Run Culture Podcast

Earlier this week I had a passionate chat with good friends; Zacca Newman and Chris Armstrong, hosts of the; ‘Better with Running Podcast’ and acclaimed Run2PB running coaches. We discuss the tendency for runners to fall prey to ‘binary bias’ or ‘black and white thinking’. We often over-simplify; running, life and the human body, for the ease of understanding. Rather than viewing things as a complex inter-related set of relationships that are ever changing. Shades of grey are hard to sit with, we get uncomfortable with not knowing and being uncertain. We are after the magic pill, that fixes/solves everything and everyone. The human body is more complex than this. Yes, we all know the pillars to optimizing human performance are a subtle interplay of; physical exercise/ sleep/ recovery/ nutrition and mental well being… but it’s the application of all of the above to the ‘individual’ in front of you, that carries all the conjecture. When ‘binary bias’ thinking is ‘self serving’ life is all merry. Life is easier to digest, we are improving or getting better, it all makes sense. Where it gets tricky is when your ‘black and white’ thinking about a certain training method is no longer ‘serving you.’ It is hard to be ‘open’ in these moments, to be less attached to a certain method/behaviour that has served you so well in the past. We finish the chat by talking about a topic all three of us are particularly passionate about:…. The lost art of listening to your body? And the concept that anything that can be objectively seen in numbers is biased as a metric these days in training…Watch aside, lets get better at ‘tuning our internal dials’…’How did you feel across the ground? How was your rhythm? How was your timing? Did you feel strong? Fresh? Springy? Snappy? Sluggish? Fatigued? Tired? Heavy? Sore? Unmotivated? Raring to go? Excited?

This is a great discussion for any runner keen to find out more about the US College system. Similarly, it's a relevant listen for any runner that feels 'stuck in their comfort zone', has a 'gut feel' that they should try something 'new/different/broaden their horizons' but lacks the gumption to try. In this chat I caught up with distance runners; Dylan Burrows and Ethan Anthony while they were back in Australia, 3 years into their US College experience at Div 2 school; Oklahoma Christian. They detail the ups n' downs/injuries/success'/experiences/growth and learnings of the past 3 years. (I was their interim coach for 6 months in 2018/19 before they left for the US.) Ethan and Dylan's exciting US college journey still has a way to go, they may achieve their goals or they may not... at the end of the day it doesn't matter.... they are having fun pursuing their passion and trying something novel......'a new experience'...they will come out the other end more worldly and experientially richer.... If you are interested in following their journey, go to: @_dylanburrows and @_ethananthony. Have fun boys and keep lighting it up.

Today on the Run Culture podcast I chat to another one of the Run Culture Owl athletes I coach; Jess Dunsmore! It’s an honest conversation about developing quite confidence and overcoming performance overwhelm. We discuss how; vulnerability, failure, uncertainty and openness should be embraced as an integral part of ones personal growth as an athlete and person. We also talk about some innovations we have added to Jess’s training this year; in a quest to bridge the gap from promising junior to senior athlete. Some of these include; working on his biomechanics and learning ‘butterfly’ in the pool. Jess has made some big improvements over the past year in his running including a super slick 30:42 for 10,000m in January this year. In 2-3 days times Jess will be running the Bundoora Open State XC 10km championships, one of his favorite races of the year, so we wish him well. Jess has been a fantastic member of the group over the years, he’s a great listener, empathetic, a real thinker, ever reliable, incredibly humble and almost selfless to a fault. So, please listen in because Jess has so much to offer and is ‘wise beyond his years’. Enjoy!

Today on the Run Culture podcast, I share stories with my good mate, Zacca Newman (Founder of Run2PB online coaching) on the ‘magic’ of fostering ‘good culture’ in the teams that you are involved in. What is ‘good culture’? Well, It’s that unbridled energy you feel, when surrounded by a cohesive group of people, that trust each other, are vulnerable together and are all working in the same direction. In terms of performance, culture isn’t mentioned enough in the running world… so often we talk about the physical and psychological components but what about the social dynamics of a group… “ Why do certain organizations become greater than the sum of their parts while other groups fall short?” “Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they’ll find a way to screw it up. Give a mediocre idea to a good team, and they’ll find a way to make it better. The goal needs to be to get the team right, get them moving in the right direction, and get them to see where they are making mistakes and where they are succeeding.” In other words, I want more people to appreciate that establishing and working on maintaining good culture amongst the run groups you are in, when it comes to performance, is just as and (in some cases 'more' important) than the 'talent' you possess or the wiz bang ‘technology’ or ‘training schedule’ you are doing. Some view running as an individual sport but really it can be so much more than this. My entire life has been entwined with running and I attribute much of this to the fun and cohesive running groups I have been apart of over the years. They have taught me so much, I have grown as a person with them and as a result forged everlasting friendships/laughs and many special memories. Building a more cohesive, knowledgeable and joyous running ‘culture’ has been a driving purpose of everything I try to do, with my running blog/podcast/physiotherapy and coaching. Thanks once again for the stories 'old man Zacca', you could tell this topic meant a bit to you as well! If you want to hear more from Zacca Newman follow him at Run2PB on socials and be sure to tune in to the 'Better with Running' Podcast.

Today, I chat to Bevan Does, one of the Run Culture Owl Athletes I coach. It’s a great chat to listen to on the back of Pete Dutton’s chat last week, as unlike Pete’s injury riddled last 12 months, Bevan, started the 2021/22 athletic season with ‘big lofty goals’!..... and amazingly, he achieved all of them! Comparatively, the two chats illustrate the inevitable peaks and troughs our running journeys often take. So enjoy the listen, as Bevan, had one of those dream seasons that we all dream about! How did he do it? Maybe there are some hints that reverberate with you? …. Backstory: Bevan is a 19 year old, second year Zoology Uni student at Deakin. At the ripe old age of 4 he ran his first fun run, he then went on and showed some promise at Little Athletics but soon lost the passion for the sport from ‘middle to late’ High School. I spotted Bevan 2 yrs ago at a Hastings Park run because he was the kid who could keep up with me for half of it, off just one run a week! After joining the Owls, he has reclaimed a love of the sport, cherishing the team aspect, the ‘joy’ of doing ‘hard things’ with others and the ‘harmony’ of going for an easy run in nature. Bevan doesn’t overthink training, he’s great at not thinking about running at all, outside of training….he’s up for anything outdoors, whether it’s a hike, stand up paddle boarding, catching up with friends, riding his bike or hikes to the beach! ….and of course being a Zoology student, he loves anything animals! Over the past two years he has been incredibly patient and consistent, whilst never questioning how little training he was doing compared to others in the group. Infact, he enjoyed the balance it gave his life to do other things as a growing 19 year old! Contrary, to Bevan’s mature, wholesome and grounded approach, when it comes to a race day start line he is a ‘born ‘competitor. Bevan, 'knows how to find a finish line', he relishes a challenge, is a natural racer and has fantastic composure under pressure. Anyway, enough from me, have a listen, here’s Bevan Does and how he fell back in love with running and hit goals that he previously thought weren’t possible.

Today's podcast is an incredibly vulnerable chat I had with Peter Dutton; one of the 'Run Culture Owl' athletes I coach. We go deep on some of the 'hard truths' Pete has had to confront over the past 12 months. Thanks Pete, for being so open and candid, your story will no doubt reverberate with many a runners out there.  Like many, Pete let his passion for running get in the way of smart decision making. "....I was tired but waved that off as just part of the sport, I was racing well and that was enough to convince myself that everything was okay but in reality I ignored the signs and refused to answer the hard questions...."  Pete and I want all coaches and athletes out there to learn what we have learnt; communication is key.  Don't ignore the signs.  Once rapport and trust has been built, openly discuss the 'hard truths'. Keep an eye out for non-verbal signs of; fatigue/stress/unusual behavior for that athlete. "...Be honest to each other, as it will save you in the long run..." With set back and injury, emotional distress is expected but once you weather this storm the silver lining is the opportunity to reflect/learn and grow. "....I honestly believe now that if my sacral stress fracture didn't happen I would never have addressed my health...." Follow along on @petedutton_runs journey and don't hesitate to reach out if his story struck a chord.

Today on the podcast I chat to good mate and kiwi; Caden Shields, fresh off his sizzling 2:13:30 marathon PB in Hamburg! Caden aggressively went through the first half of this race in a half marathon PB! To attack the race in such a way requires a fair degree of ‘belief'.... The show begins with Caden re-counting his race, which provided the perfect platform for us to discuss just how big a player ‘belief’ is in running outcomes. Be it belief in your; training plan, coach or self! Our beliefs dictate our degree of motivation, compliance, attention, happiness and confidence….all key qualities in ensuring sporting success….we also go deeper and challenge listeners to start appreciating that our mindsets greatly influences the physiological response we can have to training (eg. a person who is happy, optimistic and confident compared to a person who is down, pessimistic and worried about their training, will have a vastly different bio-chemical response to the same training. Ultimately, belief effects training efficacy and adaptation, so lets appreciate it and leverage it!)

Today, I chatted with; good friend, David McNeill (Olympic runner, passionate writer, physio & Run Strong Coach) We discuss the importance of maintaining some 'diversity' in our training, thoughts, habits and routines. Remember, as humans when it comes to injury and performance we are 'complex systems'; many components  interact to cause the end result. The more 'diverse' these interacting components are, the more adaptable, resilient and innovative we can be when faced with 'unexpected' environments or situations. 

In this podcast I chat with good friend and long-time runner, Craig Appleby. In a round about way we talk about our experiences with the training paradigm (stress plus rest= adaptation).  We talk about the discipline, flexibility, experience and pragmatic approach needed to best read your body and modify training so that you adapt towards your running goals, rather than away from them.

Here's a podcast I did with Zacca Newman head coach at Run2PB and host of the Better with Running Podcast a few weeks ago. In the chat I talk about a term I have coined 'the runners eco system' and how as runners we have to look holistically at running to get our best outcomes.