Business of Endurance

Will Clarke is one of Britain's most successful triathletes as World U23 Champion, with 3 Sub 8hr Ironman Performances, the Beijing Olympics and World Series Podiums; he has now turned his hand to coaching top triathletes including Ironman age group World Champion Ruth Astle. In this interview I got the opportunity to chat to him about his wins, his disappointments, balancing competing with a...

In addition to being 'The Sleep Science Coach' and  working at Geneva University Hospital studying the impact of altitude on sleep and the effect it has on cognition and performance, Dr. Charlotte Edelsten is also a keen ultrarunner living in Chamonix Mont-Blanc;  with this wealth of experience, she is an amazing person to try to help us understand how we can improve our sleep and how we...

In the first episode of the podcast with my new co-host, pro Ironman athlete, Laura Siddall, we speak to Dr Emma Ross, Head of Physiology at the English Institute of Sport, helping Team GB finish second in the medal table at the Rio Olympics. Dr Emma Ross led a ground-breaking campaign to improve support of female athletes within the high performance system. Through the SmartHER programme she work...

Helen Davis is an accomplished swimmer and sports psychologist and is renowned for working with some accomplished athletes - particularly,  former Ironman pro, Lucy Gossage. Based on the success Helen's approach brought to Lucy, together they created IRON-MIND, and online learning platform for helping you get the best out of your training and your races by having the right mindset. Having bee...

I recently read 'The lost art of Running' by Shane Benzie and it is one of the best running books I've ever read. Not surprising really, as this it's written by the running coach of Damian Hall and Nicky Spinks, to name a couple. The combination of technique and stories from runners around the world makes for compelling and productive reading. So I wanted to get Shane onto the...

Fi Carter is a mum, a passionate sportswoman and is an age group duathlete, winning a bronze medal in both the European and World Duathlon Championships. When she isn't training, she coaches and supports teenagers through the charity CASS & Friends to help them make the most of their potential. We all know coaching teenagers brings a whole new set of challenges, and being the dad of a tee...

Laura Penhaul set 2 world records when she led the first all-female crew to row across the Pacific Ocean. She is a physiotherapist by trade and prior to founding Adaptive Performance she was Lead Physiotherapist to the Paralympic Programme for British Athletics, where she supported the athletes at the Rio Paralympic Games 2016. She was also the performance manager for Mark Beaumont when he cycled...

I first saw Dan Miller speak at my Vistage group (an executive coaching organisation), where he taught us about how to be healthy entrepreneurs. Dan is an award winning speaker and experienced martial artist with an incredible knowledge of the difference between being fit and being healthy, so I wanted to chat to him in this episode about how we can improve our performance and our health through o...

When it comes to endurance sport, for most people an Ironman is a pretty big challenge; so imagine trying to do 20 times that distance all in one go! Known as a 'double deca', anyone that does a 48 mile swim, then a 2240 mile ride followed up with a 520 mile run, should definitely have the word brutal in their mindset; and Brutal Claire has it in her name too. Not only does Brutal Claire...

In 2008, Mark Beaumont broke the around the world cycling record by an incredible 82 days, covering the 18,000 miles unsupported in just 194 days. He then returned with a support crew 10 years later to achieve the same feat in an incredible 78 days, averaging an astonishing 240 miles a day. I wanted to know more about how Mark achieves such incredible endurance and where he thinks the best cycling...

Dean Jackson founded Huub in 2011, a sporting brand which delivers performance enhancing products. Starting out with wetsuits which are sported by some of the world’s top triathletes, including the Brownlee brothers, they then brought this incredible success into the world of track cycling, with the Independent British UCI track team Huub Wattbike. I wanted to pick Deano's brains on how they&...

Occasionally you meet someone that changes your perspective forever. Sam Perkins was as passionate about triathlon as he is about Nottingham Forest, then he received the earth-shattering diagnosis that he had Motor Neurone Disease (MND), an incurable and terminal disease.  I got the opportunity to chat Sam, who is nothing short of inspiring, about how his love of triathlon is helping him cope, and...

Winner of Iron Man UK, Iron Man Florida and Iron Man NZ, as well as the British record holder for most miles cycled in 12 hours (a whopping 325 miles), Joe Skipper knows his stuff. Joe is Self-coached and I wanted to explore how he has been improving his swimming during lockdown, what a typical training week looks like and whether competing in Helvelyn Triathlon has sparked an interest in doing mo...

Malcolm Brown MBE was the Brownlees' coach from being young lads and through to Rio Olympics, so he  knows the sport of triathlon inside out. I got the opportunity to chat to him about what makes a great coach, what makes a great athlete, and  how can we encourage younger athletes in the sport. Malcolm's British Triathlon Bio Malcolm's Science & Triathlon speaker page Malcolm on...

Professional Ironman, Nikki Bartlett, has found a way to make the sport pay, and it is more difficult than you might think. As winner of Ironman Lanzarote, she has to carefully select the races that are likely to be profitable, so I wanted to explore the finances behind being a pro, and well as what it is like to be a blind guide in the Olympics. www.nikkibartlett.com Nikki's Social Media Cha...

When it comes to fell running, Nicky Spinks is nothing short of a legend. She's gone from holding the female record for the Bob Graham (BG) Round, a 66 mile route across 42 Lake District fells that must be completed inside 24 hours to, after recovering from cancer, setting records for the Bob Graham Double; yes 2 laps inside 48 hours! Since then she has become the only person to do either a P...

Phil Graves is the youngest ever winner of an Ironman, a 3 times runner up in Ironman Wales and a former training buddy of the Brownlees. In this interview I got the opportunity to explore how Phil stays motivated through the difficult times, how he combats injury and his somewhat unique approach to pre-race nutrition.  Find Phil on social media Twitter Instagram Tri247.com article This episode wa...

Tim Heming is a 220 Triathlon journalist that lives and breathes the sport. You'd struggle to fill the back of a stamp with who and what Tim doesn't know about in the world of triathlon, so I wanted to explore what's happening in the world of triathlon through and post COVID-19, the stand out products that are improving times, what we can learn from the  professionals and the Tokyo...

Coming into running as a busy mum, Kerry went from walking in a 5km run to completing Marathon De Sables, leading the jungle ultra in Peru and even leading the Spine race...until near disaster happened in the darkness. There is so much we can learn from Kerry's rise on the ultra scene, whether you are just starting running, or you want to take your running to the next level. More about Kerry...

5 x Iron-distance Champion & 4 x Amateur World Champion, professional athlete, Laura Siddall, came to the sport late but has achieved a huge amount since. As someone who wants to win the iconic Ironman races, I wanted to explore with Laura which events really are the best in the world.  Laura Siddall Recommendations Dr Steve Ingham's Supporting Champions podcast Anna McNuff - Pants of Per...

Brian Fogarty started Triathlon in 2012 after calling time on his football career. When he went on to win Ironman UK, he demonstrated that balancing a full time job as well as competing at the top in a sport as demanding as Ironman is possible - so I wanted to find out how!  Brian Fogarty This episode was sponsored by Vita-Coco and TRIBEathlon This episode was sponsored by The Trusted Team and 4th...

Wanting to stay away from chemistry experiment-like energy gels, I was keen to chat to Warren Pole, one of the founders of 33fuel.com, about the science behind the success of their high quality, superfood based endurance fuels. 33fuel.com Book Recommendations Finding Ultra by Rich Roll Eat and Run by Scott Jurek Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins This episode was sponsored by  33fuel & In...

Tim Harris was a pro cyclist for 13 years and is now on the staff of the Bahrain-McLaren team, but what is special about Tim is how many of the top cyclists that he has helped turn pro. The likes of Cavendish, Froome all stayed at Tim's house of the pro's in Belgium, so this was an opportunity to find out what it takes to get to the top of the cycling game. Tim's Rouler Article Book...

Coming to ultra-running from journalism and fell walking, what Damian Hall has achieved in a relatively short time is beyond belief. Most recently he set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) by running the 268 mile Pennine Way in a remarkable 61 hours and 34 minutes, so I wanted to better understand what it takes to run what seem like unachievable distances.  www.damianhall.info This episode was sponsor...

At one stage, Matt Botterill held the UK record for cycling 10, 20 & 50 miles, he won  over 60 National medals and represented Great Britain Cycling team on over 30 occasions. Now he coaches some of the top professional Ironman athletes like Tim Don. In this episode, Charlie got the opportunity to drill down on how Matt makes such marked improvements in his athletes, particularly on their cycl...