For this week’s episode I chat with Matt Tooze, a local guy, who has spent his entire life running. Having never met, we know each other purely from Twitter, Matt has been someone I have engaged with for many years and wanted to speak to on the podcast for a long time. 

From running 800m to ultra's and everything in between, chasing PB's over many distances and races, Swansea City football club, to social media bullies, we cover a whole host of topics and issues facing everyone today. It was great to catch up and chat with Matt, so here we go with episode of 32 of Front Runner Radio meets Matt Tooze.

Enjoy

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Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 22nd August 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

In this week’s podcast I catch up with Jim Gerwick, a Race Director, who operates in Connecticut with a series of different running events. Jim has been involved in the world of running in a number of different roles for over 30 years and has a vast knowledge and experience of the industry/sport. 

Jim held some of the first races to return back in July and August this year, when Connecticut allowed races to comeback. I speak to him about this, as I try and learn from his experiences and get an understanding of what the events may look like in the future. 

So over to David and Jim for episode of 31 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

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Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 28th July 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises, of which there are quite a few. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, or have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown/pandemic. 

This week’s podcast is with the Chief Technical Officer from Goteborgsvarvet the Gothenburg Half Marathon, which is the worlds biggest half marathon. Johan is responsible for the race entry platform that supports all 40 or so of their races, plus many other technical aspects. Our paths crossed when Johan told me that I accompanied him (virtually) via the podcast when he tuned in whilst racing a marathon around a Swedish running track. 

In addition to his day job and working on the worlds biggest half marathon, Johan is a keen runner and an all round nice guy. Johan and I chat about the current running climate and the impact the pandemic is having around the world, the challenges facing the running sector under the current guidelines and much, much more. 

So over to David and Johan for episode of 30 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

🎙📻🗣🎧

Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 21st Aug 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

This week’s podcast I catch up with Tom Bedford, the Race Director from the first large scale race held in the UK since lockdown measures were introduced back in March, the Kew Gardens 10K. The event was held over the 12/13 September 2020 and it was great to catch up with Tom with everything still so fresh after the weekends event. 

Tom discusses some of the stresses and strains of holding an event during a pandemic along with the risks associated and some of the additional hurdles the Richmond RunFest team encountered. 

This event brought so much more pressure due to the Uk running industry watching, but also there to support him across the weekend

So over to David and Tom for episode of 28 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

🎙📻🗣🎧

Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 17th September 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

This week’s podcast is with a man who has faced a few challenges in his life; commonwealth games and Team GB Cyclist, extreme endurance athlete completing some of the world’s toughest ultras and also has Type 1 Diabetes. Roddy Riddle is an extraordinary man that does extraordinary things and has a resolve that takes a small number of people to the very top of what they do. 

 An international cyclist who following retirement 1996 was subsequently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and immediately took up running. Roddy then went on to push himself and the management (and limits) of type 1 diabetes to new levels by taking part in some of the worlds toughest races, namely MDS (Marathon Des Sables and the 6633 Artic Ultra) plus many more.

We talk about a number of Roddy’s achievements on the bike and on foot, some of the knock backs and his incredible endeavour to not let his condition rule him. This is a fascinating listen and Roddy is quite simply an inspiration.

More information can be found below on Roddy:

https://roddyriddle.com

https://twitter.com/roddyriddle

https://www.facebook.com/roddy.riddle

So over to David and Roddy for episode of 27 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

🎙📻🗣🎧

Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 2nd Aug 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

Doug Banks is a race organiser, event director, photographer, business consultant and as I say in my intro, a really nice guy. I wanted to chat with Doug for a long time as he always seems to be doing or involved in good things.

We chat about a whole host of things running and running event related, particularly his events which he is hopeful will be proceeding this year, the ongoing pandemic and what good has come out of it, plus a lot more. 

Doug's events are:

http://www.roundsheffieldrun.com/
http://www.sheffield10k.com/
http://www.gatesheadtrail10k.com/

So over to David and Doug for episode of 26 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

🎙📻🗣🎧

Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 15th July 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

This week’s podcast is a little bit different as I catch up with my unofficial running club mates and we discuss our trip to the Valencia Marathon back in 2018. It was great to reminisce, as you will discover, this was not a typical trip to run a marathon. 

This weekend was filled with a lot of laughs and as one of us describes it, 'it was a lads weekend with a marathon in the middle'. As with most weekends away, it doesn't always turn out as intended and there were some serious issues for me. 

So over to The Crocks for episode of 29 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

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Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: There were some technical issues that have impacted the sound quality of the recording. This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 4th June 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded or have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

Natasha Cockram is a Welsh international runner who is the current Welsh Marathon record holder over the marathon distance with a time of 2:30.50 breaking the previous record held by Susan Tooby since 2008. 

We talk about the impact of lockdown on Natasha's training, winning one of the only events to take place this year the Llanelli Half and looking forward to the next official marathon where she can attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and much more. 

So over to David and Natasha for episode of 25 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

🎙📻🗣🎧

Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 11th June 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

James Thie returns for a second time to discuss what he has been doing since lockdown and how different the world is since we last spoke in December for EP 2 of the podcast.

James has been hosting 2 x weekly virtual training sessions via his YouTube channel which have now reached 40 episodes and have been a tremendous success. Attracting participants from around the world, James' knowledge and positivity has helped him continue training his own athletes as well as many others who have followed the Team Thie circuit classes. Make sure you check them out for yourself!

We also chat about the impact of lockdown on the running community, how we think things will return in the future and much, much more. 

So over to David and James for episode of 24 of Front Runner Radio

Enjoy

🎙📻🗣🎧

Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 5th June 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have already been concluded, have different outcomes since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown. 

Dr Katy Guy has been working with Front Runner Events since 2015 and has established herself as a key member of the Front Runner Events team. Covering all aspects of event day medical management planning and working alongside St John Cymru Wales, Katy's expertise and professionalism has helped the team develop robust practices across the events portfolio.

This episode David and Katy chat about event planning, some of the issues that occur on race day and what runners can do to help themselves achieve more out of race day and make it a more enjoyable experience, plus a lot more. 

This episode is dedicated to the memory Gerallt Davies MBE (https://bit.ly/2DrQ0wW), who sadly passed away on 20 April 2020 after contracting Coronavirus. Gerallt played an enormous role in our and many other events across Swansea and Wales and will be sorely missed. 

RIP Gerallt 💚

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Music written, created and provided by Forever Vendetta © 
A Front Runner Events Production ©

*Note: This week's episode was recorded during lockdown on the 3rd June 2020 via Zoom and in live household environments, so please excuse any background noises. Please also be aware that certain topics discussed may have different outcomes or have been concluded since the recording of this episode due to the live and fast-moving nature of said topics during lockdown.