
The Runners Zone
Welcome to the Runners Zone Podcast hosted by Nathan Carlson and Chris Johnson. Lend us your ear as we We interview world leaders in endurance sports, discuss optimizing performance for runnings and help provide practical solutions to common running problems. We also discuss life as niche-practice business owners treating and training runners.
Latest episodes

Apr 1, 2022 • 53min
Episode 45: Todd Hargrove
In this episode, Chris sat down with Todd Hargrove. Todd is a Feldenkrais practitioner and author of A Guide to Better Movement and Playing with Movement. Todd discusses determining good vs. bad movement, the role anatomy plays in how we move, encouraging movement and variability during development, and how pain impacts how we move. Check out Todd’s writing on Substack and pick up a copy of his books below. Todd's Substack A Guide to Better MovementPlaying with Movement Chris and I are excited to announce our Spring 2022 Virtual Bones, Tendons, Weights, and Whistles Course. We're pumped that our good friend Rebecca McConville will join us in teaching this three-day course. The course covers everything you need to know when working with runners. To learn more, and sign up, check out the link below. BTWW Sign Up

Feb 25, 2022 • 37min
Episode 44: Culture, Coaches, and Negative Positivity
Nathan and Chris discuss the recent podcast with Anna Mae Flynn. They touch on how positive feedback can be detrimental, the crucial role of team culture on collegiate runners' experience, the challenges college coaches face, and how positive messages can make us feel worse.

Feb 10, 2022 • 53min
Episode 43: Michaela Parisi
Today, I chat with runner, educator, coach, and PhD student Michaela Parisi. We go through her early days of running, her experience with an eating disorder, navigating post-collegiate marathon training, and how her experiences shape how she coaches high school runners and swimmers. Michaela shares her nuanced opinion of perfectionism and social media and a bunch of other topics. Be sure to check her out below. Michaela's IG

Jan 24, 2022 • 42min
Episode 42: Anna Mae Flynn
In this episode, Nathan sat down with Anna Mae Flynn. Anna Mae is a professional trail runner and coach based out of California. She discusses her experience developing as a runner, navigating the challenges of college running, and how training in a negative environment negative training environment influences how she coaches. To learn more about Anna Mae, check out her website and social media accounts below. Website: https://www.mountainendurancelife.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/annamaeflynn/

Jan 3, 2022 • 1h 5min
Episode 41: Tom O'Brien
Tom O'Brien is a director, writer, and acting coach. He discusses growth, creativity, running as an escape, being in your body versus your mind, and the importance of visualization. Check out Tom's website below! Instagram: instagram.com/tomobriencoach Website: https://tom-obrien.ck.page Course: https://tom-obrien.com/acting-and-performance-coaching-digital-course/

Dec 20, 2021 • 30min
Episode 40: Adversity, Communication, & Sherpas
Hey and welcome back to the Runners Zone Podcast. In this episode, Chris and I recap a lot of the themes from our last episode with Lindsey Plass. We discuss the challenges of being a rehab professional and having difficulties managing your own pain, the need for having “sherpas” in your life, and how easily we can positively or negatively impact others with the messages we send. High School Guidebook: https://runningmatekc.com/product/definitive-guide-to-high-school-running/ I released a new e-book called Navigating High School Running a Guidebook for coaches, clinicians, parents, and athletes. This is a culmination of my experiences over the last decade working with high school distance runners. I cover what causes injuries, how to navigate training and racing across four years, key medical screenings all young runners should use, and how to broaden your identity to be more than a runner. You can check it out in the show notes.

Dec 2, 2021 • 60min
Episode 39: Lindsey Plass
In this episode, Chris sat down with Lindsey Plass. Lindsey is an expert in all things related to the hip. They discuss her struggle with a labral tear and FAI as an athlete. They also go over her work with patients dealing with hip pain.

Nov 23, 2021 • 32min
Episode 38 (Books, Boston, + Independence)
In this first episode of The Runners Zone, "Lend us Your E.A.R.", Chris and Nathan discuss their current book recommendations, returning to the Boston Marathon, and creating independence with injured endurance athletes.

Sep 9, 2021 • 1h 20min
Episode 37: Charlie Reid
In this episode, Chris sat down with Charlie Reid. Charlie is a strength and conditioning specialist based out of San Francisco. He discusses key principles in working with masters runners/triathletes, how to incorporate plyometrics, why we shouldn't model our training after pros, and how physical archetypes impact training decisions. You can learn more about Charlie at his website and IG. Bones, Tendons, Weights, and Whistles Online SIGN UP HERE 9/26, 10/16, 11/6

Jun 11, 2021 • 1h 2min
Episode 36: Brittany Charboneau
In this episode, Chris sat down with professional runner, coach, speaker, motivated, joy seeker and amateur cookier Brittany Charboneau. Brittany talks about her journey as a runner, her goal of being a comedian, finding balance, and having other interests besides running 24/7. You can learn more about Brittany at thefunnyrunner.com and be sure to check out her latest film on Youtube also called The Funny Runner. IG: https://www.instagram.com/funnyrunner26.2/ Website: https://www.thefunnyrunner.com/
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