Show Notes
London Marathon is now just seven weeks away, and the build continues with three of the fastest men set to toe the line in April. Ryan is joined again by Tim Vincent (2:09), Jake Smith (2:11) and Jake Barraclough (2:14) to check in on how training is progressing as the block begins to get serious. Between the three athletes there’s an average marathon PB of 2:11:52. In this episode we cover: • Accountability check-ins from Episode 1 – mobility, nutrition and heat training • Tim Vincent’s 61:17 half marathon at Bashir’s Run (#13 Australian all-time) • Whether that performance changes confidence or race expectations for London • How elite athletes use half marathons within a marathon build (taper, fuelling, carb loading) • Jake Barraclough’s Tokyo Marathon DNF and what really happened at 30km • Jake Smith preparing for the Bath Half Marathon, where he returns as defending champion
We also answer listener questions on: • Brutally honest thoughts on PRF • What elite runners listen to on long runs (or if they listen to anything at all) • Bath Half predictions and whether Jake Smith is fitter than last year • How elites actually set marathon race pace • Whether good sessions late in the block change your goals Finally we finish with a London Marathon readiness score, with each athlete giving an honest percentage of where their fitness currently sits. The road to London continues.
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With Dean enjoying another holiday on Rottnest, Ryan and Eoin are joined by the mileage king himself, Jake Barraclough (Ran to Japan), for a bumper episode of Easy Double.
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What a week of marathon running and no need to fear if you missed any of it as we have you covered. Perth Running Festival brought the goods with Dominic Ngenu’s strong solo win in the marathon, Dean racing hard in the 10K and finishing third, and impressive times across the board. Melbourne Marathon delivered the spectacle, Kipchoge doing Kipchoge things, Tommy De Canto showing experience and running a PB, and Jimmy Whelan learning the hard way that 2:08 ambitions on debut don’t translate. Chicago saw Clayton Young’s gutsy come-from-behind American record, Charles Hicks right there hunting, and the women’s race owned by Izzy Bat-doyle smashing the Australian/Oceania record in 2:20:38. 📰 In running news, the stories were everywhere. Perth’s got problems to fix, no kilometer markers on course, missing elite drinks, and a few questions about social media strategy. But the depth of Australian marathon running is genuinely unhinged. Seth O’Donnell solo 61:20 in the half. Nicola Sheridan from Ireland flying a 2:29 after switching to Sydney. The domestic talent pool is ridiculous. 📺 YouTube Diaries gets a big one this week. Marcus Malone dropped a 50-minute documentary called Ordinary Excellence, the Grant Fisher story. Long-form content done properly, childhood, college, coaching relationships, build-up to New York. It’s storytelling, not highlight reels. Shout to Joey Bowden for the tip-off. 👊 Double Trouble stays light as Ryan gets some grief!
Welcome to the fourth episode of our bi-weekly series, The Road To Dublin, where we follow three athletes building toward the Dublin Marathon on October 25th. The end is well and truly in sight as all the guys enter their tapers. We cap of the last 2 weeks of training and look into what the next two weeks will entail. It's super exciting times as all three look forward to race day! Please meet: Bri McGhee, a final-year dietetics student running her very first marathon. David Troy, the national 10k champion, gearing up for only his second time over the 42.2km distance. Will Boyle, an Asics frontrunner coming off an injury that ruled him out of London, now looking ahead to an exciting Dublin build. Follow along as these three chase very different dreams on the same course.... it's going to be something special.
A big one this week as we’re joined by Sam Maxwell — Managing Director of Emageo Group and Elite Athlete Coordinator for the Perth Running Festival — ahead of race weekend in Perth. Sam takes us behind the scenes of building an elite field: recruiting international athletes, appearance fees and prize money, pacemakers, visas, anti-doping and the challenge of growing Perth into a genuinely world-class marathon. We preview Sunday’s races, unpack the headline names coming to WA and hear about the longer-term ambitions for the event.