The Planted Runner

How did 17-year-old track athlete Emily Cole go from running with her teammates one day to waking up from a coma two days later? The surprising answer is healthy eating. I’ll let Emily tell you the details of her brush with death and it’s not a spoiler to say that she is absolutely thriving now. In fact, not only is Emily excelling on the track at D1 Duke University, she is building a successful c...

How much progress can you make in your running in a single year? If you plan it right, it could be more than you can imagine. Welcome to the Planted Runner. I’m Coach Claire Bartholic and my mission is to help you improve your running, your mindset, and your life with science-backed training and plant-based nutrition. In this episode, I’ll explore how and why a yearly running plan can be critical...

One in four American women suffer from some kind of pelvic floor disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health. That's 25% of us! And yes, that number goes up as we get older. And running can trigger accidents and make it worse. And this is not just a female phenomenon. Men have a pelvic floor too and can also have issues. Most guys certainly aren’t talking about it! Some people are so...

There’s nothing like crossing the finish line.  You’ve trained for weeks or months or even years and finally, you’ve done it.  If the race went well, you wonder if you could have given a little more.  If the race didn’t go well, ooh, it’s going to sting, but soon you are plotting your redemption race. Either way, you know that with a little better training or a few changes here and there, your nex...

If you’ve ever raced or done a group track workout, you’ve seen them.   Grown men and women in tiny shorts doing exaggerated skipping and hopping. Swinging their legs back and forth. And you’ve seen those runners that look like they are not going for a run, but practicing for a line dance, doing the grapevine back and forth. Should you start swinging, skipping, and dancing, too? Yes.  A little jog...

Running alone hasn’t become more dangerous.  But it did get a lot more scary in September 2022 when runner Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped and murdered when out for an early morning run. We can’t control the predators in our world, but there are ways that we can run with less fear and more confidence, no matter what time of day.  We can take our power and our confidence back.    I don’t think it’s to...

As much as I’d love to tell you otherwise, plant-based eating can be a real struggle for some people, especially athletes.   Simply giving up animal products is no guarantee of better performance, more energy, or reduced recovery time. Why do some people thrive on a whole foods plant based diet while others start to feel worse?  Could it be that this way of eating really isn’t right for everyone?...

If you want to get good at something, it can really help to be inspired by someone who has done it before.  It doesn’t mean your road is going to be exactly the same, but studying the journey of others can be like a headlamp in the dark. So today, I’m going to go over the 10 steps I took to go from not running at all to finishing a marathon in 2:58 at age 42. Some of you are familiar with my story...

Runners have been told that heel striking is bad.  Or at least, it’s not nearly as good as a runner who hits the ground on the midfoot. But what if that advice is completely wrong?  What if heel striking is actually superior and can help you run faster? On today’s episode, I’ll be talking to Dr Matt Minard about why he thinks most runners will actually run faster when they heel strike.  You’ll lea...

If you are an early morning runner, you probably head out the door as soon as your shoes are tied. There’s no time to eat a meal, wait for it to digest, contemplate why you got up so crazy early in the morning when the rest of the world is peacefully sleeping…and then go for your run. But there are huge benefits to eating before a run, even very early in the morning.  Now whenever I talk about thi...

Do you have your heart set on a certain finishing time for your next race? Most runners are racing to see if they can go farther or faster than before, which means that you’ll be in uncharted territory. How do you KNOW what your goal pace should be? You can't. But there are some good ways to at least figure out if you are being realistic or ridiculous with your goal pace. In today's episode of The...

There’s an effort in running that is deceptively sweet. It’s not slow enough to be called jogging, yet it’s not hard enough that it feels too challenging.   To many it just feels like “real running.” But if you spend too much time at this medium-effort comfy pace, like many runners do, it can sabotage your training and tank your improvement. This is why it’s called the Gray Zone.   On today's Plan...

Better running form makes a huge difference in running your best.  But you can't just go out and try to run with better form.  Well, at least not for very long. Your body will soon revert back to however you always run once your mind starts thinking about what's for dinner or what you're doing this weekend. BUT there are great ways to train your mind and your body to run better.  It's just that mo...

Learning to pace is a fundamental skill of running well.  But the concept of pacing actually has the power to improve everything in your running, and maybe even your life as well.   There is a common rhythm or pace that can actually be quite universal.  And if you can figure out that pattern and then apply it to everything you do, you will be amazed at the results. In this episode of The Planted R...

How do you transform yourself from a casual runner into an endurance athlete?  How do you go from a basic level of running fitness into someone who completes endurance events for fun? On this episode of the Planted Runner Podcast, Coach Claire will tell you how. She will go over: the most important aspects you’ll need to know when you are taking your running up another level the advice she gives a...