Keep Running

This week Rachel and Armana are joined by @thewelshrunner,  Matt Rees. 

With the 18th-24th May 2020 being mental health awareness week, we would like to say a  huge thank you to Matt for opening up about his own past struggles and anxiety and how running has been a massive help to him.

We speak to Matt about that famous finish line of the London Marathon 2017 and whilst we might know Matt for his true sportsmanship and that iconic image, there is so much more to him! 

Matt talks about why he started running only 5 years ago, how he has already become a sub 2:30 hour marathon runner, his coaching business and fitting in his running around his hectic family lifestyle which he shares with fellow runner, Kelly Ruck @kellogs_ontherun .

In this week's episode, Rachel and Armana chat to sub 2:55 marathon runner and run club founder, Sorrell Walsh. 

Sorrell is a well known face in the London running community having been a regular member at Run Dem Crew. Here she shares her experiences of how that crew helped her grow into the runner she is today and how they pushed her towards her 2:54 Boston Marathon pb. 

Sorrell is also the founder of two running communities, Still Waters Run Deep, based in Manchester, where Sorrell originates from and WMN Run. 

WMN Run is a female only running community set up by Sorrell which has the main aim of lessening the gender gap in endurance running. She tells us the story about taking 52 women to the ultra race, Race to the Stones.

Through researching, Sorrell found that gender difference within participation in endurance events is 80% men and 20% women and is aiming to raise the latter to an equal level with the help of WMN Run.

Links

Sorrell's website

Kelly Ruck, or as she may be known to lots of you on Instagram, Kellogs On The Run, joins us this week to tell us about her journey back to running four and a half months after giving birth to baby number 5, fitting running into her hectic home life, dealing with her type 1 diabetes and how she has fallen in love with the Ultra running community.

CEO of Midnight Runners, Jody Bragger, tells us all about the loud Global Running Community which is taking over the World one country at a time, MR is already established in 11 countries and counting. Jody also talks about his running adventures and founding the first marathon to be held in Somalia since the outbreak of the civil war. We also get an insight into his experience of the UTMB and his love for the Ultra South Africa event.

We also want to say a big thank you to SunGod, the epic sunglasses we all run in, for making this chat happen.

UK Running Influencer Katie Brown aka Paces and Porridge on Instagram talks us through her breakthrough sub 80 minute recent half marathon, what her weekly unstructured training schedule looks like, her lack of running sessions and her love for the London Underground.

Adventurer Anna MucNuff  shares her stories about her recent barefoot run across the UK, how she made the leap from her office day job to full time adventurer and her positive outlook on life. Anna also reads an extract from her new book, ‘100 adventures to have before you grow up’.

In this episode Rachel and Armana talk to Olympian Aimee Fuller on what it was like to run a marathon in one of the most isolated countries in the World, North Korea, where her love for running stemmed from and running the London Marathon hand in hand with her mum.

We also get the low down on a marathon in a World UNESCO heritage site, The Great Wall of China Marathon, with the silver medallist from 2017, Lauren Cooper. 

The 6 World Marathon Majors, a far away dream for many runners, but not for Amrit Ghatora. After knocking 1 hour 51 minutes of his time, Amrit’s dream became a reality when he crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2019 to pick up his 6th World Major medal and complete the collection. Rachel and Armana chat to Amrit about his decade long marathon journey culminating in joining this exclusive club, breaking sub 3 and why running is such a big part of his life.

In 'Keep Running' : The Running Podcast 

TV Presenter and ex-international runner Rachel Stringer and running influencer Armana Rai share their experiences, talk to real and inspiring runners and give you that extra bit of motivation for your next run.