The Strength Running Podcast

It's a common misconception that the Norwegian Method is just running double threshold workouts. Brad Culp is a sports journalist, endurance athlete, and author of the fascinating new book, Norwegian Method: The Culture, Science, and Humans Behind the Groundbreaking Approach to Elite Endurance Performance. We dug into Brad's knowledge of the training principles behind the Norwegian Method: lactate...

If you had the chance, would you sign up to run 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 different continents? Becs Gentry is a popular One Peloton instructor, the 4th place finisher at the 2021 UK Olympic Trials, a former Nike Run Club Coach, and a 2:32:01 marathoner. She's getting ready to start the Great World Race on November 15, 2024. We talk about: Whether Becs expects more challenges physically or logist...

"Tissue tolerance" might be a hard term for the average runner to define. But it could also be how you prevent your next big running injury. Phil Batterson, PhD, is a former competitive runner with a background in human bioenergetics. As the founder of Critical Oxygen, he gives athletes and coaches knowledge, testing, and coaching to optimize their physiology and maximize endurance performance. We...

You might give carb loading a quick thought in your taper, but are you actually looking at the current science to make it effective? Jonah Rosner is an applied sport scientist who spent the past 10 years working with athletes and teams from all major American Professional Team sports. Jonah is a running coach and a certified strength and conditioning specialist who uses the latest sport science te...

From poor tune-up races to switching up nutrition, pro runners face the same lessons more casual runners do. Laura Thweatt is a 2:25 marathoner, professional runner for Saucony, and former US cross country champion. She placed 5th in the 10k at the 2016 Olympic Trials and 5th in the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. We talk about: The emotions before a goal race and working with a sports psychologist...

Do super shoes give runners who use them an unfair advantage? Do they make it impossible to compare modern finish times with earlier performances? Sabrina Little is a trail and ultra runner, formerly a professional runner for HOKA. She has won 5 national titles and a World silver medal, she previously held American records in the 24-hour and 200K, and she was 2013 USATF Ultrarunner of the Year. Sa...

Want to run faster with fewer injuries? Take a look at your gait. Jessica Wulke is a dual board-certified specialist physical therapist in orthopedics and sports. She has extensive experience treating professional athletes and continues to treat athletes in the NFL and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Jessica was the leading gait analysis and running injury therapist at Baylor Scott & White Institu...

How much attention do you need to give to your weight as a runner? Dr. Spencer Nadolsky is an obesity and lipid specialist physician who's helped thousands of patients across the US. After competing on a college track team in the horrible early 2000's culture of "lighter is better," I wanted to bring a medical expert onto the podcast to discuss weight loss in a responsible way. We talk about: The...

Hoping to improve your marathon performance this fall? Sara Manderscheid is a running coach and podcaster living in Boulder, CO. Sara fell in love with the marathon training process after BQ'ing in her 2019 marathon debut. This fall, she's attempting to get as close to the 3 hour barrier as possible in the marathon. Sara's been a guest on the podcast twice before and returns to take your marathon...

When's the last time you got bloodwork done? Stevie Lyn Smith is a Registered Dietitian on a mission to educate and coach athletes on how to fuel their goals without sacrificing health and happiness. As a board certified specialist in sports nutrition, Stevie Lyn has helped hundreds of athletes fuel to improve performance, energy levels, and recovery– without feeling guilt or restriction. In this...

Many runners called The Leadville Trail 100 Run's near-20 year record "unbeatable." David Roche raised the bar with an astonishing 2024 performance. David Roche is an elite trail runner and running coach. He's a two-time USATF trail national champion, the 2014 Sub-Ultra Trail Runner of the Year, and former Mountain Runner of the Year. As of August 2024, David is also the new course record holder o...

Imagine a running festival combined with a retreat plus a race thrown in there: That's Jesse Itzler's Runningman. Jesse Itzler is the founder of Runningman and All Day Running Co., a serial entrepreneur, an author, an endurance sports enthusiast, and a 100-mile ultra marathoner. In this episode, we talk about: Translating running's discipline and consistency into other areas of life Sharing the va...

How do we develop new runners, young runners, and master's runners, into great runners? Paul Greer is a professor of Health and Exercise Science at San Diego City College, coach of the San Diego Track Club, and the 2016 and 2024 Team USA Men's Junior Cross Country coach. With about 40 years of coaching experience, Paul has a lot of wisdom to share for runners from youth to master's levels. His ath...

Ever catch yourself complaining about how much you paid to sign up for a race? Here's the inside story. Phil Dumontet is a 2:42 marathoner, the founder of Boulderthon, and the CEO of race management and timing company Brooksee. Personally, I believe Brooksee's timing technology is going to revolutionize road racing in the future. In this episode, we talk about: The day-to-day of a racing managemen...

Kick back for a less structured conversation with my friend Jonathan Levitt, focusing on the big and small real-life issues affecting runners. Jon is a runner, cyclist, and host of For The Long Run Podcast. I like to joke that Jon is the Mayor of Boulder because of his ridiculous network of every single runner who lives within 100 miles. We share a lot of miles on the Boulder trails together and h...

In today's running culture, people can't stop talking about Zone 2 running. But what about Zone 3? John Davis is an author, running coach, former collegiate runner, and an expert in human performance with a focus on biomechanics. He ran at Carleton College before getting a PhD in biomechanics at Indiana University's School of Public Health, focusing on running injuries. In this episode, we talk ab...

Most runners have heard of plyometrics, but are they using these exercises effectively to prevent injury and boost performance? Dr. Gaby Go is a Doctorate of Physical Therapy who ran Division 1 Track and Field for the University of Maryland, College Park, and who qualified for the Boston Marathon in her debut marathon. Today, Gaby's sharing a lot of knowledge around plyometrics for runners with us...

Have we put Zone 2 running on an undeserved pedestal? A recent episode with Brady Holmer dug into Zone 2 as it relates to heat training. One listener named Nadine emailed me some great questions to follow up on the Zone 2 conversation. Like many of you, easy running has gotten confusing for Nadine because of so much of the advice on the internet to never go faster than Zone 2 and the value of very...

Hoping to get faster at the marathon and reach a personal best? So is Nick Jordan, a member of Team Strength Running. Nick joined this coaching program in order to most effectively use his time and effort to get the best possible chance of reaching a marathon personal best. We talked about what he can do in the remaining months to stack the deck in his favor. Team Strength Running is a program tha...

Sugar cravings, salt content, underfueling, post-race beers… Runners get a lot of conflicting nutrition information, so we're asking your questions to a registered dietitian! Alex Larson is a Minnesota-based registered dietitian and Ironman triathlete who's worked with thousands of athletes in more than fifteen countries. I get a lot of questions from endurance runners about nutrition, so we colle...

Whether you love the mile or you want to continue running into your 40's or beyond, you'll be inspired by this Masters runner. Mario Fraioli is a Bay Area-based running coach who works with a number of Olympic Trials-level marathoners, top ultrarunners, and competitive age-group athletes. He's one of the most competitive Master's runners in the USA, having run the 2023 Boston Marathon in 2:34 and...

As a runner, it's almost guaranteed that somebody has told you, "Running is bad for your knees!" Spoiler alert: It's not. Dr. Howard Luks has the education and experience to prove it. Howard spent more than 20 years as the Chief of Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy at New York Medical College, specializing in athlete care. As a board certified orthopedic surgeon, he focuses on a variety of joints bu...

Brady Holmer knows a lot about running and a lot about science: a perfect combo for a conversation on the show. Brady is a lifelong endurance athlete who competed in cross country and track at the collegiate level. He currently works as a science writer and researcher, holding a Master's degree in human performance. He also recently ran his PR in the marathon: a 2:37. In this episode, Brady and I...

Chris Bennett is the Nike Running Global Head Coach and Senior Director Nike Global Running. Translation: Chris is an absolute powerhouse of a coach and runner. I got to chat with Chris about his role at Nike, how runners approach the sport from a variety of angles, what often prevents us from achieving our goals, his message to every runner in the world if he had the opportunity to speak to the g...

Brooke Torres is an ultra runner who couldn't understand why running shoes were so uncomfortable. So, she started a running shoe company to fix that problem. Hilma Running Shoes makes shoes specifically for the needs of women's feet, which are uniquely shaped and not just a smaller version of men's feet (since as you'll hear, that doesn't work). In this episode, Brooke and I talk about: Women's fo...