Fitter, Faster & Happier - The Female Runner Athlete's Podcast

Just started running, seasoned runner, worried about getting injured or falling down one of the many 'runner's rabbit holes' ?

In this episode Meg Gadsby @meg.gadsby (Instagram) , talks us through her running journey and reflections on her success over the recent years.

Touch wood :), Meg is one of the few runners who has managed to continue to consistently improve, and avoid common challenges such as injuries, RED-S... In the episode we explore her mindset and approach to training, and how they along with other factors might have helped her stay clear of these setbacks.

Meg shares some of her tips, advice, and the mindset which has allowed her to stay sensible and successful with her approach to running.

@fitterfasterhappier on Instagram for updates, feedback, guest request, motivation....

#runningpodcast #studentathlete #longtermsuccess #strongmindset #trainingmotivation #femalerunning

Is it really your mind which is preventing you achieve your potential? ** contact information below

Are you stuck in that 'half recovery' phase following an eating disorder? Do you have disordered eating? Are you struggling produce the race result you know you are capable of? Is life making it tough for you to find the headspace to train? Are nerves getting in the way? Not sure you look or feel like an 'athlete'?

The brain and the power of the brain are immense and so often forgotten about and overlooked in sport.

Recently athlete mental health has made a surge in terms of importance, but lets dive into what is behind this! The brain, the mind, how you control you!

So many athletes are missing out on achieving their true potential because they don't know how to engage their mind in the right way. As athletes we are trying to push ourselves as hard as we can, but without a 'real threat'.

But our bodies are smart, or at least still tuned into our cave man days - they don't randomly want to expend energy, and this is where sports psychology comes in.

To race your best you have to be in a good place in both your personal and athlete life, and you have to be in the right mindset as soon as your toe touches that line. But how do you do this?

This week I am joined by the super highly qualified and experienced Dr Hannah Stoyel who has her own practice - Optimise Potential -

Founder and Director of Optimise Potential. Hannah is an HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and a Chartered member of the British Psychological Society. Beyond her private practice at Optimise Potential, Hannah is a Sport Psychologist for the English Institute of Sport (EIS) working with British Diving. Hannah also works across aquatic sport working for many years as the also lead Sport Psychologist for Swim England's talent pathway and currently works with World Class Programme swimmers funded by British Swimming. 

Hannah is also the Sport Psychologist for League 1's Oxford United FC Men's first team. 

Hannah is a British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) registered practitioner. ​

Hannah uses an integrative approach with an emphasis on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy. ​

Hannah has a PhD from University College London (UCL) in Clinical Sport Psychology. Her PhD research focussed on disordered eating and eating disorders in athletes.  She has a BA in Psychology from Kenyon College in the US, and an MSc in Applied Sport Psychology from St Mary's University Twickenham.

TO GET IN CONTACT WITH OPTMISE POTENTIAL Sport Psychology | London, England | Optimise Potential (optimisepotentialsport.com)

Topics Covered Include:

Body Image

Eating disorders and disordered eating

Female specific challenges and psychology

Perfectionists personalities

Steps and actions to work on the issues discussed in the podcast

Racing performance

Racing confidence

Mental strength

Fun and Informative bonus episode with some of the girls who came in the top three middle/distance events at the 2023 BUCS champs.

The first group episode for the podcast, was lots of fun doing this and definitely looking to do more of these moving forward.

Let me know your thoughts in the poll!

Hope you enjoy and all the best guys :)

The line up for the 5000m BUCS 2023 championship

Your top 10 girls as ranked by the BUCS entries plus a few more.

Info as accurate as provided by Power of 10

Best of luck to the girls competing!

Including Alex Millard, be sure to check out her episode for her backstory

Rundown on your top 8 girls entered for the 2023 BUCS 2000s/c championships.

All results and information obtained from power of 10, and may not reflect the true facts. The top 8 were taken as per the BUCS qualifying times.

Best of luck to all the girls competing and I hope you enjoy!

@fitterfasterhappier on Instagram for updates

From a 41.51 10k in 2022 to a 33.05 10k in 2023. There is definitely a backstory to this...

This episode brings you the 2023 womens BUCS 10,000m champion Alice Goodall, who's debut at this event earned her a 33.10 and automatic selection for the upcoming European U23 champs.

Alice also represented Great Britain for the first time at the European U23 cross country championships this season, where she finished 13th.

In this episode we do a little deep dive into the 'behind the scenes of becoming the BUCS champ'. Alice talks through her training and mindset around and during the BUCS 10,000m.

We also talk through her running journey and story, where we fill in her 3 year gap in competing. In this episode Alice offers an inspiring and relatable episode, demonstrating that injuries don't have to be the end. And she shares the impact changing her mindset around training and racing has had on her performance and enjoyment of the sport.

Instagram

@alice_goodall

@fitterfasterhappier

Feedback Form and Guest Form

https://linktr.ee/fitterfasterandhappier

If you are enjoying the podcast

Please rate it! And consider subscribing so you don't miss out on any bonus episodes, and sharing this episode with a friend or someone who may be able to benefit from it :)

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT

New Bonus content coming to the podcast so be sure to subscribe and follow on Instagram to keep up to date with this.

#running #femalerunning #injuries #10,000m #champion #training #studentathlete

Get up to speed on who to look out for this weekend.

Want to skip through to the race you are interested in - see time stamps guide below

800m: 0.15-6.40

1500m : 6.41 -- end

Special Bonus Episode talking through the top 10 entries ( as per the official BUCS entries list by time) for the womens 800m and 1500m BUCS championships.

Best of luck to everyone!

** all information spoken about obtained from Power of 10, it is possible the times and facts stated in this episode do not reflect the truth.

Please let me know if there are any inaccuracies

@fitterfasterhappier on Instagram

Check out episodes from Beth Morley, and Alex Millard

Did you know getting your nutrition right could give you that competitive edge? || @fitterfasterhappier || @performance_canteen ||

For all parents, athletes, and coaches out there, nutrition is such a key part of the training process. Fuelling correctly allows your body to optimise the adaptations made from training needed to get faster. It also leads to better recovery, and can prevent athletes having issues with RED-S ( relative energy deficiency in sport)

Following on from the episode about Molly's story with RED-S, I am talking with 2 registered sports and public health nutritionists: Kate and Fran.

Kate and Fran run The Performance Canteen (Home Page (performancecanteen.co.uk) @performance_canteen (Instagram) which helps young athletes fuel their best performances, and provides simple, easy to follow nutritional advice to do this.

Obviously nutrition is a huge topic and we can't cover every thing in a single episode. In this episode some of the ideas we talk about include:

- The importance of Nutrition

- Eating enough as an athlete

- Protein - getting enough protein, the hype around protein, protein products, protein powder

- Key fuelling habits for athletes

- How to navigate the numbers and recommended guidelines

- Fuelling as a vegetarian or vegan

- The effect of training on appetite

- The effect of the menstrual cycle on metabolic rate

This weeks sees the start of having the much promised experts on the podcast! Moving forward we will be having a range of exciting experts and specialists in all topics running and female running, but of course we will continue to have athlete's .

For Thoughts and Feedback fitterfasterandhappier - Listen on Spotify - Linktree

Big thanks to Fran and Kate, they are really passionate about helping young athletes fuel, and be sure to reach out to them on Instagram if you have any further questions.

#running #runningnutrition #femaleathlete #femalenutrition #athletenutrition #athletetraining #studentathlete #teenathelte

As an U13, Molly ran the fastest ever 800m by an U13 in the UK, setting the girls U13 800m record. She had national and international success.

But post 2019, she disappeared from the UK running scene.

What happened?

Like many athletes Molly fell victim to the pressure of the sport, social media, and wanting to succeed at all costs.

I mean let's be honest what athlete isn't always looking for ways to improve.

RED-S, Racing anxiety, disordered eating, stress fractures, loss of life balance, loss of period, identity crisis - she has been through it all.

But she has also recovered and come out the other side.

Recovery from RED-S, loss of enjoyment, and disordered eating in sport is possible!

Now a healthy, happy, and up-and-running athlete, in this episode Molly shares her story, thoughts, tips, and advice on all things RED-S.

Molly is an incredible person and athlete who sheds so much light on this topic, with this motivating and inspiring conversation.

This is such an important topic and a must listen for anyone in sport.

RED-S Definition - The underlying problem of RED-S is an inadequacy of energy to support the range of body functions involved in optimal health and performance.

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/11/687 ( IOC statement on RED-S)

In short RED-S is where you are expending more energy then you are consuming as person who is training or engaging in physical activity. This can result in a range of both short and long term health conditions. The research is still new, and there may be more issues however these can include issues with:

- metabolic rate

- menstrual function

- bone health,

-immunity

- protein synthesis,

-cardiovascular health

-brain function

Further Sign Posting

General RED-S

https://red-s.com/

Helpline - BEAT Eating Disorders

England: 0808 801 0677 Scotland: 0808 801 0432 Wales: 0808 801 0433 Northern Ireland: 0808 801 0434 ( beat)

Nutrition Specific Help

https://reneemcgregor.com/

https://www.thecrescentclinic.co.uk/alice-murray-gourlay/

Psychological Help

https://www.edexerciseclinics.com/

Sports Medicine

https://www.finder.bupa.co.uk/Consultant/view/278945/dr_amal_hassan

https://nickykeayfitness.com/contact-2/

Academia/ Official Findings

https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2019/04/22/relative-energy-deficiency-in-sport-red-s-recognition-and-next-steps/

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097700

Instagram

@mollycanham

@mollycaneats

@fitterfasterhappier

#RED-S #Eatingdisorderawarness #femalerunning #femalerunningpodcast #womenshealth #runningtraining #studentathlete #RED-Srecovery #recoverymotivation #Inspiration #educationinsport

She took up running in year 9, and 5 years later she has won the British U20 cross country championships, and run at the world and European cross country championships.

So what's her secret? No long run? No tempo run? No carbon shoes?

In this episode Megan talks about her progression to the top, and reflects upon her approach to training and racing. How she achieved the success she has had this season despite a major injury last summer, and the importance of mindset.

She gives us some insight into her training camp out in Portugal, the process of getting sponsorship, her current training set up and routine, and her goals and ambitions for the future.

Megan is sponsored by Saucony and SPS.

INSTAGRAM

Be sure to follow Megan's journey @megan.harrisx

and @fitterfasterhappier for updates and to send in thoughts and feedback.

Please rate, subscribe, and share this episode with anyone who you think needs to hear this.

All the best for the week ahead, run happy, live happy, be happy!

#femalerunning #worldcrosscountry #europeancrosscountry #inspiration #studentathlete #runnerlife