A Runner’s Life

In episode 152, I spoke to Deo Kato, Coach at adidas Runners LDN, founder of The 381 Days Running For Justice movement, he is the Spirit of the London Marathon Award winner.

Deo came to the UK aged 10 years and experienced racism soon after arriving from Uganda.

Starting on 6th June 2020, he set out to run 10km every day for 381 days to protest against racial injustice and inequality in society, fast forward to 2023, this campaign has evolved into running from South Africa to London starting on July 24, 2023.

Deo will run across 2 continents, 16 countries covering 14,570km, over 381 days. The 381 days honours those of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-56 Alabama, USA and the change they created on the policy of racial segregation.

This journey aims to show the history of human migration from Africa to the rest of the world. Deo hopes to inspire change through this running journey.

This will be the first podcast covering this extraordinary journey. We will reconnect with him during and on completion of the challenge.

You can support Deo by donating to his GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/5ce10bea

You can find Deo on

Linkedin: Deo Kato

Instagram: @deoruns

Linktree: Deoruns

STRAVA Profile & Club: Deo Kato / 381 Days

Thank you to Soar Running (www.soarrunning.com) who supported this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show. If you value the content you can become a patreon by clicking the following link.

www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

Graphic credits

Photo by Keith Donegan

Video by Dream x Deo mini-doc film

In episode 151, I spoke to Nat Long, who is a runner from cross country up-to 100 miler races. She is active in the UK run club community and is also well known for her viral run until you see videos on TikTok and Instagram.

Nat is really engaging hence why she has built a growing community. Her main message is that in life, and through her content, is she wants to encourage people to find joy in what they are doing. To Nat running can be and should be fun. Whilst she understands there will be moments in life and in running that aren't fun, and we still have to deal with those, but it's important we appreciate and seek out the things that make us happy.

We take a dive into why she runs, what’s next, David Goggins recent book, how she’s learnt from challenging running experiences plus much more.

You can follow Nat on Instagram and TikTok at @nat_runs_

Her website is natruns.com

Thank you to everyone that supports this podcast and this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show. You can support the show by becoming a patreon at

www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

In episode 150, I spoke to British professional runner and coach Jonathan Albon.

We talk about;

You can follow Jon on Instagram at @jonalbon

Thank you to everyone that supports this podcast and this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show. You can support the show by becoming a patreon at www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

In episode 149, I spoke with Fiona English who posted an open letter to the Boston Marathon in January 2023 to ask them to review their deferral policy, for women like herself who earned a Boston Qualifying (BQ) entry before becoming pregnant.

The Boston marathon and the qualifying time is held in high regard globally. After running 17 marathons, through hard work and determination, she qualified running a BQ time at Paris Marathon in April 2022 running 3:27:05, after running 5:47 for her first marathon.

When this podcast was recorded, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) policy had a strict no deferral policy. However during the recording of the podcast unbeknownst to Fiona and I, the B.A.A. posted on Instagram noting they changed their policy to allow for entry deferral post pregnancy. This is thanks to everyone that spoke following the post, but more importantly the pioneers before that made this final push possible.

There’s definitely more that needs to be done, one of those things is focused on the remaining three marathon majors, to follow suit in having progressive deferral policies.

Further information on resources to create a level start line for women include:

You can follow Fiona on Instagram at @englishruns

Thank you to everyone that supports this podcast and this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show. You can support the show by becoming a patreon at www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

In episode 148, I speak with Nicole Harkin, MD, FACC Cardiologist, and Founder of Whole Heart Cardiology.

This episode came about from using the Apple Watch, which has health features to help the users, monitor heart rate to alert you if it’s too high or low. Last year my Apple Watch notified me several times of an irregular heart rhythm, with a heart rate under 40bpm.

Dr Harkin and I talk about the role that technology has to empower people with their health information. If you’re a fan of technology wearables and you’re concerned about your own heart health, this is the episode for you. We clear up some myths and leave you with some tangible action points to empower you moving forward.

Thank you to Tracksmith, who supported this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show.

www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

You can follow Dr Harkin via text following channels:

In episode 147, I speak with Andy Waterman

Andy is a runner and journalist who heads up the editorial output at Tracksmith. Having returned to running in his 30s, in 2022 he ran PBs in the mile and the marathon, going sub-2:40 at Berlin.

We talk about training, the importance of having mates help spot you in your training, to see your blindsides. Plus so much more including why there’s been a dip in the popularity of running.

Thank you to Tracksmith, who supported this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show.

www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

You can follow Andy on instagram by searching: watermandy

Or you can follow him on Strava.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/104389

In episode 146, I give an unfiltered account of my race weekend, pre and post race. I talk about some of the challenges in the buildup and reflect on the race and share what is next for me race wise.

Thank you to Tracksmith and my patreons who support the show.

www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

In episode 145, I speak with Matt Chittim host of the Rambling Runner Podcast, in this ask me anything episode.

We are team-mates for Relay a collaborative paid platform hosted by elite athletes and running creators, who produce regular running content each month, check out this link to sign up for $9.

https://www.patreon.com/relay This episode is a full free sample from this platform.

We discuss and answer questions submitted via Instagram stories, in this ask me anything episode.

Thank you to Tracksmith and my patreons who support the show.

In episode 144, I speak with Corey Joyner.

In the last 4 years he has taken his marathon time from 5:01 to 2:52. We connect shortly after his 2022 Chicago marathon PR.

Sport is a huge parallel to life for Corey. The same principles of success apply. So beyond race times we really dive into what a runners life means to him, and we explore several ways, where he has learnt and grown through difficult moments in life and in running.

Thank you to Tracksmith, who supported this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show.

www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife

In episode 143, I recently conducted a poll on my Instagram page and asked what was the best race from the six World Marathon Majors. The results from the poll were as follows.

As a six star finisher, I will use my experience of all six races to add some balance to the comments from the polls in the episode. But this episode is a light hearted take on reviewing the races. It is an impossible argument to agree, because each race means something special to that runner, but what I can say, regardless of the major you run, you will have a phenomenal experience.

Let me know your thoughts on the order and if you agree or not, by reaching me on Instagram at @marcus_runs