The Running Public

After capturing second place at World’s Toughest Mudder in 2023, Cali has spent this entire year chasing the source of chronic pain in her back, leg, and ankle. This episode is for anyone who has ever struggled with injury, motivation, rehab, or simply anyone who enjoys the power of the human spirit!

We’re not necessarily talking about our best races, our fastest races, or the races we’re most proud of. These are the races that changed us for the better, both as runners and as coaches.

Today’s episode is a rundown of the thirteen workouts that had the most impact on me as a runner and coach. Starting with my freshman year at Campbell University in 2005 and moving through my training years in Colorado in 2015, this is a decades worth of lessons learned via hard work.

You are either injured or you will be. There is almost no way around it. But that doesn’t mean training has to stop! Today we break down everything you need in order to build and execute highly effective cross training workouts. You may not need this right now in this moment, but store it away until you do!

The off season is a great time to back off your interval intensity a bit, rest your body and mind, and stay away from training styles that are prone to wearing you down. But, it is also a perfect time to send it! Run some time trials, crank on the last few miles of the long run, jump in some random races! When done appropriately, and in moderation, this can keep your off season stimulating and it can even make you a better racer next season.

We have 20 mini topics to discuss and we go through them like a Quality Long Run. We have to pick whether to spend 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 minute on each topic. We complete four rounds of this. If you run faster during the “rest” period between answers and run easier during the answers themselves, you will complete a 2 hour long run with 60 minutes of faster running throughout it! Or you can just listen the normal way.

What do you do if your Off Season is approaching but you aren’t wanting to actually take time off? What if you just want to build some fitness without following a super specific plan? Let’s explore it!

Hannah has become an incredible ultra runner, and has done so by embracing all types of race distances and formats, while always being hungry for more in training. From 100 milers to Backyard Ultras to Spartan races, she seems to show up and perform no matter the task or distance.

You sent us 22 questions and we set out to answer them all. Well, we got through maybe seven. But that means you get really, really in depth answers!

If you had to pick one pace to train at for the majority of your Quality Sessions, what should it be? What race distance is the best for making you the most well rounded runner?

Today we explore Jack Daniels’ training formula, the Norwegian approach, the Five Pace training theory, and the MAF method. We break down the main premise of each program and discuss what type of athlete would (or wouldn’t) be a good fit for each!

Some highlights include: Can shoe drop cause Achilles pain? Why do I feel terrible during my taper week? Do compression calf sleeves help with cramping? What inclines should I train at for different intensities?

Do you need to be good early on to be considered talented? Or are their other types of running talent you might unearth as your training journey unfolds?

Ian returns to the podcast to chat training, racing, the state of OCR, and to preview the USA OCR Championships which is going down one month from now in Georgia.

So you didn’t make it. You’re thiiiis close to the cool temps of fall running, but your body and/or mind is DONE. What now?

Dr. Maggie is a physical therapist at Revival Physical Therapy and Wellness in Robbinsdale, MN. She specializes in treating active women and mothers who are experiencing pelvic pain or related conditions.

BK goes off the rails on his three favorite types of racing shoes: Safe Super Shoes, Wild Super Shoes, and “Old School Racing Flats Meet New School Technology”. Because he has an obsession, he breaks these down for both road and trail options.

It’s been over a month since we last dove into your most pressing running questions! We aimed to keep the answers succinct and to avoid rabbit holes. We failed.

Kirk just had his first track race of the year. The 5000m race distance reminded him of certain things that needed reminding and taught him a few things that needed teaching!

It’s almost race week. You’re worried you might not be totally prepared. Just one more big effort couldn’t hurt, right? If you mimic the demands and the hurt of the race once more, you’ll be more prepared to handle it, right?? We’re here to talk you off the ledge. It’s officially time to Not Screw It Up!

Three years, 3000 miles, 1500 streets, and one stress fracture later, Lisa has become the first female (and second overall) to ever run every street in the city of Milwaukee. Find out what she learned, how she strategized, the best and worst of her experiences, and more!

The Games have concluded and we’re back with our impressions, takeaways, and favorite moments from the final races of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

We react to the Olympic races that have been run up until this point, discuss the lessons learned, biggest takeaways, and what we’re still looking forward to!

You asked for it, so we’re doing it! Today we give you our philosophy of why runners should all be strength training, how we think about executing a strength session, and what exercises and rep ranges to target.

A year ago, Matt thought his running days were over. His knees were bone-on-bone, he was arthritic, and he couldn’t run downhill to save his life. Now 50 years old, he recently set the FKT on Mauna Kea, just missed the master’s record at Mt Marathon, and is training 12+ hours per week.

Whether you’re moving from the roads to the trails, mountains to the track, or OCR to HYBRID, your legs need to be ready for the impact demands of your new terrain in order to fully use your existing fitness!

Kirk and a surprise guest co-host answer your burning questions!

How to approach training when your life schedule is atypical Are you leaving performance on the table due to imperfect nutrition? How to execute Kirk’s favorite workout: Float Style Intervals When executing a Split Long Workout, is short rest or longer rest between workouts better?

Some people struggle to get things done. TJ is not one of them. What can we learn from someone who hasn’t missed a workout in years despite working full time , having three kids, and not being a natural runner?

Today we discuss how much volume is needed for an athlete to run-walk a marathon, how we would train for life if races ceased to exist, what we would do if we had one year to become the biggest monster possible, and what to do if your half marathon time is disproportionate to your marathon time.

How to return from injury. Are long hill intervals better than short ones? How to manage racing 5 out of 6 weekends in a row. And a bonus shoes question: Deka vs Hyrox shoe choice.

How to rest, recover, execute quality workouts, and hold onto fitness when racing multiple times in short succession!

Two years ago Nick Ryker was on the show discussing his battle with Ulcerative Colitis. He followed that up with his best ever season of training and racing. Now he returns having struggled with a relapse. Today is another great conversation with a pretty awesome human!

We start with a recap of what we learned during the US Olympic Trials then move to a conversation about what to do when you’re either unsure of your fitness or overconfident in you fitness.

Natasha returns to discuss her recent foray into 24 hours of racing without doing long back to backs, why she runs 3:00+ per mile slower than 5k pace on her recovery runs, and how she navigated being anemic and struggling to absorb iron.

Mr. Kirk DeWindt got out on the roads and ripped a quick half marathon this past weekend. He had a less than ideal lead in, so what can we learn from this? Also, a brief Olympic Trials chat.

Yes, we Global Running Day was a few weeks ago, but we already had an episode in the chamber for that day so deal with it! Jen Eddins at Peanut Butter Runner compiled a great list of questions for any runner to answer on this day of days, so we took the opportunity to ask them of each other on air!

We believe you should be watching professional and collegiate running! We not only lay out our case, we also give you our Starter Pack of races on YouTube that will get you hooked on the sport!

We take a deeper look at 6 listener questions + 1 question from Kirk himself! Todays topics include pacing a longer race, heat adjusted paces, anemia in runners, and cross training specifics (amount, type, intensity).

It’s been a minute since we recommend the gear we are currently using! Today we cover trail shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, hats, and watches.

Today we tackle our most pressing listener questions, but we’re slipping in a lie from time to time! It will sound like a real answer, it will make logical sense, and the other host won’t know when it is coming. See if you can spot the lie before one of us does!

The summer heat and humidity has officially arrived. Kirk bombed a workout this week and chances are you will, too! How should we approach our running during this season?

Mark didn’t find running until he was 38. He transformed himself from a chain smoking, overweight partier into a endurance machine at an age when most people have already let go of their athletic aspirations.

We travel back in time to the 3rd Training Tuesday we ever recorded: Running Terminology 101! The audio quality was amateur hour, our delivery was a work in progress, but the content is just as useful now as it was 4 years ago! This re-release will give you all the definitions needed to navigate the world of running jargon.

Race stories, poop stories, embarrassing stories, and the lessons learned!

The top 5 worst runs of our entire life, described in full, excruciating detail!

Medically prevented from working out for the first three decades of her life, Joyce finally found freedom through fitness well into her thirties. Join us for her story of perseverance, endurance, and mindset.

When do we need bland, consistent training and when should we spice things up with variety and novelty?

We pick out a 4 current situations our athletes are dealing with and discuss them in depth: Should I have pushed harder? When have I raced too much? Do I pull the plug on my training or push through this injury? Am I actually healthy enough the start training again?

We all have slightly different ideas of what really constitutes Speed Work for distance runners. Let’s explore that!