The Distance Dr: In Practice

Here's something almost nobody tells you, that your rehab might actually be making you faster. We tend to treat strength training, physio, and endurance training like three separate things, but they're really one connected system, and in this episode I'll show you how the exact same work that settles a sore Achilles or a dodgy knee is also quietly making you a more economical, more powerful runner...

Every distance runner and triathlete has felt the wheels slowly fall off late in a race. Late-race fatigue is multifactorial. Glycogen depletion, central fatigue, thermoregulation, dehydration, and neuromuscular fatigue across multiple muscle groups all play a role. But there's one specific component of the late-race fade that's grounded in solid biomechanics research, doesn't get the attention it...

Training plans look neat on paper. Real life does not always behave that politely. In this episode of Distance Dr Daily , I talk through what to do when you are following a marathon, half marathon, triathlon or running plan and suddenly things change: you feel run down, you get sick, or an injury starts to niggle. The big question is usually: do you catch up on missed sessions, swap things around,...

Podcast episode title Easy Runs Are Not Junk Miles Podcast description Easy runs are one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of a running program. They are meant to be easy, yes, but that does not mean they are throwaway runs. In this episode of Distance Dr Daily , I explain why easy runs matter, what adaptations they help support, and why letting them creep too hard can interfere with the re...

On today's episode of The Distance Dr Daily with Dr Kate, she discusses how long runs are the cornerstone of marathon training, but most of the questions runners actually have, how far, how often, how hard, when to peak, and what to practise, don't always get answered clearly in a generic training plan. I walk through five evidence-based considerations for getting your long run right, drawing on r...

Generic running plans are not automatically bad. In fact, for many runners, they are affordable, accessible, and much better than making things up week by week. But the problem is that a generic plan does not know your injury history, your sleep, your training load tolerance, your work schedule, or how your body is responding. In this episode of Distance Dr Daily , I explain how to make a generic...

You have downloaded a marathon, half marathon, or triathlon training plan. It tells you to run in Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, or maybe gives you interval intensities… but how do you actually know what those paces are for you ? In this episode, I explain how to take a generic training plan and make it more specific by applying your own training paces. We go through two practical methods you can use wit...

If you are a runner, triathlete, or endurance athlete who has ever walked into the gym and thought, how much weight am I actually supposed to lift? this episode is for you. In endurance sport, we usually have clear intensity markers like pace, power, heart rate and cadence. In the gym, it often feels much less obvious. In this episode, I break down the 3 main ways to measure strength training inte...

If you’ve been told to stop running because of injury, illness, travel, surgery, or just life being life, your first instinct is usually, “I don’t want to lose my fitness.” That makes sense. But fitness is only one part of what makes you feel good when you run. In this episode, I unpack the four key ingredients that help you still feel like a runner when you return: aerobic fitness strength tendon...

A lot of endurance athletes have heard the same message for years: lighter is better, leaner is faster, and body fat is the thing standing between them and better performance. But is it really that simple? In this episode, I am joined by Dr Grant Landers , Senior Lecturer in Sport Science at The University of Western Australia, to unpack one of the most deeply ingrained beliefs in endurance sport:...

Zone 2 is everywhere right now, but the more people talk about it, the more confusing it seems to become. In this episode, I am joined by Rob Merrells and Nick Baldwin to unpack what zone 2 training actually is, why there is so much disagreement around it, and how endurance athletes can apply it in a way that is practical, realistic, and evidence-informed. We discuss thresholds, heart rate, pace,...

Most runners know they “should” strength train. Far fewer know how to do it in a way that actually helps performance. In this episode, I break down the 5 most common mistakes runners make with strength training and show you exactly how to fix them. We talk heavy strength vs high reps, calves vs glutes, single-leg work, progressive overload, rest periods, and what a smart runner strength session sh...

Part 2 is all about what to do after a bone stress injury diagnosis and how to reduce the chance of it happening again. I’m joined again by sports dietitian Lauren Nash (Updietitian) to give a holistic, evidence-based approach that covers both sides of the equation: training load + fuelling . We discuss how management changes depending on pain, location, and injury grade , why some sites are treat...

Bone stress injuries are common in endurance athletes, and one of the most frustrating parts is that they often feel like they “came out of nowhere.” In Part 1 of this two-part series, I’m joined by sports dietitian Lauren Nash (Up Dietitian) to unpack what a bone stress injury actually is, why the terminology is confusing (even among experts), and why two athletes can run the “same program” yet h...

In this episode, I break down a study in competitive cyclists that tested whether adding 8 weeks of maximal strength training can improve cycling performance-relevant outcomes. The intervention was deliberately simple: half-squats, 4 sets of 4RM, three times per week , alongside normal endurance training. We cover the effects on cycling economy and work efficiency at 70% of VO₂max , and time to ex...

This episode breaks down a study investigating whether 8 weeks of maximal strength training (half-squats, 4×4RM , 3 sessions/week ) can improve performance-relevant outcomes in well-trained distance runners. We cover the effects on running economy at 70% VO₂max and time to exhaustion at maximal aerobic speed , alongside changes in maximal strength and rate of force development , and the fact that...

In this episode of the Distance Dr podcast, Nick and I sit down and properly dissect a recent large cohort paper examining training load changes and injury risk in endurance athletes. We walk through the study design, what the researchers actually measured, and why the results challenge some long-held assumptions about weekly mileage progression and the so-called “10% rule.” In particular, we dig...

This podcast episode explores the intersection of female athletes' training and their menstrual cycles, emphasizing the importance of understanding individual physiological differences. Host Kate Baldwin and Associate Professor Claire Badenhorst discuss the Menstrual Health Manager, a tool designed to help athletes and coaches communicate effectively about menstrual health. They highlight the vari...

Injury risk in runners is rarely about one single factor.  It’s usually the result of how load, recovery, stress, and strength interact over time. In this episode, I break down six evidence-informed factors that consistently show up in the research on running injuries, and more importantly, how they can be applied in the real world . We cover: How to use pain as a guide without fear Why strength t...

“Just do a short recovery run today.” Most runners have heard it. Most runners have done it. But easy running is still load,  and calling it “recovery” can quietly sabotage adaptation, durability, and long-term performance. In this 15-minute episode , I break down: what recovery actually is (and when it happens) why easy runs still stress tendons and bone how tissue adapts on a delay why “flushing...

Can you actually predict if you’re going to hit the wall in a marathon? 🧠💛 In this episode, Nick and Kate unpack a new study that analysed wearable biomechanics data from over 1,400 marathon runners to see whether early-race running form patterns were linked to severe late-race pace collapse. We break down what this study actually shows, what it doesn’t, and how runners and coaches should (and s...