In this episode, we explore the journey of Harry Lancaster, a marathon runner who faced significant setbacks due to bone-stress related injuries and subsequent diagnosis of osteoporosis. Harry shares his experiences with training, nutrition, and the challenges of coming back from a significant layoff and a condition that usually affects people twice his age.

He discusses his gradual return to running, the importance of strength training in aiding his recovery, and his upcoming races, including the Manchester Marathon. A great conversation on the importance of overall health for runners and how to stay positive when working through difficult periods in life.

Harry

https://www.instagram.com/harrylancaster/

https://www.strava.com/athletes/7239399

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Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

We speak to people who love running all the time. But Cole probably loves it the most.

With his sights set on a sub 2:20 London Marathon debut in 1.5 weeks (pending recovery from an altercation with an e-scooter), we hear from Cole on his recent training, running history, shared family obsession, and scientific understanding of the sport and what contributes to performance.

And for the lovers of rice pudding, we spend a good little while having Cole the connoisseur put us through our paces on what constitutes a good one. Josh and Michael have their own trips down rice pudding lane, and there's a bit of riffing on what you could experiment with to make the king of puds. Not one for the chefs.

Cole

https://www.instagram.com/colerunning/

https://www.strava.com/athletes/6113358

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Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

Our next guest for S3 is Rayne Holland, who ran a perfectly paced 2:48:30 at Melbourne Marathon 2024 in her first ever race.

To this day she's never run a 5k, 10k or half marathon and yet is gearing up for a big PB at the Ballarat Marathon by knocking off consistent 150k+ weeks.

Rayne's deep understanding of the factors that influence running performance, and her commitment to doing everything in her control are rare for someone with so little time in the sport.

Rayne: https://www.strava.com/athletes/63853661

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Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

In Season 3, we're featuring a number of guests on the show. The first few are all prepping for an upcoming marathon and bring a diverse range of running stories and backgrounds to keep things interesting.

First up is Sofia Eves, 3:06 marathoner (on debut!) who has Hannover Marathon upcoming this weekend. Sofia dives into her first marathon (and training), plus her second marathon (slightly less successful).

We also dig into planning and prep ahead of Hannover Marathon where Sofia is going for sub-3.

Sofia: https://www.strava.com/athletes/39378389

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Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

A bonus episode where Michael and Josh discuss the good, the bad and the ugly from Josh's day at the Barcelona marathon.

What can he to better next time? What went well in this race? Michael has opinions on both.

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Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

Michael and Josh use the upcoming Barcelona marathon to showcase tips and tricks to maximise your performance on race day.

We've got chat about preparation in the days before a marathon (correctly assessing fitness, gear check, pacing plan) as well as heaps on detail about how to make the most of race day (course optimisation, toilet trips, breakfast, + more) - all through the lens of how Josh will approach his marathon this weekend.

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Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

Race week. Josh is ready to go large in Barcelona. He's in and around PB shape.

The chat is about the last few weeks of training including a 5k best (and second best) for Josh and a bit of detail about how to think about the taper. Conclusions: highly personalised and more art than science.

Special episode will follow on Friday or Saturday to talk about the nuance of Josh's prediction and race planning.

Stay tuned...

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Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

2 weeks of training plus 1 week of taper to go before the first edition of the sub 2:28 challenge at the Barcelona Marathon.

Josh has hit a 200km training week for the first time this block and is 80% sure he'll be in PB shape come race day. Michael has pulled out on the back of some rookie mistakes.

The bulk of the episode is about how to think about, plan and benefit from B races around your primary race goal (like a marathon), to take advantage of that fitness you've built.

Lots of details around responsible scheduling and some of the risks when think about additional races.

Episode wraps up with Josh musing about whether to represent Germany or the UK at the European Road Running Champs in Brussels.

Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

Josh is on track for sub-2:28. Michael is trending in the other direction.

This episode dives into just how well Josh's training is going and why he's so bullish about his prospects for Barcelona Marathon, and also into some of the issues Michael's facing.

Josh's banked 190k in the past week, and is on track to breach 200k in the coming weeks. Day to day consistency has been everything, and he explains a bit about how that.

Michael is firmly in a hole and thinks he has some sort of low energy availability issue from not fuelling enough. Reassessing goals and plans accordingly. He shares a bit of his roadmap to get better.

Josh explains some of the other ways that training for a marathon can go wrong. The episode wraps up with some back and forth about the sub 2:28 challenge being alive and well over the course of 2025.

Kaizen

Download the app: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750

Josh and Michael are halfway through their training block, shooting for a sub 2:28 at the Barcelona Marathon on 16 March. Michael has had a major setback and Josh has pretty much been in a different city every day for the past week, yet he is somehow managing to continue increasing his training load.

This episode is a deep dive into how to stay motivated with you training when you're pushing your limits and things are getting hard. They talk a lot about being realistic about your situation and adjusting goals accordingly, including when it makes sense to completely ignore the big outcome goal at the end and just focus on the next day.

Reasonable amount of chat as to why sunk cost fallacy is not relevant for runners.

PSA: we are at the Barcelona Half Marathon Expo this week. Come say hi!

Kaizen

Download here: https://kaizen.app.link/milesbetter

Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runkaizen

Web: https://runkaizen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkaizen/

Michael: https://www.strava.com/athletes/32067191

Josh: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1721750