The Run4It Podcast

In this episode, Chris and Finlay are joined by Joshua Rowe, a performance scientist with Maurten - the sports nutrition brand built on hydrogel technology who have fuelled every major marathon winner for the last few years. As well as talking about his groundbreaking research into the effectiveness of hydrogels in endurance sports, Josh explains how Maurten's hydrogel products differ from ot...

Run4It's Jason Kelly returns to catch Chris and Finlay up on his GB-qualifying performance at the Anglo Celtic Plate. Not only did Jason come 2nd out of one of the most competitive fields ever assembled at a British 100km Championships, he's also now the third fastest Scot of all time over the distance. Tune into this bonus episode of the Run4It Podcast to hear what it takes to execute a...

Fay and Emma of Match My Workout catch up with Chris and Finlay on day 61 of their attempt to run 100 marathons in 100 days - a Guinness world record attempt at the most consecutive marathons run by a female. That's 2620 miles in total, at just over 183 miles per week. No days off. The Aberdeenshire-based personal trainers started their challenge on February 19, and if successful, will comple...

Meryl Cooper joins Chris and Finlay fresh off her fourth place finish at the Transgrancanaria 62K to talk recent form, her start in ultra running, and her approach to training. (Interview starts at 16:43.) Last year saw Meryl win the Lakeland Trails 100k in a course record, and post a top 10 finish at the ferociously competitive CCC. She balances her racing and training with her job as a teacher,...

Chris and Finlay are joined by Greg Bennett, who among numerous titles, podiums and other accolades, was the number one-ranked triathlete in the world in 2002 and 2003. Greg talks about how he got started in triathlon, his illustrious and storied career, and how he's adjusted his mindset to go from being competitive on the world stage, to pursuing new projects and training for health.  This i...

Fresh off an 800-metre PB which met both the World Indoor and Commonwealth Games standards, Jenny Selman joins Chris and Finlay to talk about her running journey so far. (Interview starts at 24:46.) This one is all about determination and persistence at the top end of middle distance running. In addition to working around numerous food allergies, Jenny had recurring injury struggles that contribut...

In Finlay's first episode as co-host, he's donning his sports scientist hat to discuss the high fat low carb approach to fuelling endurance sports - a topic he's studied and practiced over his years racing Ironman triathlon as well as coaching athletes.  This episode sifts through some of the myths, misinformation and grey areas around fuelling for endurance sports, favouring a bala...

Part two of our Montane Spine Race double feature - Chris and Jason are joined by Christopher Cowley, a highly accomplished ultra runner who made his Spine debut at this year's edition of the iconic race across the Pennine Way.  With wins at the Hardmoors 160 and 200, Christopher came into the 2022 Spine Race with as much experience as you could possibly hope to have short of an actual comple...

In the first of two episodes looking at the Spine Race, Chris and guest host Jason Kelly speak to Debbie Martin-Consani, who won this year's edition of the iconic 268-mile race across the Pennine Way on her second completion.  This episode is stacked with insights from one of the most decorated and accomplished runners on the UK ultra scene, with a long list of podiums and formidable times dr...

Endurance athlete and adventurer Nick Butter joins the boys to talk about his big project for 2022 - the Fit in 50 Challenge. Nick is best known for being the first person to run a marathon in every single country on earth, but he felt that his diet, strength, power, and overall health could be better. This led him to devise the Fit in 50 - "the ultimate 50-week data driven fitness transforma...

Chris and Will discuss their running plans and ambitions for 2022, informed by their learnings over the past 12 months. Chocked full of insights from another year of training, injuries,  various other mishaps, and a few bright spots, with plenty of call-backs to some key lessons learned from last year's guests.  To get in touch, email: thepod@run4it.com

Chris and Will reflect on another year of running and give their thoughts on the best running gear they've gotten to use over the past 12 months. They talk road shoes, trail shoes, and the shoes they most wanted to try but didn't get round to, as well as kit, tech, and nutrition. The Run4It Podcast will return in the new year with an even bigger lineup of athlete stories, gear reviews, a...

Rob Sinclair joins the boys to talk about his return to winning ways at the Ultra Trail Costa Blanca 75K race and reflect on his storied running career so far.  This episode is packed full of insights from one of the best mountain and ultra trail runners in the UK as he moves into a new phase of his career. Rob talks about the challenges of balancing the training of an elite performer with long wo...

Finlay McAndrew returns to the podcast wearing his sports scientist and triathlon coach hats to talk about the science behind off season training for runners.  This is a deep dive into the scientific, best-practice approach to training through the off season - better referred to as the general preparation phase.  This episode has information aimed at runners of every level, but will be especially...

In the first half of this week's episode, Chris and Will discuss various approaches the Run 4 It team take to keep themselves training during winter, from sticking on a pair of Arctic Talons and calling it business as usual, to significant mileage cuts supplemented by more visits to the gym and cross training. In the second half, they're joined by Flick McQueen (50:30) - our marketing an...

This week Chris and Will talk about how to keep on running through winter. How to see, how to be seen, how to stay warm, how to stay dry, how to not fall over, and generally how to avoid being miserable. Read more about being safe at night here . Learn more about the importance of being prepared with the right kit on the hills here .  To get in touch, email: thepod@run4it.com. 

Chris and Will talk to Mandy Williams about mental health, running competitively on the track and up the sides of mountains in the masters category, photography, jumping out of aero planes, flying aero planes, and potentially, going into space.  Mandy manages our Bridge of Allan store, and was diagnosed with Asperger's at the start of lockdown, having been an outlier at school and labelled fo...

Chris sits down with Alan Risk, who reflects on his recent  finish at this year's Dragon's Back Race. Billed as the world's toughest mountain race, the Dragon runs for 380-kilometres with over 17,000-metres of climbing split over six days. This year's event boasted an aggressive 76-per cent DNF rate.  Cue a lively conversation chocked full of insights into finishing one of the...

Over the last couple of months we've been putting some of the newer Garmin running watches through their paces, and on this week's episode we're getting our testers' verdicts... In the first interview (21:12), Chris speaks to Gayle Hoy, the Run 4 It merchandising manager, about her experience of upgrading from the Forerunner 235 to the Forerunner 245 Music - the highly capable,...

Jason Kelly returns to the podcast to reflect on his superb 100k debut at the Anglo Celtic Plate home countries international race, where he claimed the silver medal to give the Scottish men all three podium spots and win the team competition. In this episode Jason recounts what went right, what could have gone better, and gives an insight into the psychology of representing your country over such...

Run4It's resident shoe guru Finlay McAndrew returns to the podcast to talk to Chris about all things carbon-plated: the history, the development, and the surprisingly long list of benefits this growing category of shoe can present to runners as they get fine-tuned through extensive research and development. 

Chris and Will are joined by guest host Amy Byrne - assistant manager at our Glasgow City store. The trio talk on Team Run4It's answers to the question: "If you could travel back in time to when you first started running, what key lessons would you impart to your past self?" Cue a lively conversation packed full of advice - some learned at bitter costs - from the collective experien...

Chris and Will talk to Commonwealth Games medalist Robbie Simpson. Cue a lively discussion around his varied and storied running career so far across the marathon and mountain running, his recent foray into ultra-distance events as he prepares for the OCC in Chamonix, Adidas Terrex, and Hidden Peak Running - the coaching group he co-owns with Fraser Clyne.  To get in touch, email thepod@run4it.com

Chris and Will speak to Ian Stewart, founder of Trail Running Scotland - a company offering various skills courses between off-road running and mountaineering, as well as a range of guided runs across Scotland. Cue a lively conversation about running a Bob Graham Round for a stag do, staying safe and running smart in the mountains , and Ian's monstrous "Cairngorm Parkrun" completion...

Chris and Will talk to Jason Kelly as he prepares to represent Scotland for the first time at the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100K. Jason, who is also the assistant manager at our Aberdeen store, talks about his whole running journey, from struggling through 5Ks to get a little fitter, to finding himself on the podium at ultras and trail races - all paired with the boys' now internationally appreciate...