Runbelievable

Can running make a new city feel like home? When Alex Narang moved from Manchester to Sydney, she knew very few people. Less than 12 hours after landing, she joined Coogee Run Club; and within weeks, running had given her friends, community and the beginnings of a new life. Six months later, Alex badly broke her jaw in three places on the way to run club. Suddenly, the people she'd only recen...

What does Australia's largest parkrun know about building community that the rest of us don't? When Joanne Watkins first arrived at Albert Melbourne parkrun in January-2012, around 30 to 50 people would turn up each Saturday. The first time attendance reached 100, they celebrated because they genuinely thought the event had peaked. Nearly 15 years later, Albert Melbourne parkrun can attr...

Can running give you somewhere to belong... especially if belonging has never come particularly easily? Since October 2025, Josh Rischin has encouraged other runners to open up about their lives, identities and the role running plays in them. Now, it's his turn. In this one-off special, good friend and previous guest Shona turns the microphone around. And she doesn't go easy on him; ques...

Why would anyone choose to run 52 half marathons in 52 weeks... for children they'll probably never meet? Aly Robertson started running because it was cheap, accessible and required little more than putting on a pair of shoes and heading outside. Then running became something much bigger. After completing 42 half marathons in 2025, Aly decided to attempt 52 in 2026... roughly one every week....

What happens when you attempt an ultra you’re not quite ready for? Jess never grew up as a runner. Exercise barely featured in her life, and even when running became necessary for a career change, she did what she needed to do and promptly stopped. Then, in 2024, walking became a way to clear her head. Walking became running. And running escalated quickly. Less than two years later, Jess found her...

What if your first run happened completely by accident? For Brookie, running was never part of the plan. After growing up with a complicated relationship with weight and body image, she spent much of her life believing running simply wasn't for her. Then, while out walking on the morning of her daughter's birthday party, she realised she was running late and needed to get home to finish...

What if your biggest running goal was still decades away?  For Nick Dunn, a horrific football injury 25 years ago left him with a broken leg, dislocated ankle and lasting limitations that he still manages today. Years later, after his health and fitness had fallen away, a friend's relentless persistence led him to his first triathlon... and two goals that would change the direction of his lif...

What happens when running stops being about you? For Jess Peil, running quickly became much more than chasing medals or PBs. Inspired by family, driven by purpose, and fuelled by an unwavering commitment to helping others, she's completed the Bravehearts Triple Seven challenge eight times, raised more than $650,000 for charity and become an Australian of the Year Local Hero nominee. In this c...

What do you do when your body makes a decision your mind isn't ready to accept?  For Emma Hansford, running was never about chasing podiums. But after becoming a mum and later navigating perimenopause, she found herself confronting something many runners quietly experience: the need to reset expectations. In this honest conversation, Emma shares her journey through postpartum recovery, perfec...

Can running help carry the memory of a child? When Dan and Alicia welcomed their first daughter, Eva, into the world, they were told she had an incredibly rare genetic condition and was unlikely to live beyond childhood. For the next seven years they navigated specialist appointments, uncertainty, and unimaginable heartbreak. Throughout it all, they kept running... including Eva and their second c...

A pair of running shoes wrapped under the Christmas tree didn't just start Rob Birchall's running journey... they changed the direction of his life. After losing his father at a young age, serving in the Army, working as an ambulance dispatcher and quietly battling imposter syndrome, Rob spent years believing he had to hide how he really felt. Running didn't solve every problem. But...

Just two years after deciding to take marathon running "seriously", Nick Ghamgosar (a.k.a the kiltedrunnerdownunder) lined up at the Gold Coast Marathon wearing a full Scottish kilt in pursuit of a Guinness World Record. But behind the novelty was months of disciplined training, growing public pressure, and one of the toughest races of his life. And you won't believe his HR data my...

For years, Caity Mulraney lived behind a mask. Growing up around domestic violence, surviving an abusive relationship, battling addiction, and eventually reaching the darkest point of her life, she spent decades believing she wasn't enough. Then she discovered running. What began as a reluctant parkrun slowly became the catalyst for rebuilding her confidence, embracing vulnerability, and lear...

When Jovelia Shield arrived in Australia, she couldn't speak English, knew almost no one, and soon found herself trapped in an abusive relationship. After leaving her former partner, Jovelia found herself as a single mum living in a women's refuge. Over the years that followed, she would endure extraordinary loss (losing three close family members), yet ultimately discover that running c...

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is start again. After years of partying, drinking, and feeling increasingly disconnected from himself, Lou Daeschler made a drastic decision. He packed up his life in the UK and moved to Australia in search of something different. What followed was a complete transformation. Running became more than exercise. It became structure, purpose, identity, and eventu...

Clay Dawson never planned to become a runner. A market research study looking for overweight uni students set him on a path that would eventually lead to marathon victories, Australian representation, and some of the most remarkable endurance performances imaginable. Yet despite all the success, Clay has spent much of his running journey battling imposter syndrome and questioning whether he truly...

In 2012, Georgia Weir was battling poor mental health, addiction, and an incorrect bipolar diagnosis. A local 5km event became a last resort. What followed was a journey that took her from running her first marathon in New York, to founding Deadly Runners; a movement that has helped hundreds of First Nations Australians discover what's possible through running.  But the road wasn't smoot...

Fresh off the Brisbane Marathon, a familiar Runbelievable voice returns for a special Recap episode. When Carly Barkle first joined us in Ep. 18, she spoke openly about chasing redemption at the Brisbane Marathon. Twelve months after her first DNF, and her 6th bout of bowel surgery… the training is done, the race has been run, and now it's time to find out what really happened. No polished su...

Belle Ferguson never really thought about running. In fact, she started running for a surprisingly practical reason... walking took too long. What began as a time-saving measure soon turned into something much bigger. Today, Belle is a marathoner, Trek2Health trek leader, and passionate advocate for runners of all abilities. She's also challenging one of running's biggest misconceptions....

Libby Gibbins did everything right. She religiously followed the training plan, adjusted work around key sessions, nailed her long runs, and arrived at the start line fitter than ever. But midway through her first marathon… something shifted. In this deeply moving episode, Libby opens up about imposter syndrome, identity after motherhood, and the mental battle that unfolded as her time goal slowly...

What would make someone run every single day for over 3 years? In this episode, you’ll meet Frank Chung... a Brisbane runner whose daily running streak dates back to December 28, 2022. But beneath the streak lies something much deeper. Following separation, injury, career upheaval, and periods where he felt completely lost… running slowly became the thing that helped pull him back together. Now mo...

Mads Biddulph-Wall always had a plan. As a teenager, she was already thinking about career pathways, maternity leave, and the future she wanted to build. But when it came time to start a family, life took a heartbreaking turn. In this episode, Mads opens up about pregnancy loss, grief, and the period where she felt like she lost her sense of self. Then running entered the picture. What started as...

We can't fathom what motivates someone to run an overnight enduro! In this special bonus episode, Joshie and Natty head down to Run The River in Brisbane; an overnight endurance event featuring everything from a midnight half marathon to brutal 100km solo efforts. This episode captures the anticipation beforehand… the nervous laughter, final preparations, volunteers setting up, and runners qu...

What would you do if you were told, that best case scenario, you might live to 30? In this episode, you’ll meet Adrian Flor… now 42, living with cystic fibrosis and diabetes, and running marathons. His journey wasn’t straightforward. From childhood health challenges, to serious illness, to being hit by a car... Adrian had to rebuild from scratch. It started with a treadmill. A goal to run 5K. And...

What does it feel like inside Brisbane’s oldest sporting club? In this special episode of Runbelievable, Joshie steps away from the usual one-on-one format and heads down to Thompson Estate Athletics and Running Club (TEES Athletics) to find out. Established in 1900, TEES is Brisbane’s oldest sporting club. On a perfect Monday evening, with close to 100 runners, Joshie set out to capture something...