The Women's Running Podcast

In this episode I speak to Dr Juliet McGrattan. Juliet has written for Women’s Running for YEARS, lending her considerable medical expertise to our conversations about women’s physical and mental health. She’s basically our go-to expert on pretty much everything. She’s a doctor, as well as a writer, and is also a director of Fearless 261 here in the UK. She’s written two books – the latest of which, Run Well, is every runner’s complete guide to healthcare, from shin splints to menopause, it’s all in there. I decided I wanted to talk to Juliet about the menopause and periods and all things hormonal for this episode – although I could happily have talked to her about pretty much any medical concern under the sun. But because in our last episode, Holly and I were talking about periods a little bit, I thought it best to bring an expert in rather than rely on our own somewhat shaky knowledge. So in this episode, I ask Juliet about period health, and ask her to explain the period cycle from start to finish, and how we can perhaps train better depending on where we are. We talk a LOT about menopause (you have been warned) and my own personal worry, osteoporosis. We also talk about the things we can achieve as runners and women as we age, the red flags we should look out for in ourselves and others in terms of our reproductive health, and how we can better manage and care for our mental health as we hurdle over perimenopause and beyond.You should totally become a member of Women’s Running. For one thing, Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running, which is 35% off. That’s less than £2.95 a month! And for that you get our brilliant magazine, and you also get loads of money off the sorts of stuff you love, like lovely kit, nutrition and class memberships. And, more than that, you’ll be one of us, which is priceless. Enter WRPOD at the checkout at for your brilliant discount. Come and join Women’s Running – we’d love to have you with us!Get hold of Juliet’s brilliant books right here:Run WellSorted: The Active Woman’s Guide to HealthSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 11 of our Women’s Running workshop, Holly and I are building up to our virtual Vitality 10K at the end of May. You join us in the middle of a heated debate about recycling – so you may want to gloss over that. I talk about my 20-mile run/walk that I completed the weekend before (spoiler: it was LOVELY) and show off my medal (tricky on a podcast), and Holly talks about her improved running since recovering from not-Covid. I then try to include a bit of structure into the remaining weeks before our 10K, with a couple of pick-and-mix training sessions. These two types of runs are a threshold run and a pyramid run. If you want to try them out during your training, here are the details. Briefly speaking, a threshold run is running a little bit faster, while a pyramid session is a bit more complex and a bit more fun, with some more resting bits. With a threshold, you want the meat of your run to be 80% of your highest perceived effort, although I find it hard to work out what that is precisely, so for Holly and I we’re just going to run a little bit faster in the middle of our weekly run. So if we’re running for 30 minutes in total, we’ll include a 15-20 minute section in the middle where we’re just going to be running a bit faster than we normally do. This is not Chariots of Fire.With a pyramid run, you start with a little warm up of at least five minutes easy running. Then you alternate intervals of faster running with 60 seconds of easy running, climbing up and down a pyramid of intervals, starting with 30 seconds, then 45, 60, 75 and 90, before going back down to 75, 60, 45 and 30, each with 60 seconds easy running in between. This is almost GUARANTEED to make our 10K easier, and it sounds super fun, so I’m looking forward to it.We then talk about calves of steel (Holly) and hamstrings of balsa wood (me), and how we both need one session a week of yoga or pilates to stretch out our poor overworked bodies.We have a quick pop at men who just HAVE to overtake us on a run, and I remind Holly of the best advice I’ve heard this year, which is: don’t measure yourself by someone else’s ruler. I want us all to take that on board. You should totally become a member of Women’s Running. For one thing, Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running, which is 35% off. That’s less than £2.95 a month! And for that you get our brilliant magazine, and you also get loads of money off the sorts of stuff you love, like lovely kit, nutrition and class memberships. And, more than that, you’ll be one of us, which is priceless. Enter WRPOD at the checkout for your brilliant discount. Come and join Women’s Running – we’d love to have you with us!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 37 of the Women’s Running podcast we’re talking about recovery with Linda Jaros, a breathing and wellness coach. Linda has been passionate about caring for athletes for her entire career – and that’s more than 30 years now. The thing that made me immediately warm to her was her statement that “we don’t run with just our legs”. It can be borderline dangerous if you seek professional help for a running issue, and they only focus on that one bit. Linda, as all the best professionals in running do, looks holistically at each of us, at our whole bodies. She talks, for instance, about the importance of good nutrition in our recovery, and also ways in which we can minimise stress and improve the quality of our sleep. She also explores concepts such as conscious breathing, and at the end of the podcast gives us a very simple technique that she uses as part of her focus on athlete recovery; a simple bit of breathwork that will help you relax, and to recover. If you’re sceptical about meditation, this is not what you might think – it’s a couple of minutes doing something very very simple, with an almost instantaneous calming and relaxing effect. Magic. Linda now works for Oofos, the recovery footwear company, whose ethos closely matches her own. She talks here about how recovery footwear such as this can help your body recover from training - and remember, if your body recovers efficiently, you will get fitter and stronger faster, and reduce your chances of injury. This podcast was a revelation to me: the box breath technique that she explains is incredibly relaxing, and she’s really made me think about what I wear on my feet and what I do after a run, which is possibly more important than what I do during a run! You should totally become a member of Women’s Running. For one thing, Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running, which is 35% off. That’s less than £2.95 a month! And for that you get our brilliant magazine, and you also get loads of money off the sorts of stuff you love, like lovely kit, nutrition and class memberships. And, more than that, you’ll be one of us, which is priceless. Enter WRPOD at the checkout for your brilliant discount. Come and join Women’s Running – we’d love to have you with us!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 36 of the Women’s Running podcast is our 10th Workshop. In this episode Holly and I are talking easy running. We have the virtual Vitality 10K at the end of May to train for, but after 2020 and also us training for our virtual half in March, I want us both to take this easy. We begin by talking about imposter syndrome, which it turns out both of us suffer from without explicitly mentioning it, in terms of team sports at school. And how our lacklustre performances at which have lead to us embracing a sport that focusses less on competition (if you don’t want it to). We also talk vaguely and ridiculously about covid testing, not doing our strength training, and the take aways that we have employed as a result of our hip strength training in episode 9 of the Women’s Running Workshop. We also talk about not taking that 10K distance for granted – so yes, while I don’t want us to bust a gut in training beforehand, everyone that’s doing the vitality 10K with us should be respectful of that distance. If, like us, you’re not doing a huge amount of training but still want to do it, then take it slowly and at a pace you’re comfortable with: this could mean walking the whole way, or parts of it – and it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up with a running buddy. But whatever you do, learn from my mistakes and don’t do it three times over and end up with a stress fracture. So there’s a bit of easy training advice on that 10K distance at the end, if you can bear to put up with Hol and I cackling about audiobooks that make us snot-cry while we run.Please join us at the virtual vitality London 10,000 this May half term. You can walk, jog or run your 10K – time is not an issue. Go to vitalitylondon10000.co.uk to sign up, and if you choose Women’s Running as where you’ve heard about it, you’ll be entered into a competition to win a pair of New Balance shoes, too. Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running: honest, it’s better than anything anywhere else. Go to our Shop and enter WRPOD at the checkout to get a whopping 35% off. Come and join Women’s Running - we’d love to have you with us!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 35! This week I’m chatting to Bryony Gordon. Author, columnist, podcaster, founder of Mental Health Mates, underwear marathon runner and champion of body positivity, Bryony has always been firmly on our radar. I first met Bryony just over a year ago, before our first lockdown and the world tipped off its axis. We met as part of the Celebrate You crew, a bunch of women all running the Vitality 10,000 or the London Marathon with the ambition of encouraging more women to do the same, and to feel confident and empowered by their own bodies. Since launching Mental Health Mates a few years ago, Bryony also encouraged the event directors of the Vitality 10,000 to make mental health a focus of the run too, and last year we all ran the virtual Vitality 10,000 for our heads as well as our hearts. We’re about to do the same this May too – if you’d like to join us, there’s plenty of time to sign up here. It costs just £19 to enter, and for that you’ll get a beautiful medal and technical tee. You can run at any time in the May half term, and you’ll be part of our 10K community – it would be lovely to have you with us! Holly and I are doing it too, and we’ll be talking about our training in next week’s podcast, so listen in for that.Bryony talks to me here about founding Mental Health Mates when she realised that that community didn’t exist already, and she talks frankly about her own mental health. She also talks about running, and changing the reason why she ran – for the gains, and not for the losses. She’s a joy and an inspiration. Enjoy.Please join us at the virtual Vitality London 10,000 this May half term. Go here and sign up, and if you choose Women’s Running as where you’ve heard about it, you’ll be automatically entered into a competition to win a gorgeous pair of New Balance shoes, too. What’s not to love?Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running. Go to Women’s Running and enter WRPOD at the checkout to get a whopping 35% off as well as access to loads of discounts and freebies. Happy running!This episode sponsored by Decathlon Second Life. Second Life is a new sustainability initiative helping us to recycle, repair and reuse sports equipment. Decathlon wanted to reduce the number of products going to waste, so their team of expert technicians refurbish used products, such as bikes and treadmills, before offering them to you with the same guarantees and returns policy as a brand new product. Every product comes with a minimum 10% discount, meaning Second Life works for our planet and your pocket! Give a product a Second Life. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Women’s Running Workshop, Holly and I have something different for you. Ever since her first half marathon in 2020, Holly has complained that she’s had a little bit of a hip niggle, and knowing that hip injuries are frighteningly common in runners we thought we’d track down someone to help with that and dedicate this episode to hip injuries and hip strength for runners. So here we are chatting with Victoria Smith a physio who specialises in hips and hip strength for runners. Victoria is a runner herself, and also suffers from hip niggles, so she’s a bit of a find for us. She patiently listens to all our various running woes and then offers sage advice on the strength moves we need to do to combat the niggles, and also the things we need to do in our everyday lives to stop the pain in its tracks. Turns out we sit wrong, we walk wrong, we do EVERYTHING wrong, so this is little short of revelatory. What’s very wonderful about Victoria is that she is realistic; she understands that strength training is boring for runners, so she says that she’ll ask us to do them every single day on the understanding that if we do them three times a week, then we’re winning. I love that. Listen in to find out how to fix your hips.If you want more advice from Victoria on any hip pain you might have, join her facebook group, @fixyourhips for helpful tips and advice on gluteal tendinopathy. And sign up to her healthy hips programme here.This podcast is sponsored by Vega. Vega is a premium range of vegan protein and nutritional powders made from real fruit and veg. Discover the full range here.Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running. Go here and enter WRPOD at the checkout to get a whopping 35% off. Come and join Women’s Running - we’d love to have you with us. Happy running!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Mel Bound. This is the second time we’ve had Mel on the podcast, and there’s a very good reason for that. In recent weeks, we’ve launched the We Will campaign. We have been appalled at what feels like a recent rise in the harassment and heckling of women runners, and we got together to talk about that. And once we started talking about it, we realised that this wasn't recent at all: this is every woman's lived experience - always. At Women’s Running we had sent out a survey in January, and one of the questions asked how safe women felt when they ran, and 69% of them didn’t feel safe. 69%. We asked them more questions about the experiences that made them not feel safe, and there was a catalogue of horrible things: heckling, shouting, body shaming, following, stalking, waiting, threatening, spitting, hitting, groping. No matter what the experience was, these women felt real danger and real fear. Crucially, for some of them, it stopped them from running altogether. So we want to do something about that, and part of what we’re doing is launching We Will, in which we’re asking for everyone – men and women – to pledge small changes that will have a combined bigger impact. We want women to tell their stories, we want to educate our young men, and we want to challenge the status quo, and we want to run without fear. I speak to Mel here about all of this, our own experiences, and how we’d like you to help.Find out more about We Will, follow us on Instagram and please pledge what you’ll do to help women run without fear.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So Holly and I have made it past the half marathon date – and this is our debrief. Did we succeed? And, actually and more importantly, what did success mean to both of us? It turns out we both wanted very different things from our half marathon experiences, and we had very different runs. We talk about what we had hoped for, and what actually transpired, and how the differences between those two things have coloured our opinions of ourselves and of our running.. For me, it has challenged everything I thought about me and running, and it has set me on a new path. For Holly, I think that this experience has given her the confidence to not only run and race again, but to appreciate her body’s strength and what it has enabled her to do. So what are our plans now? Well, we’ve got a 10K booked in in May and, as I keep on forgetting, a real-life half marathon in September, so there’s definitely enough to keep us going. Meanwhile I’ve got the London Marathon still in my sights in October, and I’ve nudged another little race in there in the meantime.Next episode we have a treat, we’re going to be talking to a physio about hip injuries in runners, as Holly has been suffering from hers. Victoria Smith is a hip and knee specialist physio in the NHS, and she’ll be talking to us about how we prevent hip injuries, how we manage it if we damage ourselves, and how to recover fully afterwards. Holly can’t wait. This podcast is sponsored by Vega. Founded by a vegan former professional triathlete, Vega is a premium range of vegan protein & nutritional powders made from real fruit and veg ingredients. They’re full of the things your body needs, so you can thrive each and every day, leading an active lifestyle without skipping a vitamin, mineral or a beat. Protein helps build and maintain muscles. Add to smoothies, shakes and bakes and enjoy as part of a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet. Go to www.myvega.co.uk to discover the full range.Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running: honest, it’s better than anything anywhere else. Go here and enter WRPOD at the checkout to get a whopping 35% off as well as access to loads of discounts and freebies. Come and join Women’s Running - we’d love to have you with us. Happy running!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we chat to the very joyful Jada Sezer. I first met Jada at the beginning of March 2020 – a month most of us remember pretty well for some reason. Before all of that kicked off, and long before we knew our worlds were going to change so radically, we met up at the New Balance pub in London, with an impressive bunch of women including Bryony Gordon, Deborah James, Anna Harding, Emma Campbell and Andrea McLean, all of us booked in to run either the London Marathon or the London Vitality 10,000 or both. Things were beginning to feel different in that first week in March, but not so different: we talked about running, we ate a delicious lunch, we shared food off each other’s plates, we hugged. Jada talks to me about her history with running, and how that started when she met Bryony for the first time over a table of sports bras. She talks about (famously) running in her underwear for body positivity, and the emotions of running a marathon, no matter what you’re wearing. She also talks about her life on Instagram, and how she deals with the sadly inevitable trolling that exists on social media. We talk too about what lockdown has taught her, about her coping mechanisms, and what she thinks lockdown has taught us all. One of her favourite phrases, she says, is “this too shall pass” and it’s definitely one that we should keep in mind right now.Both Jada and I are taking on the virtual Vitality London 10,000 this May. If you’d like to join us and take on a goal, you can sign up and run your 10K any day between the 29th May and 6th June. This time round, the emphasis is on our mental health; so the idea is to run for your head as well as your heart. You can walk, jog or run your 10K. It costs just £19 to enter and all finishers receive the official medal and technical tee. Enter now and join us!And here’s a thing: all podcast listeners can claim an exclusive 35% off Women’s Running membership by entering WRPOD at the checkout. That’s better than any other deal! You’ll get the mag, FREE access to digital back issues, and lots of discounts, freebies and exclusive deals with brilliant running brands that will help you run better. Come and join Women’s Running - we’d love to have you with us. Happy running!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 30 of the Women’s Running Podcast. This is our 7th Running Workshop, in which I chat to Holly Taylor about our training ahead of our half marathon this weekend. We open this episode with the mother of all confessions in terms of that virtual half, so hang on to your hats. Mainly, though we talk about tapering, race day prep and a bit about recovery too. So we talk about Holly’s walk/run strategy, which has been brilliant and has worked fantastically for her, and we also talk about how we should be training and what we should be eating in this last week before the race. There’s a bit of a shocker there where we both confess that neither of us like porridge, and I expect us both to be banished from the running community for saying so. So we talk about other things we could eat for breakfast, and whether we really need to carb load before a half. And we chat about how best to recover after our 13 miles. Small warning: Holly is a leetle bit sweary when the possibility of not necking a bottle of prosecco the minute she finishes is mooted, but I think that’s fair enough. Anyway, we’ve decided that okay, we shan’t get smashed the second we cross over our respective finish lines, but we certainly will enjoy a glass or seven that evening. So there. We also talk about keeping our motivation going post-half, and as I’ve signed Hol up to another race, she can’t get out of that one. If you’re running a race for you this weekend, let me know as it would be lovely to run with you virtually. And in our next workshop we'll chat about how to prepare for our best 10K in May!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we speak to Lucy Hurn. Lucy is a personal trainer, a running coach and a triathlete, and she works with the fitness and wellness app Auro. I wanted to speak to her because she basically knows everything about running – she’s an absolute goldmine of running information. Now that Holly and I are coming to the end of our training for our virtual half marathon, I wanted to speak to a trusted running coach to ask her all our questions, and so that you could ask her your questions too. We put a shout out on social media to find out what you wanted to know from our expert, and I ask the ones you sent in during the podcast. So this is a lovely practical session, covering tapering, nutrition and training. She offers us all sage advice for people aiming to run a virtual race in the next few months, no matter what the distance, and we talk about the walk/run method, and she explains how to use our rest days more smartly. We talk about the best distance for your last long run before a race, and the best strategies for marathon training when you start upping your mileage. She also talks about the importance of a healthy menstrual cycle, and she explains what the heck glycogen is, which is news to me. This episode is sponsored by Auro. Auro is a leading fitness and wellness app, with over 700 on-demand workouts for home, gym or outdoors lead by world-class trainers. All Women’s Running podcast listeners get unlimited access FREE to all of this for 30 days, worth £11.99. To get this, go here and enter the code WR30 at the checkout. And don’t forget to sign up to a Women’s Running membership for our brilliant mag, along with tons of discounts and freebies for just £8.75 for three months. Go to our shop and enter WRPOD at the checkout and join us! We’d love to have you with us. Happy running.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 28 of the Women’s Running podcast: this is our 6th Women’s Running Workshop. In this episode, we’re getting closer to our half marathon start line, and we hear how Holly’s running has been going over the last four weeks – spoiler: pretty good actually. Endurance is coming on apace, but I obviously need to slap her wrists about the strength training, but I let her off the hook because runners always avoid strength and conditioning, so I just see it as Holly becoming a Proper Runner ™. So we talk about that, we talk about my training too, which I somehow managed to forget to do. And we talk about the taper – how to do it, when to do it, and how it’ll help us on race day.We also talk about some other strength exercises we can do, using resistance. You can pick these up for under a tenner online: do please have a search around and try to spend money with local, small businesses if you can – I’ve been using John Moore Sports in Bath, but other local sports shops are available!Try and add in some resistance band moves to your S&C sessions, with crab walks and clam shells to really give your glutes some oomph. I’ve also given Holly a couple more exercises so she can switch these up a bit, while I’ll list below.We also talk about nutrition – the sort of breakfast that will help rather than hinder your training, and nutrition strategies during the race, which might include actual jelly babies – whatever gets you through.And what do I have to warn you about? I think I say the word ‘segue’ too much, and we absolutely do NOT hate cyclists or dogs, I promise, despite all indications to the contrary. These are the exercises I’ve asked Holly to do for the next couple of weeks, just so she wasn’t getting bored. You can do these too if you like. Meanwhile, we’re running 3 or 4 times a week (mostly 3), made up of our increasing long run, a technical run and an easy run. So the exercises are: A side plank. This is forearm to feet, make sure your body is in one straight line, and that you keep your head and neck in a straight line. This is harder than a normal plank, so start by holding for 20 secs, and build up to a 45 secs on each side. Tricep dips - sit on the edge of a chair, place your hands on the edge to take your weight, shift your body off the edge. To start with keep knees above ankles, as you progress, move your feet further away. Then don’t move ANYTHING apart from your arms and bend your elbows, while taking your weight, and then pushing back up to straight. Look online if you’re unsure of technique, or you don’t feel anything working. Do 10 very slow ones. Then instead of squats, we’ve introduced Single leg lunges: Stand tall, take a huge step forward with one leg, lower your body so that your back knee almost touches the floor, push back off the front leg to stand tall again, and then switch legs. Keep your body upright at all times. Progress by holding a weight to your chest or wearing a backpack full of books. Do 10 of these each side. Good luck with these, and with your training – let us know how you’re getting on, and Holly and I will update you just before we do our half in a couple of weeks’ time. Excited!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 27 of the Women’s Running podcast, we speak to Jo Pavey. Yes, Jo blooming Pavey. It’s difficult not to feel starry eyed about five-time Olympian Jo Pavey, but she instantly puts you at your at ease. She’s warm, lovely and super enthusiastic about running at all levels. She’s more than happy to offer advice to us amateurs and is keen to get us all out running. “Running is amazing!” she says, And she’s right. We talked to Jo on a chilly January day over Zoom. We start off by talking about the challenges of homeschooling, as we had both had to nudge our children out of our respective rooms before we began talking, and also about being a Women’s Running cover star – Jo graces our February cover in style. We also talk about her memories of the Olympics, discussions around her age, competitiveness in sport, friendship with her colleagues, how to encourage your kids to be active, and spreading the Saucony love to her entire village. She’s ridiculously lovely, is Jo: we hope you enjoy this as much as we enjoyed talking to her.This episode is sponsored by Decathlon. Decathlon knows the vital role staying active plays on our physical and mental wellbeing. Decathlon has just launched its brilliant Power of 10 Podcast: in this Olympic skier turned Dancing on Ice star Graham Bell chats to stars of sport and media to discover their top tips for a healthy body and mind, and how they achieve balance in their lives. The Power of 10 is available on all the usual platforms and provides the sporting boost your day needs.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 26 of the Women’s Running podcast. This is our 5th Workshop, and this time we’ve got something a little different for you. In the last four workshops, you may have tuned in to hear Holly and me banging on about our running as we gear up for our virtual half marathon in March. We are still training for that and very much banging on about it – do please listen in to our next workshop at the end of Feb for our next exciting instalment. But in this episode we have a special treat for you – for those of you who have been training with us, and also for those of you who haven’t, we have a guided interval run brought to you by Auro. Auro is a leading fitness and wellness app, with over 700 on-demand workouts for home, gym or outdoors lead by world-class trainers. With the app, you get access to over 700 on demand audio and video classes - and that’s things like running, yoga, HIIT training and meditation. You also get training plans, running stats, and hundreds of guides to help your running form and technique.And here’s a very lovely thing: all Women’s Running podcast listeners get unlimited access FREE to all of this for 30 days, worth £11.99. To get this, go here and enter the code WR30 at the checkout. You’ll be auto-enrolled for a monthly or annual plan after the trial ends.If you’re training alongside Holly and me for a half marathon, please use this interval training session once a week alongside your easy and long runs. Remember to also do some strength work two or three times a week, and this is especially important for your core – so I’m afraid you’re going to have to do those planks. On your hands, your elbows, side planks or even mountain climbers – do whichever you hate the least, but do them regularly. You also need to be adding a good ten minutes to your long runs every weekend, too. The theory is that you should be at around the 2 hour mark in about four weeks’ time. Remember you can always use the walk/run method, but be careful how you use it – don’t go full pelt for half of it, then walk the rest of the way round. Run for a set period of time, then walk for a couple of minutes. It’s how all the best ultra runners do it!Meanwhile, don’t forget to sign up to a Women’s Running membership for our brilliant mag, along with tons of discounts and freebies for just £8.75 for three months – that’s 35% off just for you, brilliant Women’s Running listener! Go to Women’s Running and enter WRPOD at the checkout and join us!Now enjoy this beginner interval session – it lasts just under 30 minutes, just take it at your own pace. You can use this session as many times as you like as you continue your training, just increase your efforts week by week, and you’ll soon see an improvement in your fitness. Find out more about Auro.If you’d like to listen to the run without music, or alongside your own music choices, you can go straight to the interval training here.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we speak to Denise Stephenson. We had a chat at the end of 2020, just before the third lockdown came in. We discovered Denise by chance as the founder of the Emancipated Run Crew in South London, and fell in love with her passion for inclusivity and her joyous approach to running. Denise is, as we discover, busy. She is a solicitor by day, a profession that she only realised might have a place for her after a black lawyer came to speak at her secondary school. That experience, along with her faith, has had a huge impact on her, not only in terms of her choice of job, but also influencing her decision to then set up a charity, Reach Out 2 Kids, that does just that: placing BAME professionals in schools to talk about their careers to inspire black and working class kids to enter professions they might not think were open to them. She’s had incredible and moving success with the charity, as she discusses here. Denise is also co-host of the brilliant Start Line Podcast, along with her sisters, Jules and Petrina, in which they chat effusively about running and eating, and the joy of their many, many half marathons. She talks to us here about her podcast, her charity, the racism she’s faced both at work and at racing events, as well as the lack of diversity in races and the lack of progress made by event directors in terms of their marketing and targeting. Get inspired right here, and make sure you interrogate your race director the next time we’re allowed to race and you realise how few black people are at the start line. And make sure you follow Denise!@deeliz08@we_run_we_eatSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 24 of the Women’s Running podcast, and our fourth Women’s Running Workshop. In this I speak to Holly Taylor, Women’s Running digital editor, about how her training for her half marathon is going. We’re both signed up to do a virtual half marathon in the middle of March, and we’re working together to make her feel confident and strong ahead of that. If you’d like to train alongside us, that would be great! Do please drop me any questions about your training, if you have any.In this episode we talk about Holly’s endurance and strength. We’ve got about six weekends ahead of the half, and Holly is at around the 6-8K stage. So I’ve asked her to add ten minutes to her long run at every weekend run. Which might seem like a lot, but we also talk through walk/running. At the moment, the most important thing is time on your feet. And it’s great to be consistent if you’re walk/running, rather than running as far as you can and then slow down to a walk. So I’ve suggested that Holly runs for her preferred length of time – say 10 or 20 minutes – and then introduce a short walking section, before running for the same length of time, and so on. If you’ve been following along with us, hopefully you’re at the comfortable hour stage. So this is something you might want to think about, if the idea of running for more than an hour feels a bit worrying. Just give it a go on your next long run and see how it goes. Equally, if running for more than an hour seems fine to you, then please just go for it. And this week run for ten minutes longer than your last long run, and next week, run ten minutes longer than that. Meanwhile, run a further two times during the week as per usual: one of them a steady, easy run, and keep that technical run for the third one – and that can either be speedwork or hills, your choice.The other thing I’ve asked is for Holly to begin some strength work, and to continue doing it three times a week, every week up until her half. Strength work sounds scary, but it’s not, I promise. Do my special TV Workout three times a week in front your favourite guilty pleasure. It’s just three exercises, all of which are very simple to do. Do them all three times over. The three exercises are press ups, planks and squats. And this is them:10x press ups: these can be completed on your feet or on your knees. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart, lower your body slowly and push up, keeping your elbows as close to the side of your body as possible. Whether you’re on your knees or on your feet, keep the rest of your body in a tight, straight line, from ankle or knee up to the top of your head.30 second plank: you can do this on your elbows or your wrists. Keep your body as straight as possible, push up through your arms, keeping them solid like iron bars, push through your toes, and slightly protract your shoulder blades while sucking in your stomach. Hold for 30 seconds – or a minute if you feel you can.10x squats: stand with your feet hip-width apart, hands in prayer position. Lower your body so that, if you can, your hips go lower than your knees while your feet remain flat on the ground. Keep your torso straight and upright. Use your glutes and hamstrings to fire yourself back upwards. If it’s all too easy, hold a weight or wear a backpack full of books.Now repeat two more times. The whole thing should take less than 10 minutes. Easy. So add that in just three times a week to help strengthen your core, which will, basically, make running feel easier and make you less prone to injury. Nothing good ever took a week, mind, so stick with it! In our next workshop, we have a very special treat for you: a guided interval session to listen into for 30 minutes while you’re out on a run. Keep your eyes peeled for that one.Support the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this very special extra episode we speak to Eddie Izzard. Eddie is a big runner and a trans woman. She made headlines recently when her decision to use she/her pronouns came to light. We wanted to talk to her about her running experiences, and to demonstrate the inclusivity and support of our community. Last year, Eddie decided it was time to do something big, and she wanted to use running to achieve it. Throughout January 2021, under the banner of Make Humanity Great Again, Eddie is running 31 marathons on a treadmill, and then performing 31 stand-up shows, in 31 days, in 31 virtual cities from across Europe and around the world. She’s doing this to raise money to give to charities that Make Humanity Great. These charities include Fareshare, Walking With The Wounded, Care International, United to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases and Covenant House New York City. Please donate to these causes by hitting the links below or donating to the numbers.We talked to Eddie while she was running her 20th marathon in a virtual Helsinki. She talked to us about her running, and all the injuries that she’s currently suffering from. And we also talk about her pronouns, and the response that she’s had as a result. Eddie talks honestly about her experiences and her politics, expressing her own views – which do not necessarily reflect those of Women’s Running, but are certainly interesting listening. She talks frankly about Brexit, Donald Trump, and also John Major and a Curly Wurly – you have been warned. What Eddie is doing right now, the money she’s raising and her quest to spread positivity and hope makes her one of the most inspiring people we’ve ever spoken to. Make Humanity Great Again Donation information:Just go to eddieizzard.com and hit the ‘Donate’ button to give as much as you like via our Crowdfunder site. Or if you have a UK phone, you can send a text instead. To donate £10, just text the word TEN to 70810. To donate £20, just text the word TWENTY to the same number - 70810. How to join Eddie the 31-Day Challenge: - Follow Eddie on Zwift Companion App- When you enter Zwift there is the 'join another Zwifter', Eddie will appear near the top of that list, click the name, and a press run with Eddie. You can now join Eddie for the marathon attempt of the day. Find out more on Eddie’s page here.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 22 of The Women’s Running podcast. In this episode we speak to relentlessly positive ultrarunner Holly Rush. Holly is the co-host of the Marathon Talk podcast with lovely Martin Yelling, she’s the Asics Frontrunner manager, an ASICS studio coach, and an online coach and mentor. As an ex-GB runner, she has represented Britain at the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. She talks to us here about how she discovered her talent for running, and her training for the GB distances. We also talk about her relationship with food, which has been tricky in the past, leading to her periods stopping and discovering she had osteoporosis, along with suffering from a ton of stress fractures. But in the realisation of this, alongside a move from marathon to ultra distances, came a much happier relationship with food and a far happier and healthier outlook. She talks about her love of the ultra distance, and the races she holds close to her heart, and her love generally of trail running. She lets us into the secret of what her absolute favourite ultra is, and she’s got loads of tips for aspiring trail runners here: all very relatable and totally achievable!This episode is sponsored by Asics. Make sure you visit their online shoe finder at asics.tv/shoes for expert guidance to figure out which shoe is right for you, and to find out all about Europe’s no 1 running brand.We’ve got a treat for all podcast listeners: an exclusive 35% off membership to Women’s Running. Just enter WRPOD at the checkout for your discount, and you’ll get the mag, free access to hundreds of digital back issues, discounts off lovely merch, a free month’s subscription to Move GB Move At Home, and more! All for less than £9 a month! What are you waiting for?Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s episode 10, series 2 of the Women’s Running podcast! This is our third Women’s Running Workshop. In this episode, Esther chats with Holly, the Women’s Running digital editor about her running, as she builds towards running a virtual half marathon in March 2021. If you’d like to do this with us, it would be great to hear from you – do please email Esther with any questions you have – address below. Over the next few workshops, we’re going to be chatting about how she’s going to increase her long run at the weekends, and the things she can do during the week to increase her strength and endurance. Workshop 3 is all about form. Before we launch that on her, we chat about Holly’s running and how it’s been over the last few weeks. If you remember, she’d been tasked with a few technical runs, which she gamely took on. She’s been doing some hill sprints, and – as we suspected – avoiding the fartlekking. This is very much a usual state of affairs: the thing with running homework is that while it’s good to see it as a structure, there’s no point making yourself do stuff that will eventually put you off running altogetherWith her training for the half, she will continue to run three times a week – these runs include a longer run at weekends, and that now needs to be in the region of 6-8K, an easy run a few days later, and a technical run – that’s hills or sprints. While she’s doing this, she’s going to think about form. It can be weird to change the way you run. And can feel quite alien, but tiny adjustments in the way that you hold yourself, and the way in which you move your arms and legs, can have a massively positive effect on your running – especially in terms of injury reduction but also in terms of performance. Here’s your good running form checklist:Head: Hold your head up high, think about someone pulling your ponytail skywards. Keep your chin tucked in.Shoulders: Keep your shoulders down and back.Arms: Hold your arms parallel to your body at 90 degrees and pump them forwards and backwards. Don’t let your hands cross your body.Core: Hold your tummy in just a little bit, to help keep your posture upright and your back in a neutral, rather than curved, position.Legs. Cycle your legs behind you. Push backwards, drawing a circle with your feet, picking your heels up at the end of a stride and landing with your feet directly beneath you rather than in front. This will make you lean forward, and it makes you run a little faster. It also makes your feet land mid-foot, rather than heel or toe. Feet: Keep your feet on train tracks – so your feet place parallel to each other, and don’t cross over an invisible middle line.That’s it. Head, Shoulders, Arms, Core, Legs, Feet. It’s a lot to think about, so worth starting off thinking about it on one of your easy runs, and just check the points off one by one from head to toe.Remember, email Esther here with any questions, and we’ll talk about them in the next podcast. And here’s some good news: you can now become a member of Women’s Running? For the teeny tiny price of just £8.75 every three months – that’s a whopping 35% off – you can join Women’s Running and you’ll get our beautiful magazine delivered direct to your door, plus tons of other benefits, such as FREE access to digital back issues, A free month’s subscription to Move GB Move At Home, discounts off This Mum Runs merchandise and to Girls Run The World training videos. And loads more besides. Just enter WRPOD at checkout to get your exclusive 35% discount and join us today! We’d love to have you with us.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we speak to the very lovely Jenni Falconer, TV presenter, radio broadcaster and avid London marathoner. We had a chat last October, just before Halloween and the second lockdown kicked in. She was as charming as she sounds on the radio and on her podcast: enthusiastically talking about her great love of running while brushing away her recent stress fracture. We chatted about her very first on screen appearance – on Blind Date, no less, just after she’d completed her A Levels. And how that appearance lead to a fascination and love for broadcasting. At around the same time she discovered her love for running, too, and chats about how she started, and taking on her first – and subsequent – London Marathons, an experience she loves every single year. She also talks about being papped on the way to work, how getting up at 4.30am is “a bit of a lie in”, and how she has inspired her daughter to also love exercise. In between her busy radio schedule at Smooth, Jenni has also found time to launch a podcast (about running), an app (also about running) and a collagen supplement, aimed squarely at runners. You could say she was a bit of a running fan. What’s next? Well, if she’s launching the Jenni Falconer run kit, put us first in line, please.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 8, series 2 of the Women’s Running podcast. In this episode we speak to Leanne Davies, the founder of Run Mummy Run. Run Mummy Run have just reached their 8-birthday milestone, and we spoke to Leanne just beforehand, and her passion for women’s health and wellbeing is extraordinary. From an initial group of just three runners, Run Mummy Run has grown into a unique community that supports and nurtures thousands of members, all abiding by Leanne’s overriding ethos, which has kindness at its heart. While running is the theme that connects these women, Run Mummy Run, as Leanne explains, has become so much more than that: its ever-present support network has become nothing less than an emergency service for all women – not just mothers – who seek advice and friendship on everything from running to relationships, providing emotional support during times of hardship as well as celebrating each other's successes. Leanne is so passionate about her community which has, she told us, supported her just as much as she has sought to support it. For many, Run Mummy Run isn’t just about wearing the beautiful kit - it’s nothing short of a lifeline. We can’t wait to find out what they're going to get up to next! This episode is sponsored by Asics. It’s so important to make sure you’re running in the right type of shoe to avoid the risk of injury and to improve performance. But apparently 81% of runners are running in the wrong type of shoe. Don’t be part of that 81%. Just head over to an Asics store or visit their online shoe finder at asics.tv/shoes and speak to an expert who’ll be able to analyse your foot and stride, which is a service they offer completely free of charge, and they will help you find the right shoe for you. Just go to asics.tv/shoes to find out all about Europe’s no 1 running brand.ASICS Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the second podcast in our series for beginner runners, or for those getting back into it, or just if you’re interested in unbefuddling some of the weirder running lingo. In this episode, Esther and Holly have a chat about how Holly's running has been over the past couple of weeks. We also talk about her current warm -up routine, and the sort of moves she can do to warm her muscles and joints up a bit more than, as she says, “putting her leggings on and going downstairs”. We talk about warm up mobilisation exercises that we can all fit in to our running. These are just recommendations, as how you warm up is a very personal thing, but it’s worth building a few in, especially if you’re an early morning runner, to warm up your joints and muscles before setting out. Try this great warm up routine here for starters.We also talk about introducing a third run. The technical runs we talk about are hill runs and fartleks, which of course we have a little snigger about. And the idea here is for us to work on Holly’s cardiovascular fitness to build up her endurance. We chat through both types of technical running, and how Holly can easily fit them into her week - the good thing about 'technical' runs is that they can be quick! And the rewards are massive: running faster and running up hills work wonders for your strength and fitness, in ways that our usual plodding run will not. In the next episode we'll find our what effect these runs have had on Holly’s weekend running, and we'll be talking about running form, and how tiny adjustments can have a huge impact.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we speak to Gabby Logan. Gabby is a mainstay on our TV, presenting Match of the Day and Question of Sport, as well as reporting on the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, and the London Marathon. Coming from a very sporty family, it’s perhaps not surprising that Gabby excelled at sport as a child, becoming an accomplished gymnast in her teens. Injury put an end to her gymnastic career, but an appearance on Blue Peter tapped into her ambition to launch a career in broadcasting, which she swiftly did once out of university. She talks to us here about how she launched her career, how she's shrugged off discrimination, the snarly comments in newspapers, and the disparity in the financing of men’s and women’s sports which, she explains, begins at grassroots level. She also talks about her running, how her teenage son now overtakes her, and how she’s chuffed to bits with her recent MBE, but because of covid she still hasn’t had her audience with the queen. Yet.Gabby is an ambassador for TYG, a gut health sports drinks packed with functional ingredients and live bio cultures to help optimise your performance. This episode is sponsored by Runderwear. Women’s Running listeners can still get an exclusive 20% off all full-priced items online using the code WR20 at www.runderwear.co.ukRunderwear Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Women’s Running Workshop. This is the first in a new series of podcasts for beginner runners. In our first episode I have a chat with Holly, our Women’s Running digital editor. She’s eyeing up the virtual Bath Half in spring 2021, and I want to help her get there. So we got together to talk about her training, to figure out where she thinks she is running-wise, and to chat about what she can do in the next few weeks to get her fitness levels up. This is the perfect opportunity to join in with us if you’re starting to run, or you’re getting back into it. Over the next few episodes I’ll be coaching Holly every fortnight to a comfortable 5K, then to her first 10K, and up to the half marathon in March. We will discuss an easy running schedule, some strength and conditioning moves she can do at home, and some simple drills. Listen in to the end, and I’ll give you a little bit of running homework too – don’t worry, I promise it’s easy, it’s for all abilities, and it doesn’t matter if you’re not quite where Holly is right now. Give it a go, and let me know how you get on. Next episode, we’re talking technical running, so tune in then for an update from Holly, and to get your next batch of running homework!Email me with your questions.And find out how to prepare for your first run.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 4, series 2 of the Women’s Running podcast. In this episode we speak to Sabrina Pace-Humphreys. We weren’t sure what to expect by the time we spoke to her: at that time she had garnered quite a bit of interest partially because she’s one of the founders of Black Trail Runners, and had already been a cover star on a <cough> different running magazine. What we didn’t expect was just how inspiring, how brilliant, how funny she was: in many ways, Sabrina has been one of the most fun conversations we’ve had but also one of the most revealing. She challenges us to have the balls to get out there and actually do something. Not just listen, not just act surprised when we’re told that few black runners are taking up trail running (or even running), and to not just accept the lack of diversity at the start line of races. She wants us to demand change from event directors, and to question decisions, and to question our own motives. She is so passionate, so wonderful, and incredibly moving. She talks here not just about setting up Black Trail Runners, but also her history with running, taking on the Marathon des Sables (and besting it), and how “small steps lead to massive change”.@sabrunsmiles@blacktrailrunnersRead more about Sabrina in our interview with her.Runderwear Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s episode 3 series 2 of the Women’s Running podcast! And in this episode we speak to Jess Piasecki, the winner of the Florence Marathon in 2019. We like to talk about journeys at Women’s Running – we’re much like Strictly Come Dancing in that respect – and Jess’s journey in particular is compelling. She came to our attention when she won that marathon in 2019, in so doing becoming the third fastest GB woman of all time. But how she got to that startline in the first place is a rollercoaster journey through injury after injury. She talks to us here about her ultra sporty start at school, and then how her career weaved in and out of dramatic injuries, including multiple spine fractures, and how she built back from that. She also talks very honestly here about how she didn’t have a proper period until she was 27, the importance of oestrogen on bone health, and how important periods are as an indicator of overall women’s health. Jess is a presenter on the Female Athlete podcast, which is well worth a listen, and she’s also a brand champion for the excellent FitrWoman app. She speaks eloquently here about how important it is for young athletes to learn what their bodies are going through.This episode is sponsored by Runderwear. Women’s Running listeners can get an exclusive 20% off all full-priced items online using the code WR20 at runderwear.co.uk. This episode, the Runderwear team is giving one lucky listener the chance to win a Runderwear ‘Winners Bundle’, including a base-layer, a sports bra, a pair of chafe-free underwear and a pair of socks. The winner can choose the colour and style of each item included in their bundle! To enter, just need to enter your details at Runderwear. Listen to The Female Athlete here.Find out more about how FitrWoman can help your training.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we talk to Tasha Thompson, the founder of the online community and running group Black Girls Do Run. She set her group up a year ago to inspire black women to run for their fitness, their health and their mental wellbeing. Tasha’s always been a runner, but she had noticed that very few other black women were joining her at the start line of races, and she quickly realised that there were a ton of barriers that prevented black women from taking up running. She set up Black Girls Do Run to help support more women to access running and to enjoy it, and to help educate wider society about the presence of these barriers. She talked to me here about her own running, setting up the group, the issues that her community faces, and how within just a few months the group came face to face with racism at the Harrow Half. But Tasha is a woman to be reckoned with: since then her group has grown, both in size and in reputation, and she has secured support from Runderwear and recognition in the press. You know that lovely feminist phrase, “Nevertheless she persisted”? That’s Tasha: her unwavering positivity and optimism are palpable: and this is reflected by the support and loyalty of her group. This episode is sponsored by Runderwear, a small brand in Dorset which makes technical performance underwear to prevent chafing. Women’s Running listeners can get an exclusive 20% off all full-priced items online using the code WR20 at www.runderwear.co.uk. In this episode, one lucky listener has the chance to win a Runderwear Winners Bundle. The bundle will include everything you need to start your running journey with Runderwear, including a base layer, a sports bra, a pair of chafe-free underwear and a pair of socks. The winner can choose the colour and style of each item included in their bundle. Go here to enter this amazing competition!For an exclusive 20% off all full-priced items at Runderwear use the code WR20 at the checkout. Follow Black Girls Do RunAnd give them a wave when you see them on a run!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode one of season two of the Women’s Running podcast, we talk to Susie Chan. Susie is a hugely inspirational ultrarunner, having taken on dozens of endurance challenges across the globe. She’s a popular woman in the running industry, and you might have seen her popping up on your TVs or at the National Running Show interviewing other runners and commenting on races. We talked to her about exploring her local area during lockdown, going from a “few half marathons” to the running the Marathon des Sables, heat training, her rollercoaster journey from chasing PBs to a shock cancer diagnosis, and dealing with that diagnosis by entering a LOT of races. She also talks about battling the Jungle Ultra after her husband had almost died, tripping over an alligator during a hundred-miler in Florida, running with her pal Sophie Raworth, and her love of craft beer. And if you want to know what the best food to take on a desert ultra, she knows just the thing. Spoiler: it involves the words Pot and Noodle. This episode is sponsored by Brooks, who have a brilliant competition to win one of two full Run Visible outfits worth £400. You just need to go to womensrunning.co.uk/runvisible and answer a very simple question. Good luck!Support the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the special Marathon Edition of the Women’s Running podcast. On Sunday 4th October Esther, along with 43,000 others, ran the virtual London Marathon. Two women who also ran it were Deborah James and Emma Campbell, both of whom have been on the podcast before. This time we wanted to talk to them both about our experiences running our virtual races. They ran together, supporting each other every step of every mile, while raising money for their beloved Royal Marsden, a hospital that has supported and cared for them so much. You can still donate to their justgiving pages, so please do so with the links below. They talk with me here about the importance of their chosen charity, and also Deb’s history with the London Marathon, the power of giant Wotsits, and the sheer joy of our virtual races. We also discuss our next racing highlight – the Vitality 10K, which you can sign up to as well before 23rd October. Again the link is below. Plus there’s some proper, tangible advice on running your next marathon right here, and it involves pants.Sign up to the virtual Vitality 10K hereDonate to Deb hereDonate to Em hereSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 10, we speak to the very aptly-named Sophie Power. Ultrarunning star, Women’s Running cover star, and ardent campaigner on women’s health, Sophie is a hugely inspiring woman. She found sudden fame two years ago when she was photographed breastfeeding at a checkpoint at the UTMB. She allowed this beautiful picture of her to be taken, hoping that it would in some way influence event directors of ultra races into allowing pregnant runners to defer their places. She talks to us here about that experience, and what she’s been doing since with her new-found fame. She also talks about previous races, the perils of drinking too much water, training while pregnant, the importance of talking about pelvic floors, and fighting for change. This episode is sponsored by Brooks Running, and if you're listening in October 2020, you can go here to enter a competition to win one of two Run Visible outfits, worth £400 each.Brooks Running Brooks Running is sponsoring this episode of the Women's Running podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 9 of the Women’s Running podcast we talk to Deborah James, who you might know better as Bowelbabe. If someone can be the ‘face’ of bowel cancer, Deborah is that person. She is vivacious, uncompromising, witty and incredibly honest about life with cancer. She’s been documenting her experiences publicly for the past four years, but really came to our attention last year when she ran the Vitality 10K in her pants with a bunch of other brilliant women including Bryony Gordon, Women’s Running columnist Emma Campbell and Andrea McClean. She talks to us here about her lifelong love of exercise and running, on how she has always run for her mental health, and how everyone should run in their pants. She also talks about what living with cancer is *really* like, her beloved teaching profession she currently has on pause, and the more recent strings she has added to her bow: her podcast, her column in the Sun, and her books. And in about a month’s time she’s going to be running the virtual London Marathon too. Make sure you cheer her along!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Esther Newman, editor of Women’s Running, speaks to Anna Harding, the founder of the Running Channel. Anna has gone from non-runner to running expert in a ludicrously quick time. Just a few years ago, she made the leap from couch to marathon, and hasn’t stopped running since. She talks to us here about starting the Running Channel, and supporting a community that she truly loves, as well as how an ex boyfriend prompted her to start running in the first place (by telling her that she couldn’t). She talks about running goals, strength training during lockdown, her love of trail running and hating tempo sessions. She also talks openly about how the trolls in the comments section affected her mental health, and how she has won that personal battle. Find out this, her top tips for ultra recovery (it involves a paddling pool) and what’s in store next for Anna and the Running Channel right here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 7 of the Women’s Running podcast, editor Esther Newman chats to Jemma Lewis, better known as This Girl Can Run Far. She’s a runner we can all relate to, having taken up running as an antidote to gym-going after the birth of her daughter. But the thing is with Jemma is that a) she’s really *really* good, and b) she’s incredibly down to earth. Here, she talked to me about taking on her first ultra with the proceeds of a last-minute modelling gig with This Girl Can, and how Joe Wicks has made her discover the benefits of strength training. She also talks passionately about how supportive the women’s running community is, and equally passionately about her love of Dairylea Dunkers. And if you want insider tips, she explains here how to stop your hydration pack sloshing about on your back, making you need a wee. Essential running advice right here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma knows everything there is to know about running shoes: she's a total running shoe nerd and has put in the hours: she's worked in the running industry for over 10 years and is a sports scientist to boot. But where many of you will know her from is Instagram as @emmakirkyo, where her brilliant videos on shoe lacing had me hooked from the start. And that's not to mention the drills, the strength training, and the general no-nonsense, smart attitude to running fitness. And in terms of running, hers is awe-inspiring: from running 100 metres in ski boots to marathons all over the place, she certainly has the creds. She's been through it too, and talks candidly here about struggling with her grief after the death of her dad, and how she used sport as a crutch during that time. Her passion for sport and running is palpable - listen in to be inspired... And to find out what shoes you should buy if you can't get to the shops!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Campbell has a list of labels as long as your arm: author, writer, speaker, three times cancer thriver, mum of four, Women’s Running columnist, runner. There are more, too, but for now let’s concentrate on these ones. She’s such an incredible woman that when I first spoke to her at the end of last year, I’d signed her up to be a columnist within half an hour. She talks here honestly and beautifully about her experiences with cancer, and how she has dealt with those diagnoses while simultaneously bringing up her triplets and older son. She also discusses the gift of running, and how her friend Bryony Gordon helped her to view it as a way to embrace her mental wellbeing rather than a way to punish her body. From running a 10K in her Primark pants to signing up to the London Marathon, Emma will have you lacing up your trainers in no time.This episode of the Women’s Running podcast is sponsored by Lucy Locket Loves. For gorgeous prints – Rainbows! Stars! Leopard print! – in luxe fabrics, Lucy Locket will put the fun in your run. And they’re offering you, our lovely podcast listeners, an exclusive 10% discount on EVERYTHING. Just enter WRPOD10 at the checkout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ah Lisa Jackson. If you ever wanted to be inspired to run anything – but particularly a marathon – Lisa is your woman. I met her first last year at Run Fest, and then again at the start of this year, and both those times, I left feeling energised, inspired and pretty invincible, to be honest. She has run over a hundred marathons, and one of the many wonderful things about her is that she is fully proud of coming last in 25 of those marathons. She’s a back-of-the-pack runner, and she loves it there: she loves to chat to the runners and hear their stories. She loves the feeling of inclusivity, and she loves hearing about the journeys that all these runners have been on. To that end, she’s written a couple of brilliant books, that I would recommend for all runners: there’s Running Made Easy, the sort of running manual that you need next to your bed, and Your Pace Or Mine – now available on audiobook as well as paperback. In this she details her journey from committed fitness-phobe to committed marathoner, and all the extraordinary people she’s met along the way. It’s joyous. When I met her back in January, we talked about how she used to skive off running as a kid, how she got into running in her 30s, how she discovered walk-running, and the advice she has for all of us who are terrified about taking on a marathon. She’s a force of nature – you will want to run! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talked to Mel Bound back in September 2019. She's incredible. After undergoing life-changing back surgery and having kids, she tentatively put out a post on Facebook for some running buddies, and from there This Mum Runs was born. These days, it's gone from a local free weekly running group to an organisation with a truly global reach, with TMR running groups all over the world, a clothing range, and a manifesto to inspire women to move that will bring tears to your eyes. Mel has recently launched an app, too, which helps runners everywhere go from zero to 30 minutes with the help of her gentle coaching. In this episode, we talk kids, asthma, back problems, girls and sport, inspiring women to run, and dishwashers. Hers makes a beeping noise, but we professionally talked over it.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talked to Susannah back in November 2019. She's a force of nature, emphasised by her win at the World Marathon Challenge in January 2019. In this, she ran seven marathons, on seven continents in seven days. It's exhausting just typing it. The thing that makes it even more incredible than the feat itself is that we've been shown videos of Susannah before she was coached at the Running School. She went there just months before taking on the challenge, and her coach and mentor, Mike Antoniades, took one look at her running and asked her if she tripped over her feet a lot. It turns out she did. She thought that tripping over was a fact of running, but under Mike's guidance her form dramatically improved, and he helped shape her training so she was ready to take on the Challenge. The story of her adventure back then had me on the edge of my seat - at times, there were just seconds between her and the next contender, as she rounded the final lap before the finish. Find out how her sheer determination (and several Toffee Crisps) powered her through.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talked to Anna McNuff back in January 2020. Anna is the stuff of legend: most recently she has run over 2300 miles across the UK barefoot, fundraising and raising awareness for GirlGuiding as she went. She also amassed a whole raft of admirers and fellow runners along the way. But this wasn't Anna's first adventure: from clambering over Hadrian's wall (dressed as a Roman centurion - obviously) to cycling through every single state in North American, Anna loves a bit of a challenge. We talk to her about all of that, about adopting the westcountry as her home turf, and about the next adventures she has up her sleeve. She's funny, she's brilliant, she runs like the wind, and she's got the Best Hair In Running (TM).Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.