The Big Run

Welcome back to the podcast and to 2024! Before 2023 came to a close I visited the Kent coast to spend some time with Queer Run Margate. A running community born in May of the same year to create space for members of the Queer community and its allies. A mobile space to move and connect. I spent some time with its two founders Daisy and Sian before joining the group for a run. In this conversation we learn how the crew was formed, how you can create a space you want to see and how its members shape the group. Thank...

Welcome back to TBR… This week we head to New York City to connect Inma Naima Zanoguera. Inma is a writer and academic, who before discovering running was a professional basketball player.  Her work explores movement, dance, displacement and so much more. In this conversation we trace her journey through movement, discuss projects close to her heart and why it’s important to keep that beginners mindset. Check out Inma’s sub stack 'Share Location'  here: https://sharelocation.substack.com  Photo by @flowstate_creative @l_nemeroff https://sharelocation.substack.com Watch the Film discussed here: https://vimeo.com/490814595 --- Send in a voice...

On todays episode we head to Mexico to learn more about the brand Hermanos Koumori. Originally a streetwear brand they have dialled their focus to look purely at running and have enjoyed great success with collaborations with Adidas and New Era. In this conversation I sit down with head of marketing Emiliano Hernandez and creative director Alex León to learn more about the brand, their creative process and what running culture is like in Mexico Follow them here https://www.instagram.com/hermanoskoumori/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thebigrunpodcast/message

Welcome back to TBR. And welcome to this special episode to celebrate the launch of a new adventure.  You may well be familiar with The Speed Project. We’ve had multiple participants on the show reflecting on what has become an iconic unsanctioned race. Its creators have dreamed up a new adventure. One that takes its participants to the driest desert on earth. With 2400m of elevation, salt flats, volcanoes and extreme heat and cold. From the the Pacific Ocean to an iconic desert Oasis. It’s going to be one hell of an adventure.  A few weeks back I sat do...

This is a revival of a piece from 2021 commissioned by SOAR running.

There’s cross-country. And then there are the cross-country relays. 

From here on, referred to as Mansfield.

Listen to the podcast using headphones for the best audio experience and check out the extensive gallery to follow the story of how the National Cross-Country Relays, held in Mansfield since 1989, has become so adored by athletes from across the nation. 

For many in the sport of running, the draw of cross-country is sometimes hard to comprehend, but for others...

Welcome back. This week we head to Auckland, New Zealand to chat with Logan John Buchanan. A true creative and utterly singular he co founded Grave Runners a New Zealand based run crew. Logan was also involved in Subspace. A four day event celebrating the power of running and its global community.  In this conversation we explore his journey to running, his practice, creating the Subspace event, curating a running community and why connection is a modality of love. See more of his work here Thanks so much for listening  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/po...

Today we welcome Rory Bradshaw to the podcast. Rory has explored and developed incredible skill in multiple movement modalities over his career. From calisthenics and strength to Yoga teaching. With a background in youth, school and community work, Rory has taken his Yoga practice into UK prisons.  This movement journey has informed how he connects with running a newer addition to his toolkit. But one that provides him with immense freedom and satisfaction In this conversation we journey through Rorys movement background, discovering his love of Yoga, teaching it in prisons, how that all filters through to running and stay t...

Welcome back.. Today Robert Farken returns to the pod. A member of OAC Europe he joined us earlier in the year as we looked ahead to the On Track Night series. After a promising start to the season unfortunately injury cut it short.  Robert used this as an opportunity to take part in one of the toughest gravel races in Europe, Badlands. An Unsupported ultra cycling gravel race. In this conversation we hear about that experience from a runners perspective and what he’s taking from it as he returns to running and looks ahead to Paris next year… --- Send...

Welcome back...  With Chicago marathon just over a week away, runners will be tapering down and preparing to take to the streets of the windy city for 26 miles of challenge, enjoyment and discovery.  This week we caught up with one runner who will be joining those at the start line. Michelle Dzumbunu better known as RunnersVantage on instagram is, to quote her bio, 'happiest when outside' and when not working in tech she takes on distances all over the world.  In this conversation we talk about being tricked into park run, how she learnt to describe herself as a runner, her...

Welcome back to TBR. Ahead of the inaugural road running champs this coming weekend in Riga, Latvia we sat down with one of the team helping to bring it together. Alfreds Alpinis. 

As part of the communications and marketing team, he is well placed to shed some light on the story they are aiming to tell for this very first staging of a world road champs.

In this conversation we touch on his own running, how the event came to be, the scale of logistics involved and run through the elite fields who will be c...

Welcome back to TBR and welcome to a bustling SOAR running HQ this Thursday just past.  As part of the brands partnership with the London Design Festival they were hosting a panel.  Entitled Running, A Creative Approach, the discussion explored how creativity and design manifest in and shape all areas of running - yours truly had the honour of hosting. Joining me on the panel was SOAR founder and creative director Tim Soar, Architect and writer Sarah Ackland, Olympian and founder of The Running Channel Andy Baddley and head of marketing for Soho House and founder of Hot Boys Kimiko Ni...

Welcome back to TBR. A few weeks ago, I went to link up with Jesse Hoole. 

Jesse is a runner and founder of the Furies RC. Furies Run Club is a local community based in Sydney that engages in the act of running as a form of social interaction - breaking the stigma behind running that is viewed by the wider public and showing an alternative side of running that is often overlooked. All are welcome.

We shared some miles in the sun then headed for coffee. In this conversation we talk a...

Welcome back to this mid week episode of TBR and as the Berlin marathon draws closer we caught up with Berlin local Thi Minh Huyên Nguyen.

Huyen is an artist, designer, scholar and founder of the Joy Run Collective a crew that is women and queer led and focused on joy and community. 

It’s a fantastic conversation and I’m grateful to Huyen for taking the time to come on the show.

Follow Joy Run on instagram @joyruncollective

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On todays episode we head to Melbourne, Australia to meet with Chef and Runner George Wintle. As well as working in one of the cities top restaurants George is the founder of Ate Miles. Originally conceived as a running community for members of the hospitality industry it has rapidly grown to be a welcoming space for all runners. In this conversation we discuss George's work in the kitchen and the cross over to running, making marathon training work on a shift pattern, whether The Bear is an accurate representation of the kitchen and why a London Ate Miles may be...

Chloë is an elite multi-sport athlete with over two decades of experience competing on an international platform. Passionate about mountain endurance sports, Chloë competes in ultra running and mountain biking events and is an accomplished ski mountaineer. In her free time, she loves skinning up mountains and skiing fresh powder. Chloë established the Chamonix Mountain Endurance Academy where she offers a wide range of programs that put to use her skills as a consultant and educator in sports rehabilitation and human performance. https://chamonixacademy.com/xtrainingschool/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thebigrunpodcast/message

On todays episode we catch up with Italian mountain runner Francesco Puppi. Professional trail runner supported by Nike Physics graduate Based in Como, but living everywhere This conversation was recorded a few weeks ago just before he went to compete at Sierra Zenal. In it we talk about his journey into running from a young age, his love for the mountains, the professional trail runners association that he helped create, Chamonix and why when it comes to the mountains - you have to discover what you can do. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show...

Welcome back to TBR. Today we are joined once more by Athletics Weekly's Jason Henderson for a full run down of the next 9 days of athletics. We'll take you through each of the 9 days, the events to look out for, the favourites and who might change the narrative. The perfect primer before the action begins... **NB this conversation was recorded on August 14th --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thebigrunpodcast/message

Sarah McDonald joins us for this impromptu weekday episode to share her story and fantastic return to form. Sarah has competed at World champs and commonwealth games but the past 4 years have been challenging to say the least which make her recent return to form and new signing with On running all the sweeter. I caught up with her yesterday to get an insight into that 4 year journey, her training and why nothing beats that feeling of getting back to your running fitness. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thebigrunpodcast/message

Welcome back to TBR, and good morning from St. James Park in central London early on a Thursday morning, where I was joined by Ayo Dada. Adidas Runners captain, entrenpeuraneurial business developer, two-time TSP runner and community powerhouse.  Ayo was part of the NO ID episode we did on the show a while back, and I wanted to catch up with him to learn more about his story, his community work, and the super 8 project. An initiative to take 8 Berlin marathon first timers, from all levels of experience and background, and get them primed for the iconic marathon. Ayo joined m...

Welcome back to The Big Run. On todays episode we welcome back Duy Nguyen. Duy is the co-founder of Korea town run club and has joined us before. Since we last spoke Duy has collected his six stars as well as growing his community to new heights. In this conversation we explore his creativity, his relationship to running, the majors, building community, communicating it visually and so much more. You can follow KRC https://koreatownrunclub.com/ Check out Long Distance https://longdistance.world/magazine Love Hour https://love-hour.com/ Photo by Jason Suarez --- Send in a voice message: https...

On todays episode we head to Nepal…well we give Nepal a call rather to chat with Bikram Pandey, the founder of the Everest Marathon. Billed as the Highest and Toughest marathon, it starts at Everest base camp at approximately 5401m above sea level before descending through the Sherpa trails of the Khumbu Valley.  In recognition of the first successful ascent of the highest peak in the world by the duo of Late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953, this event was officially named the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon. Recorded earlier this year I chatted with Bikram to...

Welcome back to the big run and a warm welcome back to todays returning guest Kev Cruz.  Kev joined us back in September last year to share his love for the trails and to offer up an insight into the Australian running community. An ambassador for Satisfy and Arcteryx Kev manages the beloved UpThere store in Melbourne and since we last spoke he has been busy creating a community to encourage more people onto the trails and showcase what Australia’s outdoors has to offer with the Terror trail club. In this conversation, we learn how it came to be...

Lindsey A. Freeman is a writer and sociologist interested in endurance, memory, and poetics. Her most recent book, Running, is about practice, love, queerness, and long distance running (forthcoming Duke University Press). She is now working on a book about soccer, queer joy, and how hard it is to care about things.  In this conversation we explore her handbook Running and talk about moments within it. Lindsey dives into the idea of soft running and why all runners should experiement with LSD… Long Slow Distance that is You can order the book here Order a T-Shirt from the Capri Collective her...

As the US champs play out this weekend, athletes from across America will roll the dice. For a chance to make the American team at the world champs or maybe even make a name for themselves. For many high-achieving amateur athletes this is an opportunity not to miss but sometimes help and support goes a long way to get to the line.  Tracksmith’s amateur support program aims to help athletes pursue their track and field dreams acting as a stepping stone from the amateur elite into the pro ranks. Helping with travel, accommodation, kit and more to remove some of th...

On today's episode, I sit down with Will Pegna a multidisciplinary artist based in London, UK. Drawing from over a decade and a half of experience as a competitive dancer and connective artist, Pegna works between art and fashion, exploring the deployment of movement design to communicate ideas.  His most recent work is ATT. All Terrain Training is an ongoing performance series exploring athleticism as an expanded tool to create new connected narratives.  Investigating art and sport, ATT offers a new perspective on athletic identity, performance processes and the potential of training as an art form. With a core company, br...

On today's episode, we take a peek under the hood at SOAR Runnings, proto lab. This is their R and D product incubator born from a desire to experiment and push boundaries… In the days leading up to the London Marathon, SOAR has opened its doors for last-minute check in’s with physios, a chance to browse the collection and have some damn fine coffee.  They’d also put out the call to join the proto-lab tester team. Two runners were required to put a brand new product to the test- the marathon speed suit. A one-piece aero suit designed specifi...

Welcome back to The Big Run The On Track Night series continues apace and moves to the most liveable city in the world - Vienna. Now in its 7th year, the meet sports elite level competition across multiple distances and opportunities for all to experience the incredible atmosphere interspersed with bike shows, parkour And when the final race is run - then the party really gets started.  On today's episode, we chill on a balcony overlooking the most liveable city in the world with hometown talent Sebastian Frey. A member of the OAC Europe Sebi sampled the unique atmosphere of N...

Welcome back to The Big Run The On Track Night series continues apace and moves to the most liveable city in the world - Vienna. Now in its 7th year, the meet sports elite level competition across multiple distances and opportunities for all to experience the incredible atmosphere interspersed with bike shows, parkour And when the final race is run - then the party really gets started.  On today’s episode, I took a stroll through the famous Prater park in Vienna with race director Christoph Sander. We were heading to the track where Saturday's event will take place.  Christoph is t...

Welcome back to The Big Run... The On Track Night series continues apace and moves to the most liveable city in the world - Vienna. Now in its 7th year, the meet sports elite level competition across multiple distances and opportunities for all to experience the incredible atmosphere interspersed with bike shows, parkour And when the final race is run - then the party really gets started.  On today's episode, we head to the world's most liveable city to connect with some of its local running communities. Specifically Vie Run and Vienna Running Collective. Both were gathering at an e...

Welcome back to The Big Run...

The On Track Night series continues apace and moves to the most liveable city in the world - Vienna.

Now in its 7th year, the meet sports elite level competition across multiple distances and opportunities for all to experience the incredible atmosphere intersperse with bike shows, parkour and when the final race is run - then the party really gets started

On today’s episode, we journey back to St. Moritz to meet the coach behind the OAC Europe team. Thomas Dreissigacker. Thomas coaches the group who ha...

Welcome back to The Big Run... The On Track Night series continues apace and moves to the most liveable city in the world - Vienna. Now in its 7th year, the meet sports elite level competition across multiple distances and opportunities for all to experience the incredible atmosphere intersperse with bike shows, parkour And when the final race is run - then the party really gets started.  On today’s episode, I jumped on a call with the German U23 European Champion in the 3000m Steeplechase - Frederik Ruppert. Freddy sports an 8.15 PB in the event and will be one to...

Welcome back to The Big Run... The On Track Night series continues apace and moves to the most liveable city in the world - Vienna. Now in its 7th year, the meet sports elite level competition across multiple distances and opportunities for all to experience the incredible atmosphere intersperse with bike shows, parkour and when the final race is run - then the party really gets started.  You know the drill - starting tomorrow we’ll be dropping episodes each day leading up to the event, talking to coaches off the track, athletes on it, local communities connected to the cit...

Welcome back to The Big Run As the OTN series continues on TBR, we move to Paris for the FAST5000 Taking place on Saturday the 10th of June, It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the French athletics calendar and with good reason, last year 68% got a PB and 96%  seasons best. The 2023 edition looks even more stacked, with mile, 1500m and 3k races in amongst the 5000m action. and of course, you can expect an incredible atmosphere and all manner of locally curated food and entertainment.  As we close out the previews I head for a relaxed coffee on t...

Welcome back to The Big Run Taking place on Saturday the 10th of June, It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the French athletics calendar and with good reason, last year 68% got a PB and 96%  seasons best. The 2023 edition is looking even more stacked, with mile, 1500m and 3k races in amongst the 5000m action. and of course, you can expect an incredible atmosphere and locally curated food and entertainment.  In today's episode, I head to Paris to talk to Simon and Pippa messenger. Simon is the race director at the FAST5000 and his wife Pippa is part of t...

Welcome back to The Big Run As the OTN series continues on TBR, we move to Paris for the FAST5000 Taking place on Saturday the 10th of June, It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the French athletics calendar and with good reason, last year 68% got a PB and 96%  seasons best. The 2023 edition looks even more stacked, with mile, 1500m and 3k races in amongst the 5000m action. and of course, you can expect an incredible atmosphere and all manner of locally curated food and entertainment.  On today's episode, I chat with Jordan Donnelly. Jordan leads the product crea...

Welcome back to The Big Run As the OTN series continues on TBR, we move to Paris for the FAST5000 Taking place on Saturday the 10th of June, It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the French athletics calendar and with good reason, last year 68% got a PB and 96%  seasons best. The 2023 edition is looking even more stacked, with mile, 1500m and 3k races in amongst the 5000m action. At the start of the event, there will be a special relay event 5 x 1k (5000m in total 😉) to see who is the fastest French crew. Some of the crews...

Welcome back to The Big Run As the OTN series continues on TBR, we move to Paris for the FAST5000 Taking place on Saturday the 10th of June, It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the French athletics calendar and with good reason, last year 68 % got a PB and 96%  seasons best. The 2023 edition looks even more stacked, with mile, 1500m and 3k races in amongst the 5000m action. and of course, you can expect an incredible atmosphere and locally curated food and entertainment.  The mens 1500m elite invitational see's several members of OAC Europe toeing the line. I went...

Welcome back to The Big Run As the OTN series continues on TBR, we move to Paris for the FAST5000 Taking place on Saturday the 10th of June, It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the French athletics calendar and with good reason, last year 68 % got a PB and 96%  seasons best. The 2023 edition looks even more stacked, with mile, 1500m and 3k races in amongst the 5000m action. and of course, you can expect an incredible atmosphere and locally curated food and entertainment.  Throughout the week, we’ll release episodes to build excitement for this next stop in the On...

As the On Track Night series continues on The Big Run we move to Paris for the FAST5000 Taking place on Saturday the 10th of June, It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the French athletics calendar and with good reason, last year 68% got a PB and 96%  seasons best. The 2023 edition is looking even more stacked, with mile, 1500m and 3k races in amongst the 5000m action. and of course, you can expect an incredible atmosphere and all manner of locally curated food and entertainment.  Starting from tomorrow morning we'll be dropping new episodes every day to get you...

Welcome back to The Big Run We have some incredible conversations and in-the-field reporting over the coming days and weeks to get you primed for On’s Track night series. A global string of events where fast times meet loud crowds to create a unique experience for the entire running community.  You can find out more at ⁠ontracknights.com⁠  As the OTN series continues on TBR, last Saturday we spent two days following the organisers, runners, and volunteers who pulled together to create an event like no other. From get in to get out with a whole host of fast times in...