The Run Smarter Podcast

Today Brodie refreshes the concept of load vs capacity. Load is 'the amount of physical load placed on the body' verses Capacity which is 'the bodies ability to handle load'.  This concept helps runners understand WHY they get injuries instead of believing unhelpful misconceptions such as flat feet and leg length discrepancy. It all boils down to one statement: “The body will adapt to the load we...

Should we be training with a lot of variety (different speeds, shoes, cross training, strength training)? Or should we get really good at running on one surface, in the same shoes & not deviate? Brodie dives into the pros and cons of both strategies so you can self-reflect & come up with your own decision. To finish off, Brodie fires away 6 questions you should ask yourself: What type of r...

On this episode Brodie discusses the confusion runners often make during an injury flare-up. Runners often misinterpret weakness when it fact, it could be just an increase in structure sensitivity. When progressing a return-to-running program and executing your rehab exercises, it's not uncommon for a hiccup and mild flare-up to occur. This is often followed with pain & irritation when attempt...

Belinda Beck is a Professor in the school of allied health services at Griffith University. She has been involved in bone health research for 20 years and published over 100 research papers. Today, we discuss stress fractures and bone health. We start with the adolescent population and why diet, bone loading & peak bone mass is so important in this population. Secondly, Belinda dives into symp...

Rebecca Rushton graduated from Podiatry in 1993 and has since developed a key interest in blister management & prevention. We dive straight into the common misconceptions around blisters and how the definition of 'friction' can be very misleading. We uncover why blisters occur from an anatomy stand-point and if some runners are more susceptible than others. Once knowing what actually causes bl...

We kick off our final success story with Danny Symington who managed to overcome 9 months of shin splints. Danny is an avid listener of the podcast and applied the podcast lessons to build up his running mileage. We talk through his journey when symptoms first arose, the mistakes he made, the successful plan and his steps moving forward.  During these success story segments, Brodie interviews a ru...

Today we have a Q&A episode where Brodie answer 5 question from the Run Smarter FB group and the Patron group. Here is what we will cover: If we are trying to ramp up mileage extremely quickly for a race without getting injured, how can we successfully do so? I’ve heard runners get black toes. What is it, how is it prevented and how to treat if you get one or more? How to keep your runs focuse...

During these success story segments, Brodie interviews a runner who has managed to overcome a running related injury after much hardship and frustration. Kara Haas has faced 15 years of Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy. Once running at a very high level and competing at the Olympic trials, Kara's PHT started to get out of control. We dive into Kara's story and her attempts to resolve her pain inclu...

Brodie dives into the science of sprained ankles, including assessment, treatment & prevention. Sprained ankles may not be a common running-related injury, but can be very common outside of recreational running and leaves athletes confused when they can start being active. We first discuss the Ottawa ankle rules for ruling out a fracture. Then once ruled out the evidence behind rest, ice, comp...

On today's success story we have Mark Mulray who was battling Plantar Fasciitis for several months before finding what worked and what didn't work. Mark tried changing shoes, cross-training and had every variation of massage ball and ice bottle under his desk at work. Mark Mulray shares his treatment process that allowed him to not only kick his plantar fasciitis, but go on to finish an ironman an...

Today we have wellness entrepreneur, biohacker & host of the Optimal Performance podcast Sean McCormick. We all know that sleep is the #1 tool to help you recover, perform at high levels and rebuild from a hard workout. But, a lot of runners find it hard to sleep, unwind & detach from the stressors of the day. This is why I have brought on Sean who is going to introduce ways you can enhanc...

Stress fractures are a runners worst nightmare. They are often mis-diagnosed in the early days and when correctly identified, result in several weeks of inactivity which will drive a runner insane! Today Brodie interviews Ainslie who has faced several stress fractures throughout her running career. At the age of 14, Ainslie experienced her first major injury having fractured her hip bone and teari...

Andrew & Michael are the hosts of the Endurance Innovation podcast. With thermal engineer backgrounds and a passion in endurance performance, the boys deliver a unique insight into thermo-regulation, heat transfer & optimal performance in all conditions. We start with running in sub-freezing temperatures and how smart decisions towards clothing, sweat and layering can help you thrive.  Sec...

During these success story segments, Brodie interviews a runner who has managed to overcome a running related injury after much hardship and frustration. When injured, it is easy to find social media posts & stories from other injured runners which are discouraging and worrying. Tales of chronic pain, debilitating symptoms and failed treatment techniques often manifest anxiety and thoughts of...

On this episode of the Run Smarter Podcast, Brodie ropes in Pat from That's Running podcast and together they unpack the challenging topic of forefoot pain. The forefoot is the section between your toes and the arch of your foot. In fact, Brodie & Pat are both currently managing their own foot pain and share their experiences. Firstly, Pat talks about the research behind forefoot pain for runn...

During these success story segments, Brodie interviews a runner who has managed to overcome a running related injury after much hardship and frustration. When injured, it is easy to find social media posts & stories from other injured runners which are discouraging and worrying. Tales of chronic pain, debilitating symptoms and failed treatment techniques often manifest anxiety and thoughts of...

On this episode, Brodie summarizes a paper by Hamill & Gruber titled:  Is changing footstrike pattern beneficial to runners? This is a hot topic for a lot of runners, coaches and health professionals alike, and while this paper may not come to a conclusive statement, it does help bring us up-to-date with the current literature. The verdict might surprise you. Changing from a heel striker to a...

We are back for our second installment of question provided by my sister Zoe. Here are the list of questions answered on today's episode: I have injured my hamstring and took time off to recover from, now my leg feels weak and I am in a cycle of exercise followed by injury recovery. What can I do? How do I tell the difference between muscle soreness after a run and injury? Every run I am running t...

We haven't done a Q&A episode for a while and today we are doing something a bit different. My sister Zoe is taking over Q&A time!  We cover a wide range of questions today, here is the list. How do I know what a reasonable starting distance is if I haven’t ran before, or haven’t ran for a long time? How do hills impact my run, how can I best run on hills if they are unavoidable? My runnin...

This interview Brodie chats with advanced practice physio, sonographer & shockwave specialist Benoy Mathew. Shockwave therapy is a treatment method administered by therapists and Benoy answers all our questions on this treatment option. Firstly, Benoy helps answer the question of what Shockwave is and what the clinic experience looks like for a patient.  Secondly, we help decipher the confusio...

This interview Brodie chats with advanced practice physio, sonographer & shockwave specialist Benoy Mathew. Shockwave therapy is a treatment method administered by therapists and Benoy answers all our questions on this treatment option. Firstly, Benoy helps answer the question of what Shockwave is and what the clinic experience looks like for a patient.  Secondly, we help decipher the confusio...

After 12 months and 90k downloads the Run Smarter Podcast is celebrating 100 episodes!! Brodie reflects on the past year and the milestones surpassed as he shares clips of his favourite moments, including what he has learnt the most and what he looks forward to moving into the future. Listen in to hear clips from Brodie's first interview, interviews that have pushed him outside his comfort zone, e...

Starting off the year with something different and light hearted before our 100th episode. I pulled one of my most popular episodes from the Everyday Running Legends podcast. This episode I had the pleasure of interviewing John Kelly, the 15th person to ever complete the infamous Barley marathon before its 60-hour cut-up time.  The Barkley Marathons is an ultramarathon trail race held in Frozen He...

We are closing this month, this theme, this year with a bang!  This month we interviewed Dr. Izzy Smith, Simon Wegerif, Chris Schneider, Shona Halson, Christie Aschwanden, Dr. Carl Foster and Dave Proctor covering all topics on recovery. Brodie talks about what he has learnt, and his highlights throughout the entire month of recovery. Become a Patron! Choose your Tier Here Run Smarter YouTube Chan...

Today we switch gears and interview the ultra athlete Dave Proctor. Dave has held the world record for the longest distance covered on a treadmill in 24 hours (257km) and held the Canadian 24hr, 48hr and 72hr record.  Dave is also preparing for his second attempt to run across Canada, a total of 7,200km and break the speed record by covering 105km per day for 67 days straight. He does this to push...