A Women's Running Podcast by Run Panthera

Emily speaks with founder of WeAreFearless Club Laura, about body confidence and being bad at PE, as well as the good (and the bad side of social media) and the power of women supporting women.

Host: Emily Jones

Guest: Laura (@lauraellenfearless)

Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Run Panthera by visiting the website.

Running a marathon can be hard, even more so when you're injured. Back in October 2021, Emily ran her first marathon where she encountered a number of obstacles related to an ongoing injury. It left her feeling mentally (and physically) defeated and is something she's spent the last few months trying to process. In this episode, Emily is joined by coach and friend of the podcast, Lillie Bleasdale, to discuss her experience of the marathon, the mental and physical side of recovery, and why you shouldn't compare yourself to other runners.

Host: Emily Jones
Guest: Lillie Bleasdale
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Run Panthera by visiting the website or become a Patron.

Emily is back for the first of two Christmas specials of the podcast! In this episode Emily speaks with Ailsa, runner, marathoner and owner of Medal Monday Designs, selling unique gifts for runners. She talks about her running journey, including her first race, her struggle with her mental health and what it's like being the face of the of London Marathon!

For 20% off all orders in the Medal Monday Designs store, use code RUNPANTHERA20 (valid until the end of January 2022).

Host: Emily Jones
Guest: Ailsa Paterson
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Run Panthera by visiting the website.

Esther Goldsmith is a Sports Physiologist and part of the science team at FitrWoman - a menstrual cycle tracking app for athletes. However, Esther started out as a dancer, completing an Undergraduate Degree in Contemporary Dance. It wasn’t until she began to fall out of love with dancing that she found running, and eventually, after a few years out, went on to complete a Masters in Applied Sports and Exercise Physiology.

She wrote her dissertation on running economy and the menstrual cycle, which has since been published, and now works for Orreco who own FitrWoman where she gets to work with elite female athletes on a daily basis.

In the final episode of the series, Esther talks in detail about what the menstrual cycle is and how it can impact our running economy. She also answers your questions about running and your cycle.

Host: Emily Jones
Guest: Esther Goldsmith
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Run Panthera by visiting the website and enter the virtual women's half marathon. 

Ruby Raut is the founder and CEO of WUKA, a period pants brand that does good. Ruby grew up in Nepal and was given old sari rags to use as in place of period products, a sustainable but unhygienic alternative to tampons and pads. It was this concept, using reusable materials in place of disposables, that gave Ruby the inspiration to found WUKA.

In 2019, Ruby took part in the Vitality 10K with Bryony Gordon's Mental Health Mates and Celebrate You body confidence campaign. The only requirement was that she (along with the rest of the group) had to run the race in WUKA underwear and relatively nothing else!

In this episode, Ruby explains how WUKA's Perform range provides a sustainable and leakproof choice for women who run, as well as discussing what it was like to run a 10K in just her underwear! Plus, Emily and Ruby open up the conversation about periods to break taboos and raise awareness of the period pants tax. Sign the petition here.

Host: Emily Jones
Guest: Ruby Raut (WUKA)
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Run Panthera by visiting the website and enter the virtual women's half marathon. 

Leanne Shrive's running journey began with the humble 5K, however, it quickly snowballed into something much more. After completing her first 5K, Leanne set herself a challenge of running 100K within 3 months and when she'd managed to achieve that, her hunger to find a bigger challenge drove her to complete 12 events within 12 months, building up to a half marathon. It's this drive that pushed Leanne to sign up for her first ultramarathon and marathon (in that order), which she completed all within two years of running.

Today, Balega Ambassador Leanne co-runs a social running group which she started back in late 2019. With over 250 members of all abilities and fitness levels, and a new Couch to 5K course, Leanne and her friends organise regular social running events, often incorporating a run with a meet-up at the pub, to make running more sociable. 

In this episode, Leanne talks about her running journey, as well as her drive to find bigger and more challenging goals and we discuss the importance of a social running group.

Host: Emily Jones
Guest: Leanne Shrive
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Run Panthera by visiting the website and enter the virtual women's half marathon. 

Ellie Ripley’s running journey began when she was a child, running cross country in all weather conditions. As a young runner, she was very competitive and enjoyed racing against her friends, however, when her studies became too much Ellie had to put her running on hold.

Now, as a Respiratory Physiotherapist, Ellie has a different relationship with running - one where her biggest competition is herself. Prior to the pandemic, her plan was to run her first marathon before the age of 25, but when the Manchester Marathon was cancelled and her workload shifted to long 10 hour shifts treating Covid patients, running became something to help her deal with the changing world around her.

Today, Ellie is back training for the Manchester Marathon (hopefully taking place in October this year) and has even managed to encourage her colleagues to lace up!

In this episode, Ellie talks about how her relationship with running has changed during the pandemic as well as what more could be done to encourage young girls to get into sport.

Guest: Ellie Ripley
Host: Emily Jones
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Run Panthera by visiting www.runpanthera.com

Balega Ambassador Glynis Buchan has been on a running streak since New Year's Eve 2017. At the time of our recording, she'd been running for 1177 days and she'd recently overtaken Forrest Gump's run streak. Glynis's running journey began in her living room on the Nintendo Wii Fit, after having her son. Running was always just a way to stay fit and healthy - it was only after she completed her first 5K race that she really started to fall in love with running. 

Her run streak happened quite by chance after she signed up for RED January back in 2018. After completing the month, Glynis decided to carry on to see how long she could keep up her streak and since then, she's managed to lace up every single day - whether that's for an easy recovery run or a longer Sunday run.

In this podcast, Glynis talks about her running journey, how she accidentally ended up on a run streak and what it was like running the UltraX 12 Hour ultra race. 

Host: Emily Jones
Guest: Glynis Buchan (@gbotruns)
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Find out more about Her Run and the virtual women's half marathon race: www.runpanthera.com/her-run 

Jo Wright is probably one of the most inspirational women you'll ever meet. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at a young age, Jo was unable to even wash herself let alone go for a run. After trying a range of different treatments, including chemotherapy, and battling through various side effects, in 2019, Jo finally found something that worked for her.

What followed was an incredible journey driven by Jo's determination to, in her words, get on with her life and embrace the things she could now do that she once was unable to. One of those things was running and, after realising by chance that she could run, Jo completed Couch to 5K and eventually entered a half marathon. Today, Jo's awaiting the 2022 London Marathon whilst living her life to the fullest.

In this episode, Jo talks about how her condition has motivated her to not take life for granted, as well as her incredible running journey and how she's feeling about running her first marathon. Prepare to be well and truly inspired by Jo and her amazing attitude when faced with adversity.

Host: Emily Jones
Guests: Jo Wright (@Jojo1wright1) 
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Join the women's running community at runpanthera.com

Sasha Cowley and Caroline Eaton founded RunFitMum in 2015 after encouraging mum’s from their children’s school year to run the Race For Life together. From there, through RunTogether, they developed RunFitMum and with encouragement from the rest of the group, forged a friendly and supportive community of mum's who run. 

Today, with more than 450 Facebook members, RunFitMum remains a friendly and welcoming community of women who run, hosting regular weekly running meetups as well as virtual challenges and races for everyone to take part in.  Ultimately, RunFitMum is less about speed and more about encouraging mum's to get outside and enjoy a moment for themselves. 

In this episode, Sasha and Caroline talk more about how and why they founded RunFitMum, what it's like coming back to running postpartum, and the difference between a running club and a running group.

Host: Emily Jones
Guests: Caroline Eaton & Sasha Cowley (www.runfitmum.com) 
Music: Cali by Wataboi

Join the women's running community at runpanthera.com