Claudia Hollingsworth is the kind of person who would excel at anything she put her mind to. The 19-year-old Australian is already an Olympic semi-finalist, World Under-20 silver medallist and Australian Champion in the 800m, and she’s just getting started.

In this conversation, we delve into Claudia’s incredible year, what it’s like to train with On Athletics Club Oceania, and how she’s ready to go all in as a professional athlete (with uni studies on the side). You’ll also hear a few quirky facts about Claudia’s passions off the track (hint: pinecones and dead bugs).

Claudia first captured attention at primary school when she was selected for the Pacific School Games and competed at the National Primary Schools Cross Country. But it was when world 5000m bronze medallist Craig Mottram became her coach that her track-and-field career really started to gain momentum. While still at high school, she earned selection for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

This year in a highly competitive 800m field at the Paris Olympics, Claudia wowed the world with a mature, clinical and confident run that saw her come 2nd in her heat and sail straight through to the semi-finals. Sport has always been part of Claudia’s DNA, having been an avid Australian Rules football player with the East Brighton Vampires and the Sandringham Dragons. Although she considered applying to the AFL Women’s draft, ultimately track and field won her heart.

Claudia's instagram: @claudiahollingsworth_

Ed Goddard is the kind of guy who draws cherry blossoms on his Asics prototype shoes (I know because he showed me on our Zoom call). At 26, the Australian distance runner with a mullet and love of rock and roll has been on the rising star list for a while now.

In this conversation we talk about Ed’s triangle of fun – running, swimming and music (in no particular order), the importance of relishing the little things in life (sandwiches), and how to keep running fun (even when it’s your job). We also speak about broken bones, the stress of hunting Olympic qualifiers, and Ed’s experience with relative energy deficiency in sport.

Ed Goddard is from Mossman, New South Wales. He has a 10,000m PB of 28:23 and a half marathon PB of 62:16, and has his sights set on bringing those times down so he can convert to a faster marathon (current PB of 2:12:52). Ed loves music from bygone eras and has about 800 vinyl records in his collection. If he’s not running with his phone in his hand blasting tunes, he’ll be swimming at the beach or watching the Chicago Cubs. Ed spent a brief stint running for Iona College in New York and has degrees in Property Economics and Sports Communication.

Ed's Instagram: @edgoddard3k

Ed's Spotify playlist: Songs to crash your car to

Run With It Instagram: @runwithit.pod

Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom

If you have a tattoo bet for Mitch Dyer, he’ll take it on. The sports journalist has forgotten exactly how many tattoo bets he’s lost, but they’ve resulted in everything from a seahorse, to a choice phrase on his butt cheek.  

Mitch is the founder of Straight At It, a media company devoted to athletics news and content on social media. This year he’s been reporting at the Olympics and US Olympic Trials for Citius Mag and chasing summer Diamond League races in Europe with photographer Jacob Gower. He’s also shared the commentary box with the likes of legends Bruce McAvaney and Tamsyn Manou. Next up for Mitch? Expanding his social media model to include more sports!

His early days starting Straight At It looked very different. First, he quit his job as a sports reporter with a News Corp newspaper in Mackay and sold most of his possessions to report on athletics as a freelancer in Europe. When he got there, he was sleeping in 8-10 bed dorm rooms, calling in favours from friends and living on the smell of an oily rag.

But he burnt for it, and it burnt him out.

Mitch has some valuable lessons to share from those experiences, from taking time out to eat cheese (not chicken!) twisties, to separating who you are as a person from what you do, there’s laughter and frivolity and wisdom in equal parts in this episode.

Mitch Dyer is an Australian sports journalist, with a focus on broadcasting, social media, hosting events and commentating. He was formerly a carpenter, marketing employee and US college athlete. He is the founder of Straight At It, which is part of the At It network.

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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Bree-Bree can do anything! Bree Masters is a sprinter who recently became the first Australian woman in 24 years to make a 100m semi-final at an Olympics.

In this conversation, we cover Bree's life as a triple threat (dancer, surf lifesaver, sprinter), what it’s like to line up next to defending World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson and scoring free tattoos in the Olympic village!

Bree Masters was a dancer growing up in New South Wales. She attended a performing arts high school in Sydney and had dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Running on the track and on the sand was also a big part of Bree’s life. She was a talented surf lifesaver, excelling in beach sprints, and moved to the Gold Coast to compete professionally. After winning the World Beach Sprint title in 2016 and the Australian Beach Sprint title in 2019, Bree wanted a new challenge and turned her attention to the track.

Since switching her focus to track five years ago, Bree progressed quickly. She made her international debut for Australia at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, where she ran 100m in 11.29 – the fastest time by an Australian woman at a global meeting in 15 years. She also competed at the World Champs in Budapest and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Earlier this year at London Diamond League she was part of a 4 x 100m relay team that broke the Australian Record (42.48).

At the Paris Olympics, Bree came third in her heat (11.26) to become the first Australian woman to make an Olympic 100m semi-final since 2000. Her current 100m PB is 11.23, which she ran in Auckland, New Zealand. While Bree also competes in the 200m (23.21 PB), she's recently focused her attention on the 100m.

Bree balances life as an athlete with a part-time role in public relations with apparel brand, LSKD.

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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Angus Hincksman is about to compete in his first Paralympics in the T38 1500m. The 19-year-old Australian is an absolute gun on the track, and is a pretty handy golfer and surf lifesaver too.

In this conversation, we talk about the evolution of para sports, what the Paralympic movement means to him and why he’s so motivated to inspire younger kids with disabilities.

Angus Hincksman is a middle-distance runner from Adelaide, Australia. Diagnosed with a brain injury at birth, Angus's early life was marked by challenges including seizures, physiotherapy and countless doctor’s appointments.

After taking up running in 2015, Angus was classified as a T38 athlete, a category for individuals with Cerebral Palsy, affecting muscle control and coordination. With support from organisation, Novita and his local athletics clubs, Angus made significant strides in the sport.

Since then, he has set national age records across multiple distances and won several national titles, including winning the T38 800m at the Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide this year. In 2023, he won bronze in the T38 1500m at the World Para Athletics Championships. The Paralympics Games in Paris marks his Paralympic debut.

Photographer Casey Sims shot for 19 days straight at the Paris Olympics, surviving on Red Bull, vibes and bad coffee in the media room. She was working with the Oceania National Olympics Committees on an assignment to capture athletes from the Pacific Islands across multiple sports, including athletics.

In this conversation, we cover Casey’s most memorable shots, how to stand your ground as a female photographer, and what makes an image go viral. We talk about how the Olympics experience compared with the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year, and all the learnings along the way.

Casey Sims started shooting track and field several years ago and is a self-proclaimed athletics nerd deeply involved in the sport in her hometown Brisbane, Australia. Since such beginnings, she’s shot at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Oceania Athletics Championships in Fiji and the Paris Olympics. She won the Women’s Sport Australia Photo Action Amateur Award in 2020 and 2021, and was a finalist for the Canon Clique Awards in 2022.

Casey currently divides her time as a Media and Communications Officer with the Oceania Athletics Association and as a lecturer in exercise science at Queensland University of Technology.

It's our Paris Olympics recap show! I’m joined by pilates queen and athletics fan Alice Baquie. Together, we chat all things Olympics: the highs including Jess Hull’s silver medal in the women’s 1500m, to the lows of athletes being trolled online. I share an on-the-ground perspective from the men’s 1500m final where I was trackside, while Alice tells us about her riotous marathon watch party where gin shots may have been consumed.

Recently, Alice found her niche in the Pilates for runners space, where the focus is on injury prevention. Alice took a pivot into the tech industry during the pandemic and founded an app which she works passionately on daily, in addition to community-based physiotherapy and Pilates. 

As a former elite gymnast and having competed at a national level for distance running in cross country, Alice possesses a profound understanding of athletes' unique needs and feels they can be applied to every active person for better health outcomes. Her influence is far-reaching, hosting a multitude of classes with a dedicated following, including 25 Australian, German, American, British and South African Olympians.

Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer

If you want a story of drive, grit and determination, this episode with Kate Smyth is for you. 

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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Liam Adams is running the marathon in Paris this weekend! We spoke while he was training in Flagstaff, Arizona, surviving dodgy motel accommodation and encounters with wild animals. We talk about his rocky road to Australian team selection, what training has looked like recently, his goals for Paris, and the challenges of being unsponsored while running at the highest level. 

Liam is an Australian marathoner who famously works full-time as a sparky (sparky is slang for electrician for our international listeners). Liam ran his PB of 2:08:39 on the Gold Coast in 2023, which was the fastest time run by an Aussie in Australia, and Liam is confident there’s more in the tank. 

Liam is already a 2x Olympian, having represented Australia in the marathon at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and placing 24th at the Tokyo Olympics. He’s also competed at the Commonwealth Games and the World Athletics Cross-Country Championships. Paris will be his third Games.

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Follow Run With It on Instagram @runwithit.pod

Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Fancy getting a ticket to Paris at 22? Adam Spencer has done it!

Follow Run With It on Instagram @runwithit.pod

Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer