The Sunday Plodcast

For this week's episode, we spoke to the Head of Athletics at Leeds Beckett University, Andy Henderson. Andy works with a vast group of top distance runners up in Leeds (including former plodcast guests, Alex Bell and Phil Sesemann) and he told us about how he got into coaching, how his group has evolved in recent years, and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to 2016 Olympian, Andy Butchart. Andy has a PB of 13:06 in the 5000m and has just booked his spot on his 2nd GB Olympic team. We spoke to Butchy about his career so far, his goals for the rest of the season, and much more. Enjoy!

For this week's episode, we welcomed GB 800m runner, Lynsey Sharp, to the podcast. Lynsey's a two-time Olympian with a PB of 1:57 and we spoke to her about her career so far; that includes making multiple major championship finals and picking up Commonwealth and European medals along the way. Lynsey talked us through her experiences on the elite distance running circuit, and much more. Enjoy!

With the British Olympic Trials coming up next weekend, we welcomed Mark Hookway and Niki Faulkner to the podcast; to discuss our picks for the top spots at the trials! After some debate, we managed to agree upon some winners for each of the distance events and, hopefully, this will help you with your own picks for our trials prediction contest. If you want to be in with a chance of winning a £100 cash prize, as well as a pair of New Balance Fuel Cell RC Elite V2 running shoes (provided to us by SportsShoes.com), head over to our Instagram (@sundayplodcast) for full details.

For this week's episode, we spoke to Kevin Ondrasek from Thunder Road Running. Kevin is a US-based distance running coach who ran a 3:41 1500 before transitioning into coaching at numerous NCAA universities. These include Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Kevin talked about what life is like for collegiate athletes in the NCAA, as well as some of the unique challenges that coaches face when working in the US collegiate system. Enjoy!

For this bonus episode, we were joined by professional sports broadcaster, Tom Gayle. Tom was part of the commentary team for the British Athletics Olympic 10,000m Trials and the three of us discuss the trials meet. We talk through both the men's and the women's races, that saw Marc Scott, Eilish McColgan and Jess Judd book their spots on the plane to Tokyo. Enjoy!

For our 30th episode, we welcomed Tom Mortimer to the podcast. Tom has been in fine form so far this year; winning all his races on British soil and running PB’s of 3:42 in the 1500 and 13:28 in the 5000 in the process. Currently running at Loughborough University under Chris and Sonia McGeorge, Tom told us about his current training setup, his plans for the rest of the season, and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to US-based Brit, Patrick Dever. Currently studying at Tulsa university, Paddy talked us through life in the NCAA and the type of training that's led to his recent PB's of 13:28 in the 5K and 28:28 in the 10k. Enjoy!

For this week's podcast, we welcomed Olympian and Scottish Marathon record holder, Steph Twell. We spoke to Steph about her career so far, including making the Olympic team aged just 18 in 2008, her current training setup, her plans for this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo, and much more. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to Aldershot and St Mary's distance running coach, Mick Woods. Mick talked us through his coaching career since he started in 1986; sharing stories about some of the world class athletes he has produced over the years. We also discussed the importance of cross country training and racing for the development of distance runners, and how we see the discipline moving forward in the next few years. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to GB distance runner, Phil Sesemann. After a breakthrough start to 2021, where he made the GB team for the European Indoor Championships, Phil is looking for some fast times over the 5,000m and 10,000m this summer. We spoke about some of his upcoming races, his training setup in Leeds, and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to Olympic Marathon Trials winner, and 2012 Olympian, Chris Thompson. Chris talked us through the trials race from his perspective; reliving the calmness that he felt as he ran the race and the passion and emotion that poured out when he crossed the line. We also discussed Chris' lengthy career up to this point and what it takes to survive in the sport for so long. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to 2:27 marathoner, Steph Davis. After winning the British Olympic Marathon Trials last month, Steph has booked her place on the plane to Tokyo for this summer's Olympic Games. Steph told us about the trials from her perspective, her training leading into the race, her plans for this summer, and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we welcomed 2:20 Marathoner, Anthropologist and Author, Michael Crawley, to the podcast. Michael spoke to us about his book, 'Out of Thin Air', that details his 15-month stay in Ethiopia; where he lived and trained amongst some world class marathon runners. We talked about all aspects of Ethiopian running culture, including their training, their diet, and much more. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to Podium 5K race organiser, Chris Barnes. After seeing some lightning fast times at the latest edition of the event last weekend, Podium has come under a lot of scrutiny in the world of athletics over the past week. We sat down with Chris to discuss some of the questions people have been asking, the impact that this has had on him, and what it might mean for the future of Podium 5K. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to 1:59 800m runner, Alex Bell, and her fiancé/training partner Josh Norman. In part 1, Alex told us about her career so far, the depth of talent in British 800m running right now, and much more. In part 2, Josh spoke to us about his work as a trader for a betting company and we discussed the potential for the introduction of gambling into domestic athletics in the UK. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to GB Half-Marathon runner, Jake Smith. With a personal best of 60:31, Jake is the 3rd fastest brit in history over the distance. We spoke to Jake about pacing the Olympic Marathon Trials and his plans for his own debut in the future, his running progression since joining his coach, James Thie, at Cardiff Met Uni, and much more. Enjoy!

On this bonus episode, we preview the upcoming British Marathon Trials for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. Joined by race director, Tom Bedford, we discuss the challenges of putting on such an event, the excitement surrounding the race itself, where you can watch the live stream, and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to the Director of Athletics at Cardiff Metropolitan University, James Thie. A stellar athlete in his own right, James made World, European and Commonwealth Games finals over 1500m before transitioning into coaching. We spoke to James about being self-coached for much of his own career, how he transitioned into coaching others, the challenges of coaching during a pandemic, and much more. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to 1983 London Marathon winner, Mike Gratton. With a winning time of 2:09, Mike is still ranked as one of the top Brits in history over the marathon distance. Mike talked to us about his training leading up to London, how the sport has progressed since his career (yes, another shoe chat), and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to GB 5000m runner, Jack Rowe. Jack has had a breakthrough indoor season this year; winning the UK trials in the 3K and then making the final at the European championships. Jack told us about his career so far, including competing for Aldershot as a junior and heading to the US and racing in the NCAA system as a postgrad. Enjoy!

On this week's episode of The Sunday Plodcast, we spoke to Irish international distance runner, Sean Tobin. Sean had a breakthrough year in 2020 and we spoke to him about his career so far, his current training setup with the Dublin Track Club, and much more. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to GB and Hoka distance runner, Jess Judd. Jess told us about her transition from a fantastic junior into a world class senior, what her current training setup looks like, her plans for 2021, and much more. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to former international steeplechaser, and current Head of Athletics at the University of Birmingham, Luke Gunn. Luke talked about how he transitioned from athlete to coach, how the training setup at Birmingham has progressed in recent years, and much more. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to Great Britain and University of Oregon 1500m man, James West. James told us about his running career so far; including his transition from a successful junior to a world class senior, the experience he's gained in the NCAA, and how he's preparing to make sure he's representing GB at the Tokyo Olympics.

On this bonus episode, Matt and Oli talk through some of the race results from the past weekend. They cover indoor races involving British athletes who raced over 800 and 3000; including Keely Hodgkinson's 1:59 and Andy Butchart's 7:40. They also announce the special guest for this week's Sunday Plodcast. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, we spoke to Team New Balance Manchester Coach, Steve Vernon. We spoke to Steve about how he got into coaching, what it's like to work with one of the top groups in the UK, and much more. Enjoy!

On this episode, we spoke to British Indoor and Outdoor 1500m Champion, George Mills. George told us about his training camp in Dubai, training with the Phoenix Track Club, and his plans for 2021. Enjoy!

For our 10th episode, we spoke to Bowerman Track Club's, Marc Scott. We spoke to Marc about his fantastic year in 2020, his experiences training with the guys at BTC, and his plans for the 2021 Olympics. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to TAC distance coach, Mark Hookway. Mark is our first guest coach on The Sunday Plodcast and we spoke to him about how he got into coaching, his evolving role at TAC, and how distance running in the UK could improve on a broader scale. Enjoy!

On this episode, Oli and Matt give you their predictions for the 2021 Olympics. They cover all the distance events from the 800m up, on both the men's and the women's side. Enjoy!

On this episode, Matt and Oli review the 2020 athletics season. In part 1, they discuss some recent race results and the overall nature of racing during this calendar year. Then, in part 2, they chat about their own highlights of the year; including best performances, best shoes, and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to World and European Championship finalist steeplechaser, Zak Seddon. With a PB of 8:21, Zak is the fastest Brit since 1991. We spoke to Zak about his illustrious junior career, his decision to attend Florida State University and compete in the NCAA, and his plans for Tokyo 2021. Enjoy!

In part 1 of this episode, we discussed some recent race results; including the Valencia Half-Marathon and 'The Track Meet' in California. Then, in part 2, we spoke to GB distance star, Jake Wightman. Jake reflected on his 2020 season, including his blistering 3:29 1500m PB in Monaco. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to Sub 4 Miler and Euro XC medallist, Tom Marshall. Tom gave a really open and honest account about both, the highs and the lows, of elite distance running. We talked about balancing full-time work with training, coming back from injury, stepping up from the 1500 to the 5K, and representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Enjoy!

In this third episode, we spoke to Hoka athlete, Jenny Nesbitt. Jenny has represented Wales and Great Britain on countless occasions; on the track, road, and cross country. Jenny spoke to us about her career so far, her plans for the future, the upcoming UK Olympic Marathon trials, and much more. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to up and coming GB Junior and University of Wisconsin runner, Jack Meijer. We talked about his great performance at last weekend's 'Meet of Champions', training and racing in the NCAA, along with his goals for the future, and much more. Enjoy!

On this episode, we spoke to 2:13 Marathoner; Josh Griffiths. We talked about THAT London Marathon, Carbon shoes and Coaching, amongst other things. Enjoy!