick her brains about tapering. However, turns out she’s an old hand at the Great North Run, which I’ve just run, so we kick off by talking about that... We talk about the brilliance of the great north run – the crowds, the route, the atmosphere – it was all such an incredible day, and it’s lovely to reminisce.

Then I pick her brains about the taper that we’re in the middle of right now before the London Marathon. Holly is also ramping up her miles towards her half marathon, so we talk about the goals we need to be thinking about on the days of our races, and strategies to keep us sane and moving on those tricky miles. Anna has some fantastic advice on how to tick through the miles, and also some spot on practical advice for these last days before the marathon, with exactly what sort of running and mileage we should be doing in the last two weeks, and what we also need to be doing to give ourselves the best chance on the start line. Two big takeaways here – wash your hands lots to avoid catching any bugs in these last precious days, and get lots of sleep!

At the end of the chat, Anna has some Big News about her next goal race – put it this way, the Loch Ness Marathon is in a week or so, and she’s running it as one of her training long runs. So it’s not that. It’s a teensy bit longer....

Links

Holly and I are doing our first Women’s Running Podcast Live event on Zoom on Thursday 29th September! The small catch is that it’s exclusively for patrons, but the massive upside here is that it’s only 2 quid a month to become one of our patrons. Our Live event is at 7pm on Thursday 29th September, we’d love you to join us. Join us on Patreon, and we’ll send you a link to join us next Thursday. We can’t wait to meet you!

Follow Anna on Instagram.

Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them in a future podcast. 

Get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

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Welcome to episode 109 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m Esther Newman, your host, and she’s Holly Taylor, your other host. We kick off this week’s episode by talking about corrective eyewear, as you would probably expect. This segment finishes (finally) with Holly explaining how we can all get a “Beers For Life” token from her family. 

We finally get on to running and then chat about distraction techniques on longer runs, which Holly has been using as she’s upping her mileage in her half marathon training. At this point I was still worried about upweighting the Great North Run into a longer run, but that will be all over and done with by the time this comes out, so fingers crossed it all went to plan!

We talk strength training again, as a result of the workout that Holly did this week, which destroyed her slightly. So our main focus here is the dreaded DOMs and how to minimise them, and recover from them.

We also talk about what it’s like to live with people who aren’t as enthusiastic about your running as you are – we’d love to know your thoughts on this. We hope your training and running is going well as we head into Autumn! I personally love Autumn because there’s no danger of me having to wear a vest, so there we have it.

Links:

Find your new favourite bra at Maaree.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly! 

Get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 210 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman and she’s your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.

We have a special guest for you today in the shape of the very brilliant Helen Thorn, you lucky things. Comedian, author, amazing runner, and now triathlete, we’re lucky to count her as a Friend of the Pod. She is dialling in from her holiday in Cornwall, especially to join up with us to shout about the London Vitality 10,000 which we’re running together on September 22nd – and you can run with us if you’re quick! We’ve been told that there are a few spaces remaining to run in our Smiles for Miles wave, which we’re running with Helen and Bryony Gordon firmly at the back of the pack, and we’d love to have you with us. We’ll be celebrating in Green Park before and after, and it won’t be the same without you!

Before and after our chat with her, we’re trying to do our best with our strength training, and I do my thing of offering lots of unwarranted advice to Holly while not actually doing any exercises myself. When we come back in the room after Helen we have a chat about the books we’ve been reading and listening to. Lots of ideas here for those of you who listen to books on runs, and please give us all your ideas too!

Now, don’t get annoyed at me repeating this, it’s my job: right now you can get your first six issues of Women’s Running for just £6! Go to womensrunning.co.uk, click on SHOP, and use the code SS24 WRPOD at the checkout. Or just go here.

• This episode is sponsored by Runna. For a FREE two-week trial of Runna, just use the code WOMENSRUNNING and fill your running boots.
• Run the London Vitality 10,000 with us!
• Subscribe to Women’s Running – join us today to save loads, it's only £6 for 6 issues
• Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we’ve been using it for ages and LOVE IT
• Download a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/run
• Buy a Pod Squad t-shirt!
• Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunning
• Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories

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Welcome to episode 108 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman, and she’s your other host, Holly Taylor. Holly’s half marathon training is going well, and she’s tentatively enthusiastic about tackling longer distances with her running buddy, and considering potentially a bit of walk running.

We talk here about strength training, and the stuff we can do to support our running, and make everything easier. I talk to Holly about some simple bits of strength training she can do – and all of them are bodyweight (so no equipment required) and she can do them at home. Equally if she fancies a trip to the gym, she could easily do this using weights or machines at the gym to get a bigger session in. The trick here is to simplify strength training – it doesn’t need to be a billion different moves, and it doesn’t need to be complicated. Divvy yourself up into three sections: arms and shoulders, core (stomach, back and hips), and legs. Then think of three exercises – something like press ups, crunches and lunges. Do them 10 times, and repeat three times. And Bob is most firmly your uncle. Running will be, progressively more easy. And after a few weeks you can add in weights, up your reps, change up the exercises, whatever you like – you’ll find LOADS of strength training on our website.

I talk about my worries about running a half (the Great North Run) when I’m supposed to be running  20+ miles in training for the London Marathon, not 13.1, so I’m having to add a few miles on to it before or after. I want to know if anyone is doing something similar in the lead up to the marathon.

We finish up by talking about the dreaded chafe, and in this instance, specifically boob chafe. As Holly says, “you don’t want your tits to ruin your marathon”. Somehow she makes this an issue that she lays firmly at the door of the patriarchy, and who are we to disagree?

Links

Start your running journey or find inspiration for beating your personal best with Forestry England. 

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly! 

Get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 107 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host, Esther Newman, and she’s your other host, Holly Taylor. So in this episode it’s a bit of a game of two halves – despite our podcast dropping every week as normal, we’ve actually had a bit of a break, it being the summer holidays and all. But while I’ve been not-eating Cornish pasties, Holly has had a very different time of it. As candid as ever, she talks about the swerve in mental health she’s suffered over the past fortnight, and the tools she’s using to help bump her back up again. She also talks about how while she had once used running as one of those tools, this time around it’s been less helpful for her (all that said, we know that generally speaking running can be a brilliant support for our mental health). On my side of things, I’ve been training for the Great North Run in September and the London Marathon in October – I’ve just about kept up with my plan while on holiday, but I’ve found the change in terrain and the second heat wave very challenging. And while ostensibly I’m on track, my mind is spiralling with all the things that *could* go wrong, and also all the reasons why the bad runs were bad, and why the good runs were good, and how all these things are going to affect my races negatively one way or another. Please tell us how your training is going! We also talk about some emails we’ve had in on the back of our chats about heckling, and they’re really shocking. And again, do please let us know if you’ve had experiences like this – I think talking about it like we began to do during our We Will campaign is one of the best things we can do to raise awareness that this happens and how we feel as a result.

Links

This episode is sponsored by SportsShoes! Search London Marathon at sportsshoes.com and use the code WRPOD on all orders over £50 claim 10% off.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly! 

Get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

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Welcome to episode 106 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman, and she’s your other host, Holly Taylor. We’re started recording this at 2.30 in the afternoon, but we immediately start talking about cocktails. Turns out we’re nowhere near as sophisticated as we thought we were. After an enormous ramble on the perfect way to mix a Margarita we eventually get on to running. Holly’s in the thick of her half marathon training, and she’s having issues with DOMs (that’s Delayed Onset Muscle soreness to you and me). And so am I! So we talk about that a bit, and how to recover.

We also talk about the kit we’ve been wearing during the heatwave – I’m still firmly in my leggings and want to know what you wear if you also prefer to run covered up. Meanwhile, Hol talks about her adventures in finding the perfect pair of running shorts.

Then we launch into a controversial topic; weight loss and running. We chat about this because of a stupid thing I heard a fitness instructor suggesting about losing weight before beginning to run. We talk about damaging theories about weight and exercise, how we’ve both been affected by it, and how we need to combat crap advice like this and help encourage EVERYONE to run. Listen here – you do NOT need to lose weight to run!

Then we have just enough time to talk about managing parenting, school holidays and running  and we end with a rant about how we divvy up housework, because it seemed relevant at the time.

Links

This episode is sponsored by SportsShoes! SportShoes’ Running Hub is filled with the best expert advice, from training and nutrition, as well as news on the latest kit. They hope to inspire you to run stronger, better and happier – because it’s no fun standing still.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive weekly newsletter from me and Holly! 

Get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.

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