Tales from the Valley Podcast

This week Sam and Katie chat with Renee Placek who has been winning lots of local races including Shellharbour 10k. Renee has run 10:21 for 3km, 18:36 for 5km, 38:50 for 10k, 1:25 for the half and 3:38 at New York Marathon 10 years ago. Renee has had a long running career being into middle distance as a junior and completing her first marathon in her mid 20s. Over the last couple of years after Renee has returned to running after having 2 kids and has focused on structured training, nutrition and regular racing with Kembla Joggers. Renee’s recent form has been unbelievable and her experience and knowledge makes it obvious why. Katie deals with ‘Bali Belly’ off the back of her holiday, so dials back the intensity on sessions and jogs this week fuelled only with bread and flavourless Mi Goreng. Sam tapers for a race, but picks up a stock standard taper flu 2 nights before the race so pulls the pin and chalks it up as a down week. Renee recovers from her win in the Shellharbour 10k last week and picks up covid so is recovering from sickness. We discuss our approach to training when we are sick fittingly and when it’s appropriate to keep training and when to hang up the trainers.

Sam and Mitch chat with Brendan Smith, who has run 2:55 at both the Sydney and Gold Coast Marathons this year. Despite only training intentionally for a short period, Brendan has improved rapidly from his 3:33 marathon debut in Sydney last year. He has benefited from the Never Lazy Run Club’s inclusivity and structured training. With a competitive nature and disciplined work ethic, Brendan shows us that a lot can be achieved in just a few months if you put your mind to it. Mitch is back into solid training after Sydney, stringing together 96 km despite missing a day. Sam runs his first 5k race at Shellharbour post-injury, finishing in 18:36 on a hilly course. A solid rust buster, he secures 4th place after being dropped from the podium in the last 100 meters. Brendan balances travel and work as he gears up for the Melbourne Marathon, with a short turnaround after Sydney.

Welcome back to the Russell Dessaix-Chin Wag! Mitch and Russ recap their Sydney Marathon experiences. Mitch, despite less-than-ideal preparation, makes his debut with a 2:54 finish, picking up momentum in the final 10 kilometers. Russ, initially planning to pace only until 30 kilometers, missed a drink at the halfway mark, falling 30 seconds behind the group he was pacing. However, he rallied and surged past with a mile to go, finishing in 2:32. Tune in for a few Wollongong shoutouts, two outstanding performances, and a verbal breakdown of the course. And, of course, we’ll discuss the massive poster of Russ from the expo, which has now found a new purpose as a doona cover!

Gear up for a packed episode this week as Sam and Katie chat with Brad Dryburgh. Brad hosts his own podcast, A Lot to Talk About, but today we focus on his running journey. Brad shares his experiences living with cystic fibrosis, which didn’t hinder him too much until he was 18, when he began to experience lung-related effects. His distance running journey started with the Active Boys (the previous name of Never Lazy Run Club), where he completed a month of 5km runs. Afterward, he had a health episode and found himself in the hospital. Determined to complete a marathon and raise funds for cystic fibrosis research, he launched 42forCF, preparing for his first marathon in just a few months. Brad started running four times a week and hitting the gym twice a week. However, another episode occurred a month before the race, forcing him to begin an early taper. On race day, Brad completed 42.2km in 4:17, an unforgettable achievement for him and his family. He continued with 42forCF, completing multiple marathons and raising over $100,000 for cystic fibrosis research and development, while also improving his marathon time to 3:55 at the Melbourne Marathon in 2022. Sam has returned from New Zealand after an exhausting week spent in four different cities. He feels he has turned a corner, with his pacing improving. He completed his Sunday long run in Taupo, logging 102km for the week, along with a gym session and 27 holes of golf. Katie also caught the travel bug and has been in Bali. Now back, she’s resumed treadmill sessions while battling the humidity, totalling 70km for the week and showing a lot of positive signs. Brad was gearing up for the Shellharbour Marathon this week, but due to issues with gout, he is now planning for a marathon in early to mid-2025. He discusses his typical training structure and considers whether he should introduce speed work into his routine to further improve his personal best.

Sam and Katie chat with Lucy Holman. In just five short years, Lucy has won the Husky 10k twice in a row with a PB of 38:05 (even after getting taken out by the lead bike and hitting the deck). She also finished the UTA 100 in under 12 hours, despite tearing an ankle ligament 14k into the race. It’s clear that Lucy leaves nothing on the table when she races, and she talks to us about how she balances a busy family life with a demanding running schedule. Lucy is preparing to race her first marathon at Shellharbour in a couple of weeks, aiming for a sub-3 finish. Katie has ramped up her mileage to 68km this week, and the HR monitor is back. Sam is focusing on time management in his sessions this week and has seen stark improvements compared to an identical session two months ago, logging 104km. Lucy is balancing travel and home life this week with some impressive progression runs and 107kg squats, complementing a solid 68km week, just a couple of weeks out from the Shellharbour Marathon.

Sam and Katie speak with Sharon Sutherland, a 2016 Bravehearts 777 participant and key organizer for the Kiama Running Club. One of Sharon’s most impressive accomplishments was participating in the Bravehearts 777 event, which required $10,000 in fundraising for the leading child protection foundation and involved running a half marathon each day for 7 days in 7 different states. The travel and physical demands were daunting, even just to listen to. Sharon has also run a handful of World Majors and talks about the remaining ones she intends to complete. Sharon’s work in formalizing the Kiama Running Club has been successful, with just under 1,000 Facebook members and upwards of 50 participants in community runs, including Wednesday Hill Reps at Kiama, Saturday 5km from Kiama Surf Club, and a Long Run option at Shellharbour Surf Club on Sunday. Katie runs 48km this week, picks up a new gig mowing lawns, and is staying very active while building up her kilometers nicely. Sharon eases back into training in anticipation of the RunShellharbour 10k and either the Noosa or Tokyo Marathon early next year. Sam gets back to the gym, complains about the heat during his tempo run, but still manages to put together another 100km week. We all share our experiences with niggles during our typical training weeks.

Sam, Katie, and Mitch speak with Sam Jones. Sam has very impressive personal bests, including 14:55 for 5K and 68:30 for the half marathon. Sam was involved in athletics when he was younger but found more enjoyment in downhill mountain biking. However, running made its way back into Sam’s life out of necessity during his travels. Being self-coached, Sam wanted to remove the stress of creating his own training programs and enlisted Brady Threlfall to take the reins. Sam manages to balance a demanding job with his running program and finds that there is a fine line for him in maintaining healthy running habits. During the training week, everyone discusses their warm-up and cool-down routines. Katie put together a 42km week, seeming to bounce back from her injury. Sam Jones balances his hectic work schedule and is recovering from some sickness, but keeps his focus on his Sunday long runs. Mitch struggles with motivation but keeps grinding, completing 102km, including an impressive impromptu Mona Fartlek on Saturday. Sam battles through Achilles and back pain but manages to put together a 100km week with two sessions and a hilly long run around Candelo.

Sam, Katie, and Mitch chat with Claire Rayner. Claire has had a long and successful running career, boasting a 35:00 10K personal best at just 16 years old. More recently, she ran a 2:58 marathon in Newcastle on a lapped and windy course. Claire shares her journey of moving from Canberra to Wollongong for university and how she has learned to manage her training load and intensity over time. We hear how Claire benefits from training with a squad and incorporates strength training into her routine. Recently, Claire has been dealing with hip issues, which have prevented her from maintaining a high-mileage training regimen. She has since pivoted to the increasingly popular Hyrox events, where she walks us through the specific exercises and asserts that they are even more challenging than an all-out road marathon. Sam kicks off his week with lighter training, recovering from an adductor strain. He manages to log 85 km of running and 40 km of cycling, but ends up with a sore back after being knocked over by a large dog during his Saturday session across the road from Warrawong Maccas. Katie, feeling pain-free, strings together a few runs along with her usual cross-training, while Claire puts her to the test with a Hyrox training session. Mitch caps off his week with a 79-minute half marathon at Olympic Park. It wasn’t his best day, but he grinded it out and is proud of his effort.

Katie, Mitch, and Sam speak with Liam Manton this week. Liam is fresh off his 2:54 marathon on the Sunshine Coast last weekend, so we’re lucky enough to get a current recap. Liam has an eclectic endurance history, spending a lot of time in the gym with kettlebells and biking. Liam started running with Runcrew but recently began working with Pulse and has seen great results. His other PBs include 17 flat for 5k, 34:47 for 10k, and 1:18 for the half. Sam put the tools down for 4 days last week with a self-diagnosed adductor strain, which seemed to improve by the weekend. Katie is also cautious with her injury and is waiting for X-rays from her doctor. Mitch runs 102 km this week, off the back of C2S, and manages to find some good trails after a big chunk of climbing early on in Cessnock.

Sam, Katie, and Mitch are joined by WTC member Dane Ottesen. In just a few short years, Dane has run an impressive time trial of 15:04 on the Picton Parkrun course (though not during an official event), but officially clocked 15:37 at the Wollongong Running Festival, 31:55 at the Sydney 10K, and 71:50 at the Gold Coast Half Marathon. Dane started running when Picton Parkrun began, initially finishing in 22 minutes. He improved to 18 minutes on his own until Myles Gough traveled up for Parkrun and introduced him to WTC. Since then, Dane has been coached by IRP’s Brady Threlfall and has seen great improvements in his running. Currently, Dane is managing his work-life-running balance and trying to string together more consistent training. Mitch is back from Spain. Despite the jetlag and a bucks party on Friday night, he managed to run 49:50 at C2S today. Katie is building on her running while continuing to work through her hip injury. Dane put together a solid week with strong sessions and an unintentional 2-hour, 20-minute long run, which included a 9-meter fence climb. Sam hit 100 km for the week, his first time reaching that milestone since March.

Sam, Katie, and Josh are joined by Jaymee McPherson, the founder of Just Another Run Club. Jaymee started JARC in January this year as she wanted to have a safe space for women to get into running. Jaymee also provides holistic programming for running, cross-training, and strength training. Jaymee ran her first half marathon at Kiama Classic this year and feels ready to step up to the marathon, though she is biding her training efforts while she deals with a few niggles. Katie is slowly ramping up her running as she does 25 km featuring a lot of cross-training. Josh is stacking brick on brick with a very solid long run on Saturday with some hills, 3 x 6 min at half marathon pace, and 30 min at marathon pace. Jaymee mixes up her training in the gym, on the bike, walking, and with the JARC run on Sunday. Sam has a scheduled down week, complains about three days of quad DOMs, and Katie calls him out for uploading strength sessions to Strava, but he walks away with 90 km for the week. Join us for the usual segments and find Jaymee’s Instagram for her PT services and Just Another Run Club below: https://www.instagram.com/jaymeekaitmcpherson/ https://www.instagram.com/justanother.runclub/

Sam, Katie, and Josh catch up with Myles Gough. Myles won the Canberra Marathon in 2021 with a time of 2:25 and holds some other impressive results. To our hosts' surprise, Myles only picked up running in 2016, starting at Parkrun to meet new people. Myles explains how his running developed, taking many learnings from local coach Barry Keem. He shares how he stayed fit during injury through cross-training and recently ran 2:39 at the Gold Coast Marathon. We also hear how Myles manages the challenges of balancing work, family, and running at a high level. Myles takes us through his training week, balancing cross-training with key workouts like sessions and long runs in the lead-up to the Sydney Marathon. Katie gets two more runs on the board and racks up hours of cross-training. It’s business as usual for Josh as he puts together another impressive training week, and Sam runs his first-ever trail race, coming 4th in the Summit Shoalhaven half marathon over the weekend.

Mitch is living it up in Spain, so Joshua "JOSH10" Engel is here for a few weeks to fill in. Sam, Josh, and Katie are joined by national middle-distance runner Rohan Laurendet. Rohan has run impressive times of 1:52 for 800 meters and 48.77 for 400 meters. However, he has found success in the 400-meter hurdles, running 51.56 in April this year. Rohan provides some interesting insights about his time spent transitioning from flat running to hurdling. Rohan is also a physio, so he talks us through his strength and conditioning protocols, as well as providing feedback to our hosts this week. Josh stacks some tempo running on top of some solid weekly mileage (109 km), all while adjusting to his new strength program prescribed by Rohan. Rohan talks us through his program, which is typically set in three-week blocks, including hill efforts, gym routines, cycling, and the "Kamikaze" Saturday Session. Sam stacks a 92 km week together with two sessions and a trip to Dalmeny. Katie gets some running advice and starts to do some jog/walking, while she smashes out hours of cross-training.

Sam, Mitch, and Katie are joined by Kate Matts, Head of Saucony Australia. Kate has been with Saucony since before the launch of the Endorphin line, so she has extensive knowledge of how Saucony’s incredible range has expanded over the past few years. Kate is able to give us technical insights into some of the upcoming shoes in the range over the coming months and years, as well as insights into how design choices and product direction are determined. Kate also provides a unique perspective on her own running, given how she came to running after starting work with Saucony. Katie is back on Australian soil and is spending a lot of time on the bike. Sam has improved ever so slightly compared to last week, both in terms of sessions and overall mileage, which is now at 84 km. Mitch runs 144 km of jogging but spices things up by revisiting his old training diary. https://www.saucony.com.au/ Tune in for our usual segments and also some exclusive intel on Saucony's upcoming range.

Sam and Russ catch up for the first time since the Christchurch Marathon, off the back of Russ’s stellar performance in the Gold Coast Half Marathon. Russ talks about his training since Christchurch and his new coaching relationship with Barry Keem. Russ has his eyes on C2S and the Sydney Marathon, but his ultimate goal for this year is to run a fast marathon in Japan. Russ recaps the Gold Coast Marathon weekend for us, and then the guys shout out some coastal results. Tune in for the first episode of the Russell Dessaix-Chin Wag, and congrats to all of those who ran on the Gold Coast last weekend.