The Women's Running Podcast

Welcome to episode 105 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m Esther Newman your host, and she’s Holly Taylor your other host. We’re both in the thick of our training this episode. Holly is a few weeks into her half marathon training, and it’s going well, albeit hampered slightly by the glorious weather we’ve been having. I’ve been holiday running, which has had its ups and downs. We’re both finding the temperature a struggle, and it’s made me question my fitness and whether I’m entirely ready for this marathon at all. We also talk about our brushes with anxiety recently, and how for the first time in my life it seems, running isn’t quite cutting it in terms of helping minimise my catastrophising, but I have a feeling that the dull book I’m listening to at the moment on Audible has something to do with it. We chat though general anxiety and running, and what we’ve been doing to combat the spiralling. We also take a swerve and chat about hydration and how best to keep on top of that in this weather, and when to start running with a hydration pack. Once we’ve got through that, we also have a chat about heckling, and how it can completely derail our running. In between all that it’s the usual nonsense so hold on to your running caps.LinksClaim your three whole, proper sized full bottles of wine from Wine 52, and you just have to pay 8.95 to cover the cost of postage.Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly! Get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 104 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I’m your host, Esther Newman, and she’s your other host, Holly Taylor. We start off by catching up after Holly’s holiday. Has she run while in Italy? I am firmly bating my breath, obviously. We then catch up on everything we’ve been doing in the huge heat that we’ve just experienced. I’ve been running as usual, but I’ve made sure to adjust my running to allow for the heat – taking walking breaks up the hills, and drinking way more water, and so far it’s working for me. But of course we have to talk about sweat because that’s a huge issue right now! And never was a sweat wicking top more needed than around me during the summer.We also talk about sports and schools, nudged into it by an email from a lovely listener. As neither of us had the best experience at school in terms of team sports, this is a hugely emotive subject for us, and I know we won’t be alone. While tons of you will have had enormously positive experiences at school in PE, there are many of us that haven’t – so many of us were picked last, and felt unequal and unable to compete with the best of them. Thankfully, quite a lot has changed in PE since I was at school, but we still need to consider young girls in whom there is a massive drop off in engagement with sport when they hit puberty. Body shaming, self confidence, and simple practicalities all have their part to play. But so do we! We need to be encouraging our girls to enjoy the feeling of participating – not for the end goal of winning something, but for enjoyment itself. Just like we do. At the end we have a bonus section on a new animal that we hate on our running!LinksGet your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly! Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 103 of the Women’s Running podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman, and she’s your other host, Holly Taylor. In this episode of the podcast, we’re talking to the very lovely Sabrina Pace-Humphreys. But before that, Holly and I chat about ultrarunning and the races we’d be keen to take on. Then we chat to Sabrina, who we’ve had on the pod before but wanted to get on again because of three huge things. Firstly, she’s just completed the very brutal Spine Race and we want to find out ALL about it. No spoilers here, although I wil let you into a little quote she says, which is: “The Spine race makes the Marathon des Sables look like a picnic on a summer’s day” and that’s probably all you need to know. Secondly, we want to talk to her about her book, Black Sheep, which has just been published, in which among other things details the racism she experienced as the only black kid in a tiny village in England. Thirdly, we want to talk to her about the event she’s holding on September 11th this year, Black To The Trails, a day that she has created to encourage more black and brown people to run on trails. She’s encouraging everyone to attend if you’re interested in running trails for the first time, and it’s going to be a brilliant celebration of trail running, with lots of music, food and facepainting, as well as guided runs. Then Holly and I come back at the end to do the quiz that we didn’t have enough time to hold for Sab – Holly is in the hotseat and the theme is ultrarunning...LinksGet your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running magazine for just £1. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly! Thank you for listening. Email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. Join us at Black to the TrailsPick up Sab’s brilliant book Black Sheep here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 102 of the Women’s Running podcast. I am your host, Esther Newman, and she’s your other host, Holly Taylor. We start today chatting nutrition and supplements. I’m a bit of a fan of things that promise the earth, but I also enjoy taking things that I *know* will help me recover quicker and potentially help me to prevent injuries – along with my strength work of course. So that leads us to discuss all things turmeric and collagen.We also talk about the shoes that we’re running in, which range from everyday road shoes to brand new, interesting stuff that I just learnt from a company I’d met the week before.We also talk about something a little bit controversial. This is surrounding the news about Eilish McColgan running the London Marathon. We are extremely excited about the news that she’s joining the elites, but what we found interesting were the comments about the news in more male-specific channelsThis leads into a bit of a man slag off, which we thoroughly enjoy, but it is not a general observance so sorry to men everywhere (and here). We also chat about swallowing flies and over-reacting. We end on a miniature quiz, and what’s brilliant here is that Holly reckons that more people run the GNR than the entire population of Newcastle.LinksIf you like this podcast, you will love Women’s Running magazine. If you become a member of Women’s Running Plus right now, you can get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running for just £1! Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 101 of the Women’s Running podcast. We have a special guest with us this episode, Sophie Coldwell, Team GB triathlete and all-round good egg. She’s also going to be a Women’s Running cover star in August. But before we talk to her we have some important things to discuss, such as the many holidays we’re going on this summer. We also talk about the trainers we’re currently running in, the start of my marathon training, and the nutrition that we’re using on our long runs. I’m a big fan of having electrolytes in my water, something I’m trying to persuade Holly to do. If you’re either a salty sweater or a high volume sweater, in weather like we’re seeing this week, it's really important to consider what you take with you on a run. For my long weekend runs at the moment, I have a litre of electrolytes, and I use Precision Hydration’s highest concentration, and I make sure I drink more of it before and after the run as well. I might even pop a salt tablet if it’s very hot. Then we shift gears to talk to Sophie about the appeal of triathlon, what it’s like to perform in front of a crowd, and her hopes for the Paris Olympics. You’ll be pleased to know we’ve devised a little quiz for her too, and it involves squirrels.We come back after that conversation to chat about the stuff we eat, and the weirdness of people who don’t like food very much, and a tiny bit about our actual running.LinksSophie is supported by the very brilliant SportsShoes who have the very best running gearMy favourite drinks are from Precision Fuel and HydrationHolly has been very much enjoying VeloforteIf you like this podcast, you will love Women’s Running magazine. Right now, it’s our summer sale, which means you can get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running for just £1! Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the hundredth episode of the award-winning Women’s Running Podcast! It’s our hundredth episode! We are so thrilled, so we’re having a celebration – this is our second plonkcast, and this time it’s thoroughly In Person. In the actual same room! We pop the cork on a rather lovely bottle of English sparkling, and we start off by chatting through our very favourite episodes. We talk about Josie Perry our most favourite psychotherapistwho made us cry in episode 97, the wonderful Scummy Mummies in episode 90, the legendary Paula Radcliffein episode 77, the astonishing Eddie Izzard in episode 23, the brilliant Tasha Thompson in episode 13, and the hugely missed Deb James in Episode 9. Rather shortly after this, Holly gets too drunk and tells us all that she loves us, which is nice, but might have something to do with the fact that her champagne flutes are actually buckets, and by this point she’s on her second.Then we have two fun things for Holly to do: the podcast in numbers followed by a Podcast Quiz, which we would love you to join in with. If you’ve been counting and are able to tell us the exact number of swearwords that Holly has dropped since her first episode, then do please let us know.Thank you for being wonderful listeners and for joining us on our journey so far. Do please let us know what you’d like to hear more – you can also tell us what you’d like to hear less of, although if that’s less drinking, swearing and stuff that’s not about running, I can’t 100% promise that we’ll comply. Happy hundredth episode to us, and happy running!LINKSIf you like this podcast, you will love Women’s Running magazine. Get your hands on your first issue for £1 by entering WRSS22POD at the checkout.Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories. For just £2 a month you can become one of our supporters on Patreon, and we’re working hard to add more rewards for you very soon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 99 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I am your host Esther Newman, and Holly Taylor is the other one. In this episode, Holly and I are talking about the night before. We were out last Tuesday at the BSME Talent Awards, in which we had been shortlisted for two awards. We didn’t win the one for our podcast (boo) but we DID win the Diversity and Inclusion Award. We got very very drunk, and we are giddy with our win here. Especially as I got to meet my Cbeebies hero Dr Ranj who was presenting the awards. Not just meet – hug. We talk about bowl food, and we talk about booze, and we talk about drunken interviews that don’t really go to plan.After a little while, we start talking about running. I talk about doing accidental tempo runs, and we chat about the companionship of running with people side by side, and being able to talk like that rather than having to make eye contact, and how that can be so much easier in terms of sharing personal stuff. We talk about the first week or so of my marathon training which is going well, despite my massive hangover, and we discuss Holly having to start thinking about her base half marathon training plan. We also have an email from a listener about a fabulous embarrassing moment that involves actual manure.Please email us with your embarrassing moments and also famous people you might have seen at parkrun at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk. Speaking of famous people, it’s so worth listening in right to the end when Holly tells us about the most famous person she’s ever met. Be prepared to be utterly whelmed. I think, on reflection, we were still drunk.LinksWe’ve won an award!Marathon training plansHalf marathon training plansIf you like this podcast, you will love Women’s Running magazine. Right now, you can get your hands on your first issue for just £1! Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories. For just £2 a month you can become one of our supporters on Patreon, and we’re working hard to add more rewards for you very soon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 98 of the Women’s Running Podcast. I’m your host Esther Newman and she’s your co-host, that’s Holly Taylor. We recorded this on that super hot Friday a week or so ago, so you’ll have to forgive us for kicking off proceedings by discussing underboob sweat and cold showers. This week we have a special guest on the show, Anna Harding from The Running Channel, who we’ve had on before, along with a very special appearance by Ralphie the interrupting dog. I wanted to get her on again because she has run many, many marathons. I’m kicking off my London Marathon training, Holly’s kicking off her half marathon training, and I suspect a number of you are in the same boat (or at least I hope so!). I’m having collywobbles about my training – I need tips about how to ramp up, and good things to do mid-week, and what I shouldn’t be doing. I wanted to pick Anna’s brains about what she’s learnt in the course of all her training – and what I can learn from her. I ask her about her mistakes, and what a training plan should look like for someone like me. We also talk about half marathon training, and get her practical advice on what we should be doing, how often, and how far. So we’re doing all that, and we have a special treat for her at the end as we invite her on as our very first proper guest on the Women’s Running Quiz! And we’re not going to stop doing this, by the way, until we’ve had actual complaints, and so far you’ve all been very silent on the matter, so we’re going to Quiz Away!If you like this podcast, you will love Women’s Running magazine. Right now, you can get your hands on your first issue for just £1! Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout.Do please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories. For just £2 a month you can become one of our supporters on Patreon, and we’re working hard to add more rewards for you very soon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Holly and I are delving into the psychology of running and nutrition. We have a special guest with us for much of the episode, Josephine Perry, a sports psychologist who has genuinely blown our tiny minds. Josie got into sports psychology after doing an Ironman, while facing a scary ocean for the swim section. The tannoy shouted out to the assembled athletes: “You guys can’t change those waves, but you can change the way you feel about them” and it switched her brain into gear, gave her a triathlon PB, and motivated a change in career. And it’s lucky for us that she has. We have so many questions for Josie, and she talks to us here about how the brain is connected to our bodies, and she explains the part of the brain, the Amygdala, which is the bit that notifies us about threats. We talk about how this can affect us on the start line of races (a lot, it turns out). And we also talk about sports and exercise addiction, and the unhealthy attachment of sport and food. Holly and I both found this chat extremely revealing, and a little bit emotional if I’m honest. What Josie reveals about the dynamic between exercise, food, and historical unhelpful behaviours and thinking feels like a light switching on. What we need to be doing, it turns out, is discovering what our values are, and making sure we run for those things, rather than as a negative punishment. Sounds obvious – often isn’t. This feels like a really illuminating and important podcast – I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Please take care here, there are some potentially triggering mentions of eating disorders and sporting addiction.LinksDo please email us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk!Josie’s book The Ten Pillars of SuccessYou can get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running for just £1! Holly and I are VERY excited about this. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout. For just £2 a month you can become one of our supporters on Patreon, and we’re working hard to add more rewards for you very soon. Support the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Holly and I have a bit of a confession to make, because my Mac crashed halfway through this and we had to re-record what was actually a ludicrously funny half an hour talking about wine drinking. So we hastily recorded another podcast and the first half of this is the result. We start off talking about various skin conditions – and let us know if you can sympathise here. Moving on we chat about afternoon drinking, adapting training plans, and running when we shouldn’t really run. We also talk about running for charity – how it offers us an additional goal but can also give us that additional pressure. And then it’s time for Part 2 of our Esther and Holly quiz. And we are utterly giddy with joy about this, so apologies for our excitement. Holly goes all Paxo on me and is the quizmaster, and is testing my very slack knowledge on everything from running records to running history, and I have to say now, I’m not sure I did very well. Please do the quiz along with me, and let us know who you want us to quiz next on wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk, because this has been my most favourite episode of all time. We also talk a little bit about the next podcast, in which we’re going to be discussing overtraining and sports addiction.  LinksIf you like this podcast, you will love Women’s Running magazine. Right now, it’s our summer sale – hurrah! That means if you become a member of Women’s Running Plus right now, you can get your hands on your first issue of Women’s Running for just £1! Holly and I are VERY excited about this. Just enter WRSS22POD at the checkout. For just £2 a month you can become one of our supporters on Patreon, and we’re working hard to add more rewards for you very soon. For the price of a coffee, you’ll join our gang and be first to know. Here’s that University Challenge answer that cracks Holly up.Support the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.