Inspired Soles

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Kevin Barata is a 46 year old trail ultrarunner who lives in Abbotsford, BC with his wife and three daughters. He has been a police officer with the RCMP for 21 years and currently works with the Emergency Response Team in the Vancouver Lower Mainland. 

Kevin has been running ultra marathons since 2014 in various distances from 50km to 250 mile races. In fact he recently completed the Coccodona 250 and has run well over 150 miles in multiple backyard ultras. You have also heard us talk about Kevin on the show as the person who provided navigation and a police escort for Dave Proctor as he neared the completion of his record breaking run across Canada.

In this episode we talk about how Kevin started running trails and what it takes to train for and complete a 250 mile race.  We discuss how he absolutely loves the challenge that running long distances brings and how he always embraces the journey along the way. Running for Kevin is therapeutic and a way for him to stay grounded and feel accomplished while striving to seek new challenges and surprise himself with what's possible!

Connect with Kevin:

• Instagram: @kbar_runs

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Facebook

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Rory Linkletter and Ben Flanagan are elite Canadian distance runners and friends who have both been on the show twice. Although they have different primary disciplines, they occasionally compete against one another and that is always a great day for fans of the sport. 

On May 25th, 2024 they lined up at the Canadian 10k Championships in Ottawa and they’re here to break it all down with us. As a 5k runner, Ben was treating this race as strength work and as a marathoner, Rory was looking at it like speed work on his road to the summer Olympics in Paris. In this conversation they held nothing back when describing their pre-race preparation and in-race tactics to try and win. In the end Ben came out on top in 28:09 and Rory finished second in 28:40. Both had small personal bests and Ben’s was also good for a new Canadian record. We think it’s safe to say that they put on an exceptional show for the thousands of fans lining the streets of our nation’s capital.

Both in their late 20s, Rory & Ben seem wise beyond their years and have an undeniable mutual respect for each other. Ben has achieved the 5000m Olympic Standard and will be racing the Canadian track trials on June 27th in hopes of another win. Either way, it is looking very likely that he’ll also be named to the summer Olympic team, and he and Rory have requested to room together in Paris. 

It’s not every day that you get to hear two competitors break down a race together like this, including what was going on in their heads every step of the way.

Ben’s Past Appearances

• Episode 151 - Deep Dive on World Championships
• Episode 95 - Canadian 10k Champion

Rory’s Past Appearances

• Episode 180 - On Running Olympic Standard at the Seville Marathon
• Episode 153 - Top Canadian Men’s Marathoner at 2023 World Championships

Connect with Ben:

• Instagram: @ben_flanagan

Connect with Rory:

• YouTube: @LinkletterRory
• Instagram: @rory_linkletter

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Facebook

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Melvin Yumang is a 40-year old flight nurse & runner from St. Agathe, Manitoba who was one half of a recent Couple of the Quarter episode with his wife, Jonelle. Melvin & Jonelle are proud parents to 8-month old baby Jameson and in that episode they opened up about their fertility & health struggles. Today we’re shining a spotlight on Melvin’s running. 

Inspired to do something meaningful to mark the one year anniversary of his father’s passing in May of 2018, Melvin decided to take up running. It started with a 10k at Ottawa race weekend but by 2019 it had escalated to a marathon. He finished the Manitoba  Marathon in a very respectable time of 3:45 and has been able to shave off another 7-10 minutes every year since. He now boasts a personal best of 3:19 and wants to keep chipping away until he qualifies for Boston. Although Melvin dabbles in many distances on the roads as well as the track, his favourite distance is the marathon because of its difficulty to master. You’ll hear about changes he’s made to his fueling strategy as he’s gone along, and how he’s gotten creative with training because of his role as a shift worker and new parent.

Melvin gives back to the running community as a pace bunny,  ambassador, and regular local run club attendee.

Connect with Melvin:

• Instagram: @emjaywhy
• Couple of the Quarter with Melvin & Jonelle

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Facebook

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Dave Stevens, hailing from Nelson, BC, is an accomplished Elite Ultra Runner, Coach, and Father. By day, Dave serves as a Spatial Analyst for the province while blending a sustainable training regimen into his busy lifestyle. With an impressive track record spanning more than a decade, Dave has secured victories at the Run Rabbit Run 100 miler twice, UTMB Mexico 100 miler, and has made the podium at the flatter Javelina 100. He has consistently placed in the top 10 at major races ranging from 50 to 100 kilometers. Dave proudly represented Canada at the mountain running world championships and excels in challenging mountain traverses. As he approaches 42, Dave shows no signs of slowing down, maintaining a relaxed approach to sustainable training that he eagerly shares with the athletes he coaches. Coming from a non-athletic background himself, Dave is passionate about helping others navigate this transition without making all the mistakes he once made. 

Connect with Dave:

• Instagram: @davestevens_outrunya 
• Coaching
  • https://outrunya.com
  • https://coolsaetgo.run

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Facebook

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Today we are catching up with 42 year old Canadian marathon record holder Natasha Wodak. Natasha was last on our show in February 2023 and we spent a big portion of that conversation talking about one of the many highlights of her illustrious career where she ran the Canadian marathon record of 2:23:12 in Berlin back in September of 2022. Since then she has done four marathon buildups and three marathons trying to hit the Olympic standard of 2:26:50 and she was unable to get it done for reasons she talks about in this interview. With the 18-month qualifying window now officially closed (Nov 2022 to May 2024), Natasha is left to process the fact that she will not be on the start line of the 2024 Paris Olympics, and in many ways she was doing some of that right here with us. We love when athletes keep things real and Natasha is about as real as they come, sharing both her highs and lows with full honesty and transparency. Natasha bounces back from disappointment pretty quickly and since this recording it was announced that she’ll be toeing the line at the Canadian 10k championships this weekend in Ottawa and it will be fun to cheer her on once again.

Connect with Natasha:

• Instagram: @tashawodak
• Our last interview with Natasha

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Facebook

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Gina Tranquada is a 38 year old occupational therapist, runner, wife and mother-of-two from Winnipeg, MB, who has been tearing it up on the track, road, and trails since we last spoke two years ago. Under the guidance of Olympic marathoner Krista Duchene – who currently holds the Canadian 50km record – Gina has begun making national teams. In Sept 2023, she proudly represented Canada at the Beaver Flat 50 in Swift Current, SK, which served as the first ever NACAC (North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association) 50km Mountain & Trail championships. She also qualified for the World 50km Road Championships two months later in India, but you’ll have to listen to the end to hear why she wasn’t able to attend that event and how she dealt with her disappointment.

Gina just completed the Mad City Ultra 50k in Madison, WI, where she finished 4th female and 1st Canadian in 3:38, which was a personal best by 5 minutes! This performance also landed her a Top 5 North American 50km ranking from Ultra Running!

Connect with Gina:

• Instagram: @gt_racer.mb
• Gina's last Inspired Soles interview: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Instagram
• Carolyn's Facebook
• Carolyn's website

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Jessica Drakul is a 45-year old adult-onset runner who ran the 2024 Boston Marathon, set a personal best time of 3:40:11, AND re-qualified for next year’s race. Despite it being a warm day that proved challenging for many runners, Jessica maintains that it was only the second hardest thing she’s ever done. The hardest thing? Getting sober 18 years ago. 

After a 7-year struggle with alcohol addiction from the ages of 19-26, Jessica had her first day of sobriety on January 11th, 2006 – about 5 weeks before her 27th birthday. In this episode she recounts the ways in which alcohol impacted her health and relationships, and brought her face-to-face with her own mortality. 

Running didn’t seriously enter the picture for Jessica until the pandemic when she found herself with more time to get fit. Since then she has run dozens of races including the 2023 Manitoba Marathon, which she completed in 3:41:49 … close to one hour faster than her first one in 2021! This qualified her for the 2024 Boston Marathon and we think it’s safe to say that nobody had a more complete Boston experience than Jessica did! She toured the city, met the influencers & Olympians, bought the merch, did the shakeout runs, watched the Red Sox in Fenway Park, ate the carbs, and even brushed up on her CPR! 

Jessica gives back to the Winnipeg running community in numerous ways. She serves on the board of the Manitoba Runners’ Association, is an ambassador for WFPS Run, and participates in many local run clubs.

Connect with Jessica:

• Instagram: @drakul_runnings 
• Email: [email protected]

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Instagram
• Carolyn's Facebook
• Carolyn's website

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Adam Neiles is a 27-year-old Strength & Conditioning Specialist at Testify Performance in Winnipeg. Over the past 7 years, he has trained everyday athletes, pro athletes, and everybody in between to reach their performance potential in their chosen sport(s) while reducing injuries along the way. A graduate of Kinesiology at the University of Manitoba where he was also a linebacker on the football team, Adam is currently working his way through a Masters in Exercise Science while training for his first marathon.

Adam’s foray into long distance running began less than a year ago when he decided to train for the 2023 Manitoba Half Marathon. Although he felt like dying and wanted to die, he pressed on and finished in a very respectable 1:47. A few months later he crushed a 44-minute 10k at WFPS and figured the only thing left was a marathon.

In this conversation we delve into:

• Why he wanted to run the 2024 Manitoba Marathon
• How he has trained
• Whether or not his approach to strength training has changed, and
• What his goals are for race day.

Even though the training for football and distance running might be very different and perhaps a shock to Adam’s system, we think he’ll feel right at home this Father’s Day as he completes his final 100 yards on the same turf that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play on in Princess Auto Stadium!

Connect with Adam & Testify Performance:

• Adam's Instagram: @adamneiles
• Testify Performance: https://www.rinktestifyperformance.ca/lifestyle-training/
• Testify's Instagram: @testifyperformance 

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Instagram
• Carolyn's Facebook
• Carolyn's website

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

Stuart Chutter is the first trail ultrarunner we’ve had on the show who is also a regenerative farmer from Melville, Saskatchewan.  We were super curious about how a person finds the time for both farming and ultrarunning, activities that each require significant commitment, time and energy for success.  So we invited Stuart to come on the show to talk about both his passions.

In this episode, Stuart tells us about how he started running and ended up in Melville as a farmer.  We discuss the “Five Principles of Soil Health” and the “Bag of C’s” that he mentally carries on a run, as well as the dual application of each to both farming and ultra running.  As we talk about his running philosophy, we move into a conversation around Stuart’s recent experience pacing his friend and recent guest Evan Birch during the 300 mile Speed Project from Santa Monica, CA to Las Vegas, NV which could be a whole podcast in and of itself.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode (how's that for a dual pun ?!) and we hope you enjoy this refreshing chat with Stuart Chutter!

Connect with Stuart:

• Instagram: @stuartchutter 
• Article written by Stuart about running/farming parallels

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Instagram
• Carolyn's Facebook
• Carolyn's website

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected]. 

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text

**TRIGGER WARNING - This episode has references to sexual abuse. 

In this episode, Edmontonian elite ultra runner Priscilla Forgie returns to the show to discuss her contribution to the new book Run for Your Life. This book is an incredible collaboration of short stories written by 13 different runners made possible by several sponsors from Alberta, Canada including Run Calgary, Servus Edmonton Marathon and 5 Peaks. It was within the pages of this book that Priscilla chose to share parts of her personal story that had remained completely repressed for most of her life, unrevealed even to her. In a chapter that reads more like poetry, she elegantly describes her thoughts and feelings as she moves along the trail and how her relationship with running has evolved and relates to healing the trauma of her past. Her writing elicits several emotions, and although she describes moments of darkness, the reader is left feeling uplifted as she speaks about moving into the light.

Priscilla’s goal is to start more open and honest conversations about the topic of childhood sexual abuse and that is the simple goal of this episode. Over the next hour we catch up on all the awesomeness that has been happening in Priscilla’s race calendar over the last year, and move into a very thoughtful conversation on her trauma and healing experience and how one can provide a safe place on the receiver side of the conversation should someone entrust you with their trauma story.  

We thank Priscilla for her bravery and her strength as she shares her story with us.

Connect with Priscilla & buy the book:

• Instagram: @prissyforgie
• Run For Your Life: Lessons Learned From Going the Distance
• Our previous interview with Priscilla 

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [email protected]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Instagram
• Carolyn's Facebook
• Carolyn's website

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [email protected].