Making A Runner

A little look into our lives lately if you will; in this episode we chat about:

• Davey’s move to the Western Cape.
• Nic and Davey’s experience at the Cape Peninsula Marathon; personal bests, race day strategies and the big bad thing…Davey broke another bone.
• Leah’s health journey with functional medicine and how that’s changed her relationship with running.
• Recovering from set backs.
• Lessons learnt from ‘negative experiences’ and taking time off.
• The road ahead.

In this conversation we chat to local running legend, coach and founder of MustLoveHills RunCrew, Michael Obery.

Mikey has a larger-than-life infectious energy about him and a deep rooted sense of community which has been instrumental in helping him establish one of the coolest Cape Town-based run clubs to emerge from the 'social' running scene, which has swept the country by storm.

Through his reputation as a talented runner, coach, and his work with top brands such as ASICS, where he is a Frontrunner, he has contributed to the growth of the sport and created a space of belonging for all who share in the passion for lacing up and hitting the streets - especially those who love sending it up a hill or around an oval track (more about Community Track Club in episodes to come)...

Today we chat to him about:

• How his running journey started and where it has lead.
• His coaching philosophy and passion for helping others achieve their potential.
• The social running crew scene.
• The details of hill training and why all runners MustLoveHills.

A lekker episode, with one of SA's lekkerste runners brought to you straight from the Mother City.

Enjoy!

Name a road race to hail from the humble African continent that has stood the test of time, a world war and an international outbreak of disease? There is only but one ultra-marathon distance that since it's inception, has captured the hearts of fearless athletes and enthusiastic spectators alike, with its unfailing traditions and numbers that grow larger with each passing year, made up of people who have travelled from all corners or the globe to be immersed, if just for one day, in the magic that is The Comrades Marathon.

You can imagine that such a race means EVERYTHING to the custodians that ensure that it keeps on going. The custodians being our nation and her people; the legends of the race who continue to inspire the hopefuls, from the green numbers to the novices, the seconders, cheerleaders, club captains, sponsors and TV crews...Comrades would not be the race that it is today if not for the camaraderie that it has encouraged and upheld as it's core value for more than a century and counting.

Any person who accepts the job to be the 'Chief Jogger' of this momentous race must have some serious backbone, guts, grit and then some...well, she does and she's got the legs too! In this episode we chat to the newly appointed Race & Operations Manager of The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA), Ann Ashworth, who you may recognise as the female winner of the 2018 Ultimate Human Race.

In our conversation we chat about:

• The responsibilities of Ann's position and the events that led to her appointment.
• The intricacies of the CMA; portfolio's, role players, charities and the many other aspects of hosting an event of this magnitude.
• The challenges of 'modernising' a race that's deeply steeped in tradition.
• Ann's key points of focus for improving the 2024 race, including the efforts she is making to reform the Elite Race experience.
• Ann's love for running, Comrades Marathon and how this vantage point is driving her decision making.

For any one who has been touched by the magic of Comrades or hopes to be some day, this episode should be one of interest as we look to welcome a new era, while upholding the legend, of The Ultimate Human Race.

If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave a review or share it with a running buddy.

Happy listening.

You've heard it said time and time again, "runners should be doing strength training". We know you've heard it from us in just about every episode, but we've never given you an in-depth explanation for WHY and HOW, well not until now...

Welcome to the official DEEP DIVE into Strength Training, a discussion topic long overdue and we couldn't think of a better guest to guide us through this relatively simple but often misunderstood and much overlooked element of Making GREAT Runners.

In this episode, Ant Clark, a dear friend, respected ex-colleague and current Sport Science and High Performance PhD student at Leeds Beckett University (UK) answers all the question you've had about strength training for runners, and those you didn't even know needed asking.

In this conversation you'll learn about:

• What happens to our bodies when we do strength training.
• The specific adaptations that are beneficial to runners and the WHY and HOW behind them.
• Timeframes: how to manage your expectations and stay the course to actually see the benefits of your efforts.
• Micro-dosing sessions: even a little goes a long way!
• Timing: when and how to build strength training into your training schedule and how to adapt according to your skill-level, goals and peak races.
• Composition of a session: CORE movements (not your abs, the most important and effective movements to include), accessory work, sets and reps.
• Practical ways to get it done! Like buying a skipping rope.
• Common myths and their validity.
• Why strength training is KEY for longevity, in life and in being able to do the sport we love!

This episode is truly a stand out in our work thus far and one that we believe every runner should listen to, at least once!

Links:

A view of the 74 y/o triathletes leg https://www.bettermovement.org/blog/2012/use-or-lose-looks-like

The benefits of skipping: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0YyWvFNuTq/?igsh=MWI5OGRranJxNzNlOA==

When last did you ask yourself "why do I run"? Maybe it started as a way to lose a few kilo's or meet new people? Or maybe you find it to be the best way to clear your head and manage stress?

Now consider for a moment that the reason you run had very little to do with what it does for you, personally, but rather enabled real change, access to resources and opportunity for your family, community or better yet an entire generation and those that follow...

This is the reality of becoming a professional athlete for South African people who are born into disadvantaged communities. This is the reality of our guest today and there is no one whom we've met who carries the weight of these responsibilities with more pride, JOY and humility than The Pitbull - Nkosikhona Mhlakwana.

In this conversation we learn more about Nkosikhona, who has made a major impact on the South African running scene since his debut as a young boy under the mentorship of Prodigal Khumalo to his major recent accolades of a top 6 finish at the Comrades Marathon and a 2nd Place at Two Oceans.

We talk to him about:

• His early life and how his talent was discovered.
• How he earned the nickname "Pitbull".
• How having access to sponsorships has allowed him to put in the hard work to pursue his dreams.
• We go into detail about his training for Comrades Marathon; programs, periodisation the role of strength training, coaching and being coachable.
• We talk about nutrition and fuelling and how this is a skill that he's had to develop coming from humble beginnings and food scarce circumstances.
• The role of mentorship and how he hopes to become a mentor and act as a beacon of hope for athletes who aspire to make a living from their talent.

This episode is sure to leave you feeling inspired and will leave with a whole new perspective of the word Pitbull.

What happens when you find a bunch of lekker people who like to run fast and socialise over coffee or a cold one afterwards? You create a club centred around all of the above and take to the streets!

In today's conversation we chat to founder of The Social Runners Club, Adam Lipschitz, who is setting the pace and redefining how we look at the stuffy old club model - the vest can stay though...

Adam is a self confessed busy-body/businessman or as Davey puts it, "a bonafide hustler". Adams sharp wit and know how for what people want - a place to meet, relate to one another and stay fit - saw the inception and rise of The Social Runners Club, which you may recognise as those dudes handing out Chicken Licken at the finish line of KZN local races. But there's more to the story and far more to Adam...

Until recently Adam has "flown under the cloak of mystery', another pearler from Davey, and got sh!t done. He made a few big splashes on the athletics scene in his school and varsity years running fantastic times and showing signs of world level elite talent. He notably ran a 28:27 10 000m and 61 minute 21km in 2021 opening up amazing opportunities of pacing some Big City Marathons around the world over the last few years.

In 2023 Adam shifted focus towards the Marathon distance and after a not-so-ideal training block, managed to run a marathon debut of 2:13:01 (the 3rd fastest time by a South African runner at that distance in 2023) at the 2023 Valencia Marathon as an unsigned, SOCIAL RUNNER.

Despite not achieving his original goal of an Olympic qualifier (2:08), he was able to show yet again what an incredibly talented runner he is and will hopefully get another shot in the early stages of 2024 at qualifying to represent South Africa at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Make no mistake, he's adamant he'll get there but as he casually remarks, if he weren't able to run fast, he'd be happy with just lacing up and hitting the road with his friends.

So in this conversation we unpack:

• Who is Adam Lipschitz, his background and his training.
• His complicated relationship with running injuries and what he's done to keep them at bay.
• A breakdown of his Valencia Marathon race day and future running goals
• The rise of the Social Runners Club and what's to come for the new kids on the block.

If you enjoyed our conversation, make sure to leave us a review on your favourite streaming platform.

Let's face it, menopause and menopausal women more specifically, don't have the greatest reputation. Hot, sweaty, grumpy and sometimes "hysteric women", is the first and sometimes the only thing that people know or associate with menopause.

This is quite alarming because menopause is as unavoidable as puberty, it is the second drastic hormonal shift that every woman (who has the privilege of aging) will experience at some point in her later adult years, starting typically from mid-40ies - early 50ies.

However, if more people saw and understood menopause for what it is, we'd understand that it is vital to do everything we can to make sure that we arrive to our menopausal years well, because there are a multitude of changes that come along with menopause that impact the way that we are able to train and perform as runners.

In this episode Shona helps us understand:

• The difference between the perimenopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal phases.
• What changes you can expect and how to navigate them.
• The vital role that oestrogen plays in muscle synthesis and bone density.
• How strength training is the most powerful tool you have in our toolbox, alongside nutrition and proper recovery.
• Where HRT fits in and how the narrative is changing on hormone replacement therapy.
• How to adapt the way you train to best support your body as it transforms.

Shona is part of a small group of people who see, understand and is actively working on the problem of lack of or misinformation about menopause. She will soon be publishing a book (by way of the same name) that speaks specifically to the "Menopausal Runner".

Shona's experience and expertise in the subject matter really blew us away. Everyone can benefit from giving this conversation a listen.

For more recourses from Shona and the Coach Parry team you can visit: https://coachparry.com/comrades-strength-training/?via=nic&who=mar&utm_campaign=content_marketing&utm_medium=audio&utm_source=podcast&utm_content=Making%20a%20Runner&utm_term=Comrades%20Nov%202023

It's been a while since we had a good old chin wag.

This episode is reminiscent of Making a Runners' early days with all of the Nic and Davey banter that you've come to know and love. The conversation covers all of 2023's highlights and forecasts to where MAR is headed in the future.

Enjoy the lighter side (wink wink) with this episode.

Breathing - a fundamental, automated process that we don't give much thought to until we decide to wade back into the waters of fitness after a period of inactivity or attempt a maximal effort, then we are suddenly reminded by burning lungs and constricted chest.

This sensation tends to get the better of us and makes it hard to proceed - let's face it, it feels kak, especially for newbie runners. We're told it gets easier or do we just get better? In this episode we take a deep dive into breathing and the multifaceted ways that we can use our breath to make running a much easier and enjoyable experience!

Our guest, Dr. Lawrence van Lingen, a Chiropractor by trade and human physiology and performance boffin by experience, helps us make sense of seemingly complex concepts like:

• anterior chain vs. posterior chain vs. balanced running styles and their relevance in breathing styles, emotional/mental wellbeing and injury incidence.
• super shoes, ground contact time and how the "what's right" has changed over time.
• side stitches and how to deal with them.
• unlocking the diaphragm with an interactive "breath pumps" exercise
• exercise induced asthma and how to improve symptoms with breath work
• using oxygen flow restriction to improve athletic performance, is it effective and who does it work for?
• posture, breathing and finding flow
• the best position to recover from maximal effort intervals

For more recourses or to connect with Lawrence, find him at https://www.innerunner.com/

Enjoy!

Breathing - a fundamental, automated process that we don't give much thought to until we decide to wade back into the waters of fitness after a period of inactivity or attempt a maximal effort, then we are suddenly reminded by burning lungs and constricted chest.

This sensation tends to get the better of us and makes it hard to proceed - let's face it, it feels kak, especially for newbie runners. We're told it gets easier or do we just get better? In this episode we take a deep dive into breathing and the multifaceted ways that we can use our breath to make running a much easier and enjoyable experience!

Our guest, Dr. Lawrence van Lingen, a Chiropractor by trade and human physiology and performance boffin by experience, helps us make sense of seemingly complex concepts like:

• Why breathing right matters and the physiology behind the process.
• Nose breathing vs. mouth breathing.
• Why CO2 is not just a "waste" by-product but the secret sauce powering performance.
• Breathing efficiently at any pace.
• Interactive breathing techniques, tests and exercises.
• The relationship between breathing, mindfulness, emotion and our perception.
• The effect breathing has on nutrition (this one was a wow moment).
• How changing your breathing can change your cadence, tendency to cramp and even injury incidence.

Although much was covered there is still so much more that could've been discussed - this is a fascinating topic! If you'd like to connect with Lawrence, find him at https://www.innerunner.com/about-us or give him a follow https://www.instagram.com/lawrencevanlingen/

Let us know what you thought of the episode and what you'd like us to cover next.

Enjoy!