Never Run Alone

The boys are back with a big Boston breakdown this week, along with sharing personal running goals for this calendar year. In it, they share some key mistakes and learnings they’ve made at the start of training blocks as well as buy/sell and some interesting would you rather’s to kick things off. All that and more with Cam Merrick , Kris Farrenkothen and host Rien MacDonald . Thanks for listening...

Just the boys on this weeks ep as we unpack a a fast week of running with 3 major talking points. The World Cross Country Championships in Florida, the Valencia 10k and Houston’s Marathon. As always, a few warm up questions to get us going and a buy/sell that’ll get you talking. All that and more with Cam Merrick , Kris Farrenkothen and host Rien MacDonald . Thanks for listening and watching. If y...

Our first outing for 2026 as we discuss plenty already happening in the world of running with the Hakone Ekiden last week showcasing the best of university running in Japan and a truly elite level across the nation, we discuss how it’s come to be at a high level. The team also preview the World Cross Country Championships and Sissi also debuts her Speed Round with a flurry of running ‘Would You Ra...

We round out 2025 with a full house to preview and predict plenty that is awaiting us in the new year. We discuss building the ultimate runner from other sports, what Aussie records could fall and running trends closer to home. Thanks for listening along with us this year and we hope you all have a safe and fun start to 2026. All that and more with Ash Wiseman , Cam Merrick , Kris Farrenkothen , S...

A special edition of the pod this week, as we hosted inaugural Never Run Alone Christmas Quiz, or as Sissi Bergman delightfully dubbed, "Quizmas". Joined by a few dedicated listeners with plenty of others missing through having dinner plans or sleeping (odd) we ran through a series of questions that you may or may not know based on listening/watching the pod this year. We hope you enjoy...

This week on the podcast the boys reminisce over a big 2025 and recap the best moments in running. We also answer a few Christmas related questions, along with one from YouTube on what to do in a 18-20 week block leading in to a marathon. Amongst all of that, Zatopek over the weekend threw up an incredible performance from Seth O’Donnell, with many across multiple posts online dubbing him the Auss...

5 on the pod this week in an expansive show with 3 guests in Sydney, 1 in Dubbo and another on the Sunny Coast coming together to discuss the Valencia Marathon with Jess Stenson taking the Aus Record as well as a debut pop quiz from the Sweet Prince. We also preview our builds with the girls starting their Boston block in short order, as well as the warm-up questions and buy/sell as always. All th...

We’re back with a bang as we preview this weekends Valencia Marathon with a very special guest, the Australian marathon record holder, Andy Buchanan . Andy ran a 2:06:22 in this race last year, eclipsing the previous record held by Brett Robinson from 2022 by over a minute. Joining Andy via the magic of the internet the boys discuss his feelings as his record and Sinead Diver’s female record are b...

A different episode this week as we hit ep 51 and some sad and simultaneously exciting news. The boys sit down in Cam's living room (disco ball and all) to discuss the future of the podcast and invite your feedback ahead of 2026 and beyond. All that and more with Cam Merrick , Kris Farrenkothen and host Rien MacDonald . Thanks for listening and watching. If you haven’t already, please subscrib...

This week on the podcast, we’re celebrating episode 50 and recording remotely! Up for discussion; coffee orders, unbiased watch opinions and the future of mainstream running. The crew also discuss their learnings from over a year now of running their first marathon, and 3 things they could tell themselves if they could go back… With over 15 marathons between the 4 since July 2024, hopefully some o...

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by father, DJ and runner, Nick Drabble to discuss his running journey amongst a career as a DJ and half of electronic duo, Setmo. Unpacking a recent injury and his learnings from that. We’re also joined by the wonderful and supremely speedy Sissi Bergman post her NYC Marathon PB to hear directly from her how she found the worlds biggest marathon. All that and...

PLEASE NOTE: Sadly this weeks episode encountered some untimely technical glitches. We have only 1 camera angle and the audio is average for the first 24 minutes but then gets largely better/normal from there. We’re hopeful it’s still worth your time! On today’s episode of Never Run Alone, we’re joined on debut by Belle Hawtin and Producer Lily gets on the microphone with the boys and triathlete M...

This week we’re joined by special guest Ash Wiseman with Kris Farrenkothen alongside returning Cam Merrick to unpack a big New York Marathon elite field. Plenty of people from the Sydney community are running this weekend and the weather looks primed. We also answer listener questions including one from our intern producer Lily, who can’t seem to wrap her head around the fact that people enjoy run...

Today’s episode is one wholly focused on female sport, following Rien’s poorly worded and timed comment on Megan Chapple’s Instagram reel back in September. Grateful to be joined by her today along with Matilda Donkin for both ladies debut podcasts, and as ever by the brilliant Sissi Bergman and Kris Farrenkothen to answer a slew of audience questions along with that very race and reel from Megan...

5 days on from his elite debut in Melbourne, Cam Merrick unpacks the Melbourne Marathon in it’s entirety, sharing the seconds that stretched him and moments that mattered on the course, as he ran 10th overall. We’re also joined for her all time podcasting debut (and naturally Never Run Alone debut) with dietician and nutritionist, as well as 7 time marathoner (including a 9th placed finish in Melb...

An incredible day in Melbourne and a very raw recap from the finish line inside the MCG. We speak of course first and foremost with the sweet prince Cam Merrick, crossing the finish line in 10th pace with a time of 2:21, and following that, a roaming mic including immediate thoughts from Andres Cubides, Colm Fitzgerald who finished 9th ahead of Cam after running together on the Gold Coast earlier...

As part of his elite debut, Cam and Rien attended the elite briefing by the Melbourne Marathon team, lead by Tim Crosbie. Following that, we were allowed onto the hallowed (and naturally covered ahead of the race) turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, jumping into row two of the members stand to chat ahead of Cam's 5th marathon in the space of 11 months, 3rd race and 1st as an elite. We answer...

It’s the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year since last weeks guest, Lydia O’Donnell debuted in the marathon here at Melbourne. And on this fine Friday, we’re joined by a hatrick of M’s, the Triple M in fact of Mack Dewar, Steve McKenna and Cameron Merrick to preview all things Melbourne Marathon, the elite fields, the course, as well as generously sharing their respective race plans for t...

After 2 weeks away, we’re back in the studio to kick off the best month of the year. This week we are joined by the brilliant Lydia O’Donnell, who is the Nike Pacific Head Run Coach and the Co-Founder and CEO of Femmi - the ultimate female running app and community bringing together knowledge for women to train with purpose and run with confidence. We discuss how Femmi came to be 5 years ago this...

It's Majors Season!!Tune in as the boys chat about whether or not Net Downhill races should count for PBs, the torturous weather in Berlin for the marathon, 130th Boston Marathon news and a quick field preview for Chicago Marathon. Enjoy as ever and thank you all for listening and contributing with questions via IG!This week brought to you by Kris Farrenkothen and Cam Merrick. Hosted by Rien M...

Down a member (Ella is a teacher and apparently they work really hard), the boys tackle everything World Athletics Champs and Cam's upcoming Elite start at Melbourne Marathon. Enjoy as ever and thank you all for listening and contributing with questions via IG! This week brought to you by Kris Farrenkothen and Cam Merrick. Hosted by Rien MacDonald. Never Run Alone is a podcast exploring the de...

Spring has sprung and so has 12 months worth of rain on Sydney. Fresh after the news that Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan are doing the Farrenkothen-MacDonald (also known as the Sydney-New York double) we welcome back onto the show Sissi Bergman for her first studio appearance of 2025 as she enters the final 2 months of NYC training and shares exciting news about a recent partnership. We also brea...

A conversation with Wayne Larden, who is the Sydney Marathon Race Director and CEO of Pont3, and over the last 2 decades has worked tirelessly to turn Sydney into an Abbott World Marathon Major. This past month, he did just that. Tangents are a chance to step off the usual path and dive into one‑off conversations with a special guest. Each conversation explores a focused topic, but just like in ru...

Just like that, the 2025 Sydney Marathon is in the rear vision mirror. Months of training. Years of planning. Decades in the making. We can confirm it was a major weekend not only for Sydney but for Australia on the whole. The regular 4 return this week to answer all of your questions as well as recap in greater detail what was a big Sydney Marathon on Sunday, with all 4 speakers having a very dif...

What a day in Sydney. Hundreds of thousands in the streets. Resplendent sunshine. Cramps all over the gaff. Even more PBs. And an all time day. Reaction from the finish line with a proper recap to come next week. Enjoy! Special shout out to Rich Hawtin and the DONKINS! Featuring a dozen or so legends. Hosted by Rien MacDonald. Never Run Alone is a podcast exploring the definitions of the word &quo...