The Running Public

Kirk is on vacation, so Lisa steps up and lobs listener questions for Brakken to knock out of the park!

Eamon was the team captain, and emotional leader, of UW OshKosh’s track and cross country teams when Kirk first arrived on campus as a freshman. After a stellar individual running career, he returned as a coach and has spent the last thirteen years leading the distance programs. Today he chats old running stories, his transition into collegiate coaching, and the challenges of coaching and recruiting in the day and age of social media.

Brakken raced, and won, this weekend! What does it mean, if anything? Then, the boys answer a few listener questions.

Get to know your second favorite host through the eyes of his wife! Lisa walks us through their journey from college to full time athlete to coach/father/podcaster/husband.

We’ve received too many good questions lately, so we’re blasting our way through them today!

There a so many “scientifically sound” training approaches out there. Is one best? Are any better than any others for me? How do I find out?

How do I know if I’m doing enough volume/mileage? When is it time to invest in a better (fill in the blank)? How do I start dealing with crippling race anxiety?

Episode Two of our mini series! We all have workouts which would make absolutely zero sense on paper. Maybe you just love the workout. Maybe it is necessary for injury prevention or mental toughness. Or maybe it really just doesn’t make any sense and you shouldn’t be doing it!

Justin takes us through his recent experience of switching from pursuing a chilly 140 mile FKT with 36,000 feet of vert to a warm 100 mile race with 13,000 feet of vert. He discusses switching from pure steep hill training to flat, faster training, how he went about utilizing heat acclimation practices, how he fits in his massive training weeks, and what a race feels like when your gut betrays you.

Today kicks off a mini series on how to effectively train yourself for running performance. We begin things with “Boring is Best, Unless You Need Excitement.” All the best endurance athletes use simple training methods. How do you enact this without going stir crazy?

Veejay went right to the top of the OCR world on the strength of his running and obstacle abilities. With the shifting landscape in OCR no longer motivating him the way it used to, he’s decided to branch out into Hybrid Racing. Today he discusses the process of taking time off running, taking up serious weight training and learning to run while truly compromised for the first time, and how it has made him more serious about getting faster than he’s been in years.

Many of us are approaching the end of our current “season”, which leads to questioning how to properly wrap things up and begin the off season. We dive deep and explore this all the way through!

How do I improve my ability to go to the pain cave in a race, as well as build mental toughness in general? How do I cultivate motivation? How long does it take to regain race fitness after rehabbing an injury? How long does it take to sharpen up for a faster, highly anaerobic race?

Daily training shoe. Short race shoe. Long race shoe. Trail versions for everything! Running shorts, socks, shirt, long sleeve, and jacket. Headphones and watch. We tell you exactly what we’d choose and why!

Corinna Coffin MS, RD, CSSD joins us for part two, and this time she fields your most pressing questions regarding sports nutrition.

Coming down from altitude for a race. Climbers vs descenders. My coach doesn’t believe in zone based training. I can’t get my heart rate up. Preparing for races with significant water crossings/swims. What does a stress fracture feel like? Should I use creatine? Do I need to fully warm up for quality session?

Matt spent an entire training block, en route to the Chicago Marathon, living and training with the NAZ Elite pro running team. His experience was so life changing that he set about creating the opportunity for others to go through the same process. Dream Run Camp: Train like the pros, live like the pros, eat like the pros, and recover like the pros.

The training that worked for us as beginner/youthful runners probably can’t sustain us as we progress through our running journey. Here’s how we believe every runner should approach their training once the “noob gains” are gone.

9 weeks ago Jack broke his kneecap. Today his fitness metrics remain high despite not running a step. He tells us how he got through the healthcare system quickly and efficiently and how he kept his engine primed without running.

Finding the correct pacing strategy for long distance races can be super difficult but is also extremely important. Maximize your endurance events with this episode!

Coach, CPT, and social media guy, Eric talks how to keep living the running dream and make it work financially without being a professional athlete.

We discuss the five workouts we have prescribed the most so far in 2023 to our one-on-one clients. We have talked about our favorite workouts before, but today is all about the workouts we find so effective that we can’t stop programming them!

How can a low mileage athlete prepare for a long race without risking injury? Today’s chat is all about how to get the most out of your mileage!

The internet and television are full of products, theories, and training styles that promise to be Game Changers. Today, we discuss the things that actually have changed us for the better throughout our time as runners.

It is Kirk’s wedding week, so we’re keeping things light! Today we recap the 5k he just raced on the track and discuss our thoughts on racing, heat, pacing, and more.

Corinna is a high level runner, hybrid athlete, Crossfitter, and OCR athlete, but also a great mind in the Sports Nutrition world. Get ready for two hours of a practical, applicable, and relatable conversation about fueling for performance.

Last week’s interview with Dr Doug shed some great light on the importance of running your best stride. Today we focus on practical skills, drills and tips for improving your body’s ability to run that best stride.

Founder of RunDNA, a 3D gait analysis company, Doug is a wealth of running knowledge. On top of being an expert in the field of stride analysis, Doug also serves as a PT to some of the top runners in both the US and abroad.

Sob story? Retirement? Embarrassment? Relief? We know Brakken had a tough day at the office in Pennsylvania this weekend and he breaks down exactly what happened, why, and what it means for him moving forward.

Twelve years ago, Mike set off on a quest to run a Sub 3 Hour Marathon in every US state. This is that story!

Listeners submitted some good questions this week, so we choose three and drove on in: 1. When should I push through and when should I take a break in training? How should “improving “ feel? 2. How much should I use Pace as a metric for Quality Workouts when preparing for OCR? 3. I just cancelled my upcoming race and signed up for a different one a few months later in the year. Should I keep following my training plan or should I rework the plan based on the new goal?

We have too many training items on our mind this week, so we’re covering multiple topics today! We start with the lessons we had reinforced to us this past weekend about pacing and racing in the heat, and then we progress to warm ups, race strategy, and mental toughness.

Matt was the best runner on Kirk’s college track team. He was a 4:00 miler and a 1:47 800m runner. In the twenty years since they last saw each, Kirk found OCR and trail racing while Matt dabbled in triathlon before becoming a National Record holder on the row and ski ergs. And today here they are, reunited on The Running Public!

Over the past three weeks, we’ve discussed the three main types of Quality Sessions: Speed Work, Threshold Work, and Long Runs. Today, we break down exactly how we like to mix them all together at different points of the year (Off Season, In Season, Peaking).

Running, like any form of fitness, is full of preconceived notions which simply aren’t super accurate. So, let’s put some of them to rest today!

Are long runs overrated, underrated, or simply misunderstood? What exactly is a Quality Long Run and why should we be doing such a thing?

From strongman and Canada to running and China, Cody has lived quite the athletic life!

Lactate threshold. Anaerobic threshold. Ventilatory threshold 2. Forget all the terms and science and confusion. There are plenty of other episodes out there regarding all of that! Today is all about WHAT this type of training looks like, WHY it is so effective, and HOW we can implement it effectively in our training.

Brakken and Kirk get to know each other on a much more intimate level by spending an hour grilling each other with Speed Dating questions.

“Speed Work” is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied types of quality workouts! We all want to be fast, but how fast do we need to be running in training? Today’s episode breaks down what speed work is, common misconceptions, and how to implement it in your schedule (assuming you’re training for an event that is 5k or longer!).

Meg transitioned from running track and cross country at UConn to setting the current Hyrox World Record. Fresh off her 2nd place finish at the Hyrox Championships a week ago, she walks us through her fitness journey and drops some golden insights into the mindset and dedication needed to be a high level performer in any walk of life.

We wrap our mini series with the longest common training cycle: The 14 Day Cycle. This plan takes the best of the 7 Day and 10 Day cycles and combines it all into a delightful little microcycle.

Heart rate training vs RPE. Road shoes vs trail shoes. Mileage vs vert for ultras. Singles vs doubles. Starting out with low mileage vs high mileage as a runner.

Arguably the single most effective use of your training time, the 10 Day cycle is tailor made for nailing your quality sessions and fully recovering in between!

One simple question about a race decision spawned 90 minutes of deep dive into why Brakken is the way he is, what the guys want out of running this year, and why sustainability matters so much in your fitness journey.

We kick off a mini series on the different types of training cycles runners can employ. Today we dig into the most popular option: the 7 Day Cycle.

Tom works on the industry side of running events in the UK. From positions on the Mass Participation World Global Council and the Running Industry Alliance Board, to his current postings as Head of Partnerships at RaceNation and LimeLight Sports group, Tom has his hands in all things running related. He also has completed hundreds of Park Runs and has been voted Mayor of Running!

We look back on the characteristics, patterns, and trends of the athletes we’ve worked with who have experienced the most success. We break down how they think, act, and train, and hopefully give you some ideas for optimizing your own training and lifestyle.

The title is self explanatory! Do you try racing every weekend? Do you find yourself signing up for competitions that have no fitness relationships to each other? We got you!

In the past year, Dave went through a tibial stress fracture that cost him 16 weeks, lower back issues, and an implosion at the Hyrox European Championships before rebounding to win the North American Championships. How did he manage his physical rehab, mental confidence, and training with a new baby in the mix?