The Running Public

Your questions have been pouring in and we do our best to knock a few good ones out today! Do we get far too bogged down in semantics and “it depends” scenarios? You betcha!

Less than a year ago, Alyssa was a marathoner solely focused on preparing for the Olympic Trials. Today, she is the reigning Hyrox World Champion. Come for her story, stay for a surprise drop in from the man behind the scenes who orchestrates her training program.  

Life is uncaring and unpredictable. We’re in two very different places with our training right now, both of which took us by surprise.

College track & field recruiting is noisy, expensive, and stacked against families who don’t already know how the system works. Most high school athletes apply blind — no real sense of where their marks make them competitive, what a program actually needs, or how NIL works in their state.

Trackbeast replaces that guesswork with data. Former professional runners Eric Avila and Adam Dailey pair one of the most complete databases of programs, coaches, rosters, and performance marks anywhere with the tools a family needs to run their own recruiting: find the programs where an athlete’s marks fit, reach...

Our most dreaded workouts, hill running for Easy Days, “super trainers”, and how much should you expect to improve?

What exactly is Running Economy and how do we improve it?

We all have blind spots with our training. Here’s how to find yours and remedy them!

You keep sending in questions so we’re going to keep answering them!

If you are limited to lower volume training due to time constraints, this is what we would prioritize when preparing for longer races!

There was a big movement towards under fueling and under recovering during your race build and then resting up and peaking like crazy. Now, the in vogue route is to fuel for every workout and recover to the max on a daily basis. Which is superior? Is there room for both approaches?

You have to make a choice and stick with it for the rest of your running life: Plated or Unplated, Tights or Shorts, Music or Silence, High Rep or Low Rep lifting, Roads or Trails, High or Low mileage, and more!

You’re already in good shape and you decide to sign up for a race that is just a few weeks away. What should you do for your final few quality sessions? We give you our two best “get ready to race” workouts for the Mile/1500m, 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon, and Ultra distance races.

Highlights include balancing strength training with running, fueling for a 90 minute race, barefoot & zero drop shoes, at what age can you determine whether or not you’re able to be a high level runner.

As a teen, Croix spent four days in a coma after being struck by a drunk driver. His family was told he would be a vegetable; if he survived. 40 years later, he is an ultra runner, speaker, and author.

We kick off with a Backyard Ultra chat, briefly talk about adjusting to time zones when traveling for races, and then Brakken gives himself a race ultimatum!

We spent a combined 20 years dedicating ourselves to the track. Then, we spent 15 years training for Obstacle Course Racing, which in turn led us to the trails and mountains. Along the way, each version of running taught us some things we wouldn’t have learned anywhere else!

Can you use lifting in a way that maximizes hormone production yet minimizes the interference effect on your running? Yup!

Highlights include: How much did altitude training help us? What type of form work should runners do? Are recovery shoes/slides legit? How to strengthen core, and how to run and lift simultaneously.

Tim is a firefighter, Air National Guard officer, and endurance athlete. After surviving a near death medical emergency, and the subsequent year long recovery, he rebuilt himself and was named the 2023 Air National Guard Athlete of the Year.

This week’s Training Tuesday episode raised some questions from listeners regarding how to actually implement speed work while prepping for a long race, so we’re answering those questions today.

Can you prep for an Ultra with total confidence that your top end speed will still be waiting for you after the race?

Dr. Sariya Saabye is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, bestselling author, and minimalist strategist known for her work helping high performers eliminate overwhelm. She is also a barefoot ultramarathoner and keynote speaker.

The Vigorito family built a lifestyle based upon chasing their fitness goals and pushing their limits. Along the way, they started a race that allows others to do the same.

Plantar fasciitis, how to develop high schoolers, post-Ultra brain fog, trail shoes, prepping for a race with constant right turns, and more!

Kirk recaps his recent 50k with a full race report, then the boys jump into answering your questions! 

At fifty fours years old, Brett has never stopped chasing goals and new pursuits. Since COVID, he has competed in road running, park run, track, cross country, Hyrox, and has recently taken up throwing discus and javelin. 

Sue Reynolds transformed from a morbidly obese person at 335 pounds to sixth in the world (and first American) at the World Triathlon Championship, competing on behalf of the United States.  Along the way, she lost 200 pounds and discovered what it takes to transform from a lifelong fitness lackie to a high performing triathlete.

Four years ago, we chatted with Dani about her recent breakout as a trail runner. Today she joins us as a full time professional runner for Adidas!

Everyone deals with this! Some runners simply get excited by race nerves while others are crippled by them. Either way, this IS something you can improve!

Kirk has been testing out shoes in preparation for his upcoming 50k and Brakken has been blown away by the rapid improvement of Hyrox athletes.

When should you suck it up and run in the heat? When should you avoid running in the heat? Do your race goals impact your decision? What if you run for fun / mental health?

With threshold training all the rage, there is a lot of discussion about “X Days”. Should this always be a fast, speed based session or is there more to it than that?

Today we answer fourteen of your best questions about running, training, shoes, heat, drugs, and racing!

What is the minimum turn around time needed between long races to have any chance at success? For a reasonable shot at success? For maximum chance at success?

Brakken recorded an episode on Rich Ryan’s RMR Podcast this week (go check it out!) and it prompted him to ask Kirk some questions about how his coaching started and evolved over time.

DJ joined us 300 episodes ago after winning World’s Toughest Mudder. Fast forward 3 years and he just crossed the finish line of the Cocodona 250 in third place. From OCR athlete to big time Ultra runner, he has embodied the idea of staying the course.

With the rise of hormone therapy and anti-aging medical practices, how should amateur athletes be thinking about drug use?

Fresh off his win at the Superior Trail 50k, Kirk gives us his recap, takeaways, and learnings from the race.

It’s race week! Time to break down gear choice, fueling strategy, and pacing plan. Plus a few bonus listener questions thrown in there!

Lizzie May has transformed her fitness and performance over recent years and now helps others do the same. Lizzie shares her learnings through personal experience & we also collab on a mini Hyrox Q & A! Topics covered: