91 | Hillary Allen, Brooks Elite Trail Runner + Brooks Cascadia Elite Review

Saucony Triumph 24 Review, Timaru 10 Preview + Hannah Gapes on a Tear Tom, Theo and Oscar are back with the weekly running specialty podcast from Frontrunner Colombo in Christchurch. This week Theo makes his podcast debut in the third chair. IN THIS EPISODE Meet Theo: his running background, how he ended up on the pod, and his Timaru 10 goals Tom on racing back to back (Auckland, then Queenstown), why he won't taper for each race, and his shoe choice Timaru 10 preview: the pace groups, the fields, and the live stream Hannah Gapes on a tear in the NCAA: what's driving it and where it could lead Crater Rim results and what's coming on Off Track New in store: heat press Run Club merch, the Community Colab, and Test Run, where you can book shoes for a weekend The Athletics New Zealand summer season rundown Listener question: does colourway change how a shoe fits? Saucony Triumph 24 review: Theo's 300km verdict, the new Incredlite foam, fit, and how it compares to the 23 LINKS Test Run: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz/pages/test-run Shop: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz Timaru 10 live stream: [add link] New episodes every Friday at noon, ready for your weekend long run.

Anna's back from Europe, Tom's lining up for Auckland and Queenstown, and Oska's out of retirement. We recap Race the Pro 5, run through the weekend's marathon results, give first impressions of the Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2, and preview Timaru Ten. Full show notes The Run Down is our weekly running specialty podcast from Frontrunner, taking you behind the scenes of our stores around New Zealand, the shoes we're testing, the training we're doing and the races coming up. This week: Anna's back from six weeks in Europe: Edinburgh, Spain and Rome, and how European crowds compare to NZ events Tom's Auckland Half and Queenstown plans, and his pro triathlon licence paperwork Oska's comeback from injury, and a possible Spectacle 5K Race the Pro 5 recap: 120 runners, teams of five, 800m laps, chasing a team of the country's best Kipchoge, Chicago and the weekend's big marathon results Shoe talk, then Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2 first impressions Kona's surprise winner and retirement Test Run: book demo shoes online, keep them for two days, with a refundable deposit Timaru Ten preview Community competition: design a Christchurch run culture tee to be heat-pressed in store. Email your designs to us. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:30 Anna's back from Europe 05:00 European crowds vs NZ events 07:30 Auckland Half and Queenstown 12:00 Tom's pro licence and the ECG scare 17:00 Oska's comeback 21:00 Spectacle 5K and the hangar night race idea 23:00 Race the Pro 5 recap 27:30 Kipchoge, Chicago and Melbourne 35:30 Shoe talk 39:30 Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2 48:00 Run Club and Kona 53:30 Test Run demo shoes 55:30 Timaru Ten 59:30 Community heat-press competition

Off Track is back — a week late thanks to dogs and airport logistics, and with plenty to catch up on. Andy and Logan start with training: school-holiday survival mode and a busy race-season build for Andy, a post-Tekapo reset (plus a mountaineering course and a taped-up ankle), and Logan's return to running, where each new session type feels like unlocking a character in a video game, alongside big bike miles ahead of La Petite Brevet, a 300K mountain bike loop of Banks Peninsula. We launch a new segment, Tales from the Trails, inspired by the stories that land in Training Peaks comments. The first comes from a friend's early-morning tempo run up Captain Thomas / Godley Head. Send us yours! We also read out a very good reply to last episode's chat about weeing on the run. Then it's three weeks of Kiwi results: Annabel Bramwell and David Hammersmith (course record) at the Rakiura Challenge on Stewart Island, Clinton Manderson and Megan Craig at Marina to Marina, the dog-and-runner 4 Paws Marathon in Bottle Lake Forest (including a 39:55 10K), Dan Jones winning the masters at road relays, a record 1,300 entrants at Cave Kidnappers (a course record for Amber Morrison and a 3:02 from Calum McPherson in the 34K), and Simon Cochran's record 205K "Claw" at the Blue Lake 24-hour. A look at Masters records leads to the story of Jack Foster, who started running at 32, finished eighth at the Olympics, and still holds the NZ M40 marathon record of 2:11:18 from 1973. Athlete to Watch is Chester Holt-Quick, who's building to the Spectacle 100K in Nelson and has an enormous 2027 calendar. Overseas, we cover Lucy Bartholomew's Melbourne Marathon PB, Salomon becoming Ironman's sponsor (and what that might mean for UTMB), Des Linden's road-to-Western-States plan, and Ruth Croft lining up at Diagonale des Fous. Finally, a preview of Taupo Ultra and Crater Rim (Andy is racing the 22K), gear choices for the weekend, a No Free Ads shout-out, and a Coach's Corner on when to start carrying fuel and fluids and how best to carry them. This episode covers: Training catch-up and the new Tales from the Trails segment Results: Rakiura Challenge, Marina to Marina, 4 Paws Marathon, road relays, Cave Kidnappers, Blue Lake 24-hour Jack Foster and the NZ Masters records Athlete to Watch: Chester Holt-Quick Overseas: Lucy Bartholomew, Salomon x Ironman x UTMB, Des Linden, Ruth Croft Preview: Taupo Ultra and Crater Rim Gear: Norda 005 and the singlet No Free Ads: hotel reception lollies Coach's Corner: fuel and hydration Got a trail story or a coaching question? Send it to Frontrunner Colombo or @andygood on Instagram, or comment on Spotify. Anonymous is fine.

Tom's back after more than seven weeks away — most of it spent training in Andorra with Hayden Wilde and Kyle ahead of the 70.3 Age Group World Championships in Nice, followed by a genuinely brutal travel saga getting home. He's joined this episode by Theo, who gets his own spotlight after a trip to Melbourne meeting the On Running crew and helping launch the Cloudsurfer 3 in New Zealand.

Episode 3, and we've got our first-ever guest on the show — Sawyer, who contributed zero words but excellent company throughout. The centrepiece of this episode is Andy's full, honest recap of the Tekapo 50K — a genuinely rough day that included stomach issues from early on, cramping from the 28K mark, and a mid-race can of Coke from his crew that may have single-handedly saved the result. We also cover Ruth Croft's return to racing at Diagonale des Fous on Reunion Island, a genuinely wild prize money announcement out of Colorado's Run Rabbit Run (now offering $100,000 USD to the winner — the largest single prize in trail running history), a full review of the Tekapo Trail Weekend as an event, and a proper Athlete to Watch spotlight on Frances Redmond, who ran a patient, calculated 50K to come from third to first. From there it's a rapid-fire listener Q&A covering shoe choice, fibre intake before a race, hill training specificity for a climb like Mount John, and recovering from a DNF, plus gear notes on the Norda 005 and the On running vest. We close out with a couple of lighter segments — Shokz headphones and a genuinely excellent stout recommendation — before a candid, good-humoured conversation about one of ultra running's less-discussed realities. Fair warning is given before that section if it's not for you. This episode covers: Training updates and two new races on the calendar Ruth Croft's return at Diagonale des Fous Run Rabbit Run's $100,000 prize announcement Tekapo Trail Weekend: full event review and results Athlete to Watch: Frances Redmond Andy's full Tekapo 50K race recap Rapid-fire Q&A: shoes, fuelling, hill training, injury recovery Gear notes: Norda 005, Mountain to Coast, the On vest No Free Ads: Shokz headphones, a stout recommendation Got a question for the show? Send it through on Spotify or to the Frontrunner Instagram.