Run Now, Cry Later

Study on carb intake - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13197943/ What should you actually eat before a run — and does it change depending on whether it's an easy run, a workout, or a long run? Zac researched it so you don't have to. The short answer: easy runs, largely irrelevant; workouts, fuel properly or turn a quality session into a survival exercise; long runs, treat the nutr...

Episode 20 of Run Now Cry Later is here. This week: the Tokyo Marathon ballot result lands (it's not good), so we pivot to mapping out the fastest marathon options for early 2027 — Rotterdam, Seoul, Kyoto, Port Fairy and Ballarat all get a full breakdown. Rin makes a compelling case for Kyoto followed by Gold Coast as a two marathon BQ attempt strategy. Then we design our dream parkrun courses...

Run Now Cry Later is now a video podcast. Find us on Spotify or YouTube if you want to put some faces to the voices. This week, Connor sends Rin down a research rabbit hole on aerobic vs anaerobic training. How much of a 5K is actually anaerobic compared with a marathon? When does the anaerobic system really start doing some work? And what are the phosphagen and glycolytic systems actually doing w...

If Strava and running social media disappeared tomorrow, would your training change? Zac and Rin take on listener questions from Chris and Connor on run streaks, Strava kudos, and where healthy motivation tips into something more dangerous. Zac's own cautionary tale: the 2000km push at the end of 2024 that ended in a hobble and a sore back. Post-marathon immune suppression is apparently real —...

Brighton Beach Marathon is done and Zac has run a  3:13:54 , his second fastest marathon ever and good enough for  68th out of 694 . After a disrupted final month of training, he basically raced it on feel. The plan was 4:30 pace. He went out at 4:20, held it to 30km, then the hills, headwind and empty tank caught up. He walked. He survived. He also forgot to pick up his finisher shirt. Justin ran...

Sydney Marathon week is here — and Justin is attempting to knock 60 minutes off his marathon PB . Justin joins the podcast for his guest debut ahead of Sydney Marathon, having gone from a 4:40 marathon at Brisbane last year to targeting 3:30 after a 20-week training block combining around 50km of running per week with plenty of cycling. We break down his training, his 32km confidence-building long...

What should and shouldn't go on Strava? Rin has opinions, and a list. Walks, indoor cycling, futsal, stride only sessions, and the one mowing activity Zac posted in 2021 that he's never going to live down. Hey you go live your life how you want to, but Zac wants excitement on his Strava feed. The cadence deep dive this week starts with Lachie Kennedy's 292 steps per minute at the Commo...

Last week Zac promised a cold shower. He delivered — 7 degrees, Melbourne winter, apartment barely above freezing. Full debrief including the fumbled body wash lid, the Gladiator quote, and why he's never doing it again. This week's deep dive is caffeine: how it actually works (it's not energy, it's adenosine blocking), why endurance is where it helps most, the 3 to 6 milligrams pe...

Australia's track golden era is in full swing — 12 golds at the Commonwealth Games, beating Jamaica, a Rose Davies double, Lockie Kennedy's 9.85 in the rain, and a women's mile clean sweep. Zac and Rin break down the highlights and ask what elite athletes actually think about differently to the rest of us. The answer, it turns out, might be cold showers. Rin did nothing but cold shower...

Dave and Katelyn join the pod to debrief the Guzzler — Mount Cootha's beloved trail running event — and between them they covered the Big Sipper 21K and the Glass Half Full 50K. Dave is now officially an ultramarathoner. Katelyn finished in 3:13 with a rolled-ankle pacer for company. Neither of them really trained as much as they planned. They talk through what makes trail running different — the...

*Apologies for the audio echo/troubles, I think most of it is fixed now, but Zac will be less eager to lean close to the mic next week* Rin gets his sports doctor verdict: a low-grade stress fracture in an unusual spot, a tendon strain, and a surprisingly optimistic timeline — moon boot for four more weeks, then a gradual return to running by the 12 to 16 week mark, with the GC 50 potentially back...

Rin is two weeks into the moon boot and starting to feel it physically and mentally. Losing the Lindwall family marathon record to his brother, watching from the sidelines at Gold Coast, a Monster can getting stuck in a vending machine. The losses are stacking up. This week he opens up about what injury actually does to your sense of purpose, the voice that says "am I too old for this now?&qu...

A special episode. Zac and Rin are joined by Tarran and Mitch to recap Gold Coast Marathon Weekend — and there's plenty to cover. Tarran runs her first official half marathon and smashes her PB by 13 minutes, closing with sub-5 minute pace and a 10K PB buried inside the second half. Mitch, testing the nothing new on race day philosophy with brand new Alpha Flys (straight out of the box, never touc...

Everything we know about Gold Coast Marathon Weekend — expo tips, course breakdowns, spectating strategy, and our race plans! Zac and Rin have been going four years running and they've made the mistakes so you might not have to. Zac's plan: sub-20 5K time trial in the bank which has set the pace for his half mara targeting sub 1:30, new ASICS Metaspeed Sky fresh out of the box for the race...

What's actually the hardest race distance? Zac says marathon, Rin makes a surprising case for the 10K — and the 400m gets disqualified for not being "real" endurance running. Plus a full breakdown of tapering: what it does physiologically, why "taper crazies" hit some runners and not others, and why testing your fitness in taper week is "setting fire to the barn."...

Is sweating a superpower or a liability for marathon runners? Zac and Rin break down sweat evaporation, electrolyte loading, and why heavy sweaters might actually have an edge — timed perfectly with Gold Coast on the horizon. Also this week: a Coros software update bricking watches, the online firestorm following Gout Gout's underwhelming Diamond League debut, and the debut of a new segment —...

Rin's back from Mackay — and so is the PB. A one-minute personal best at the BHP Mackay Marina Half Marathon, finishing 18th male out of 850+ runners, despite a dodgy ankle, tiny water cups, a wrong turn at 19km, and 23,000 steps the day before. Full debrief, race rating, and a post-race massage that did not go as planned. Zac joins an athletics club for the first time, runs 6x1km track intervals...

Two 2:59 marathoners talk race weight — the numbers, the tradeoffs, and why chasing it can become dangerous. Zac walks through his marathon shortlist (Sydney no bueno, Coffs Harbour not AIMS certified, Brighton Beach five minutes from his door — easy decision). Rin breaks down his Mackay Marina Half Marathon prep: pacing strategy, a shoe dilemma, and a Coros Pace 4 held hostage by Australia Post....

This week, Ryan takes us through his Noosa 10km race weekend — from race prep, pacing plans and crowded corrals to battling the conditions and trying to hold it together deep into the run. The final result? You’ll have to listen to find out. We also answer a listener question from Tyler: what’s the best way to start running? We talk run-walk strategies, finding your “why”, beginner mistakes, parkr...

We're back. Episode 2 opens with the Question of the Week — which miserable weather would you choose for a 10km race? Pouring rain in carbon shoes, 30-degree humidity, a full headwind, or frozen legs with no warmup? From there: Zac's shop run brand deal fantasy, a Brisbane catch-up, Rin's Gold Coast video drop, and a full training week — including Zac's biggest volume week since Ju...

Run Now, Cry Later is here. In our first episode, Zac and Ryan introduce themselves, explain the name, and get into what's actually been going on in life lately, including a big Melbourne move and everything that comes with it. We cover our running backgrounds, lay out our goals for 2026 (Gold Coast Marathon, Brighton Beach Marathon, and some ambitious time targets), and reveal what might be the b...