We have spoken many times on the podcast and via this newsletter about the benefits of exercise on our health. Time and time again, a range of experts have told us about the benefits to our cardiorespiratory system, mitrochondria function, immune system and even our brain health. Should we rethink healthcare as more of a prevention as a service? Dr Ramin Rafei certainly thinks so.

Ramin believes the current system is more sick care rather than healthcare. In general, our health services deliver care when we get sick. They don’t tend to provide services helping us not get sick in the first place. With most of our medical conditions caused by lifestyle factors, there is a lot of sense to healthcare switching to a more prevention as a service model.

We chatted to Ramin about how a nuclear physicist came to get involved in healthcare and delved into his interesting and innovative approach to behaviour change via his start-up Unleash. He’s got some incredibly ambitious goals which if only a fraction materialise could make a substantial difference.

You can read a bit more about Ramin’s thoughts:

* via his latest blog

* via medium

The big unresolved question is how do you get people doing exercise? We delved into Ramin’s idea in the podcast but a recent study via a collaboration between Charles University, Prague, St. George’s University of London and the National Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw has some surprising recommendations. Take a read of their blog

When we published our newsletter on a draft mid life athlete framework we were sure that it would prompt questions from many of you such as how to apply it, etc. It was very much our first thoughts and we were open about getting feedback from listeners/readers. JC Cangilla, reached out with a few questions, such as, how do you balance short term vs long term  goals? How do you balance stuff you should do but within life's constraints?

We were convinced that many of you would have similar questions so we got JC on the show to discuss in more depth.

We’re still formulating this so please do reach out with any thoughts, comments or questions. We’d love to hear from you: [email protected] or leave a comment.

Greg and Jason chat to Stefan van der Fluit, Founder and CEO of FlowBio and 2018 Netherlands age group ironman champion. Who would have thought of our sweat as data. Well that’s exactly what FlowBio does. Through its innovative Flowpatch it measures our sweet in real time enabling athletes to understand their hydration and sodium levels. It’s a breakthrough piece of tech that is currently being beta tested with a few pro athletes, including the Brownlee brothers. What they have learnt so far about hydration and sodium is fascinating.

We're back for Season 3!

To kick off, Jason and Greg catch up on their summer exercise;, chat about v1 of the Mid Life Athlete framework revealed in a previous newsletter and how important it is to focus on form when starting back to training and exercise. A new season kick off wouldn't be complete without looking forward to some future guests and topics.

You can also listen on itunes, spotify and wherever else you get your podcasts.

What if you could peak into a crystal ball and see what might be possible for your future self? What might you still be capable of in your 70’s? What are some of the things that if you do now will reap benefits in twenty or thirty years?

Well the future is here now. His name is Jo Schoonbroodt. At 71 he has just set a new marathon world record for the 70-74 age group: 2 hr 54 mins 19 secs.

We’re not suggesting that you can or will break world records in your 70’s. Jo took up running late, in his mid 30’s, and found his feet in midlife. There are things that he has tried and learnt along the way that now enables him to still run astonishing times. As mid life athletes we can all learn from Jo’s lessons whatever endurance athlete we might be.

Your 70 year old self will surely thank you for listening to Jo’s story.

Like it or loathe it, we all need sleep. Pretty much every animal sleeps and given the risks associated with being unconscious for periods of time then it must be pretty important. In a previous episode with Dr Kailas Roberts we discussed how sleep helps to clear the build up of protein plaques or amyloid which may be a factor in dementia. In this episode we delve much deeper into sleep, with 2 experts: Dr Jonathan Charest is the Director of Athlete Sleep Services at the Centre for Sleep & Human Performance in Calgary and Jesse Cook, a Clinical Psych PhD Student & sleep researcher who has particular interest in advancing clinical care of hypersomnia & wearable sleep tech.

Lots of us are now using wearables, many of which claim to be able to measure our sleep and the quality of our sleep. But how accurate are they? Jesse talked about his research into wearables and tracking the improvements in technology over the last 5 years or so. His research findings may surprise you. Whilst data can be useful, there is no substitute for learning to understand how we feel - ‘interoception’ - and that’s also true of sleep.

How much sleep do we need? How can we improve our sleep time and quality Key to answering these questions is understanding our natural circadian rhythms and Jess and Jonathan really dig into what they are; how you can use them to improve your sleep and how you can manipulate them. Oh and Jonathan does his best Bono impression!! No really turns out the orange glasses really are a thing - blue blocking glasses

You can also listen to Jonathan talking about sleep, injury & performance on this sports therapy podcast

On the same podcast, Jesse talks in depth about the sleep epidemic

When most of us club riders do a Sunday club ride we might ascend about 1,000m and we’ll be home within 3-4 hours. Nima Javaheri rode for 114 hours and climbed 38,000m. In doing so he set a new world Everesting record (the equivalent of 4 Everests) and raised a heap of money for blood cancer research. It’s an astonishing feat for someone who works full time as a banker in Switzerland.

As you’d expect we delved into the practical elements of completing such a demanding challenge, particularly as Nima chose to do it in March on La Croisette, on the border of France and Switzerland, which meant temperature lows of -6c. For a little insight into the challenge you can watch a short film of the world record ride.

Nima’s record breaking ride didn’t just come from nowhere as he’s no stranger to endurance events. In 2021 he competed in and won a mad race, Witiker Backyard Ultra which involves running a 6.7km loop on the hour, every hour until the last competitor is left standing. You can also watch a short film of that win. When we spoke to Nima he was about to compete in this years edition on 26 May 2022.

What we loved about Nima is unusual approach to training & competing. To say it was refreshing is an understatement. What cannot be understated however is his incredible mental fortitude. As you’d expect we delved into where that drive comes from and what allows him to just keep on going. Nima epitomises the 40% rule that Jesse Itzler introduced us to when he wrote about living with a Navy Seal. The 40% rule is simple: When your mind is telling you that you’re done, that you’re exhausted, that you cannot possibly go any further,  you’re only actually 40% done.

Since we started the podcast SUP boarding has featured a few times. Aside from our co-host Jason mentioning how he loves a paddle, Phil Cavell Midlife Cyclist talked about the benefits of SUP boarding as a form of cross training and how the slow pace helps him de-stress.

We then got introduced to Jo Moseley, who used exercise and particularly SUP boarding to lift herself out of a midlife malaise. She went on to become the first woman to paddle coast-to-coast across Northern England. A fabulous story. Jo has since gone on to write a book about the best places to paddle in the UK. You can pre-order at Amazon or any good bookstore (PS: do the latter and support your local bookstore).

Not content with just being a guest, Jo kindly introduced us to Simon Hutchinson.

Simon took up SUP in middle age after many years of rugby and a search to find the right’ replacement for him. To say he got hooked is an understatement. He set up and hosts The SUPfm podcast and even established his own SUP clothing range - Hutch SUP wear

During our chat with Simon, he makes a compelling case for SUP as a sport for mid life athletes for both mind and body. Non-contact, non-impact and a great way to spend time in the natural environment. If you think it’s just a gentle sport then think again. SUP surfing looks to pack an adrenaline punch (as well as looking pretty cool) and there’s plenty of racing for competitive types. If you endurance is your thing how about SUP'ing the Atlantic

So…is this the new mid life athlete sport? It’s certainly a contender.

If listening to Simon has inspired you to give SUP a go, then we’d recommend checking out his podcast and also his online safety course

In one of our recent episodes we talked about mindsets and how they can transform lives. Given a prognosis of terminal cancer I wonder what our mindset would be? Would we resort to binging on our favourite but unhealthy habits or would we embark on a series of positive and life affirming adventures? Kevin Webster choose the latter using running to raise considerable sums for prostate cancer and completing several bucket list adventures along the way.

But Kevin’s incredible story is not just about how running may be prolonging his life. As astonishing as that is, dig deeper and Kevin also provides all of us with a blueprint to how we can live our lives right now; in the present. We’re lucky that we don’t need to go to the hellish places Kevin has been to appreciate what life should be, but it should be incumbent on us to take on board his message and try and instil it in our own daily lives.

I’m trying. Everyday I try to be kind, give people a smile and try not to worry about what’s around the corner. It’s not easy but that’s the challenge Kevin has set.

Kevin has recently released a book telling his incredible story which you can purchase at all god bookstores and Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Man-Running-Story-Alive-ebook/dp/B09C52Q5T2/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=GhgrD&pf_rd_p=441f5864-92d0-4067-8946-b0cfd1b58106&pf_rd_r=TTMB666AM47XJHBH7NPV&pd_rd_r=c3b87e61-2180-4869-85e2-b047ec0d1968&pd_rd_wg=e4k5e&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_mHis latest challenge is to walk 968km from London to Tipperary. If you'd like to donate the fundraising page is: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Tipperary-JohnandKev

You can learn more about prostate cancer and how to get tested in a previous episode with Consultant Urological surgeon Ben Challacombe

Running unsupported for 104 hours over 268 miles and climbing over 11,000 metres. That’s what it takes to win one of the worlds toughest endurance races. That’s what Debbie Martin-Consani did to become the first female finisher of the 2022 Montane Spine race.

What makes this race one of the toughest on the ultra calendar? It’s run along the Pennine Bridleway, in the North of England in January. Leaving aside the distance, the ascent or even that you are unsupported, the weather conditions can be horrendous at that time of the year. Just completing it requires you to push beyond your limits. For an insight into what it takes you can read Mick Kenyon’s piece in the FT - Running the World's Toughest Race

Debbie is a middle aged mum, with a full time job, who when we chatted had just finished coaching youngsters at her local running club. Our interview also coincides with marking her 20th year as a runner, although her account of running her first event could not be any further from winning the Spine.

What’s inspiring about Debbie’s story is her motivation. Her fuel is fear - she seeks out events that in her words terrify her. She’s inspired by the fear or failure and uses that as the motivation required to push her limits. It’s this inspiration that I suspect lies behind Debbie’s long term goal to continue running well into old age.

What’s so incredible is how Debbie’s Spine story fits into a much bigger picture of women in their late 30’s and 40’s re-writing the record books. Shortly after Debbie’s Spine result, US ultra runner Camille Herron broke the 100 mile world record (which she set in 2017) in 12:41:11; a pace of 7:37 per mile. It’s not just ultra running. In January at the Houston marathon, mother of 2, Keira D’Amato broke the women’s US marathon record with a time of 2:19:12. Keira had spent seven years away from the sport as she got married, had two kids and started her career as a realtor (a job she still holds). At the same marathon, mum of 4, Sara Hall broke the women’s US half marathon record with a time of 67:15.

Inspiring women who are re-writing the rules on what’s possible as a mid life athlete.

You can find out more about Debbie via her website and follow her on Twitter & Instagram

If you fancy having a crack at the Montane Spine race or one of their smaller races here’s a link to their website