Running Tales

Isaac Kenyon is a runner, cyclist, triathlete and extreme adventurer who uses the power of the challenges he takes on to both inspire others and raise awareness of mental health and climate change causes.

His most recent challenge - completed as recently as September 10 (World Suicide Prevention Day) - saw him finish a full Ironman while wearing a 15kg weighted vest.

The vest represented the unseen weight of poor mental health, something Isaac has had to confront himself in the form of often crippling anxiety.

Isaac has used the power of exercise and the outdoors to confront his illness, completing challenges including breaking a world record for the longest continual row of three days and 11 hours, running the 233km Welsh Three Peaks Challenge and rowing 3,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean in 40 days, from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.

Running Tales spoke to Isaac about his own anxiety, the power of the great outdoors and becoming one of the youngest international keynote speakers in the world... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

You can learn more about Isaac's mission on https://www.isaackenyon.com/ and his Climate Explorers CIC at https://climateexplorers.co.uk/ 

Listen to Isaac's Ted Talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/isaac_kenyon_freedom_and_opportunity_from_being_outdoors/details

Launched in 2019, The Monarch Ultra is an epic environmental run and conservation project which aims to raise awareness of the at-risk Monarch Butterfly.

That year, a team of ultra runners and environmentalists followed the 4,300km (2,670 mile) migratory route of the Monarchs from Ontario in Canada to central Mexico.They did so as a relay team as part of an incredible 47-day adventure.

The co-founder of the event is Carlotta James, and Running Tales caught up with her to talk about her own running, the plans for this year's version of the Monarch Ultra and why these butterflies are so important... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

This year, the Monarch Ultra will take place in the form of two events:

The Monarch Festival in Peterborough, Ontario, which will include a 10km race in support of reforestation efforts in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. This takes place on Sunday, October 15, 2023

The 50km ultra marathon race from Zitacuaro, Mexico to the monarch sanctuary in Cerro Pelón. The ultra takes place on Sunday, November 26, 2023Learn more about the Monarch Ultra: www.https://www.themonarchultra.com/

At school, Jake Fedorowski always felt they weren't the sort of person who played sport.Indeed, if you'd have told them they would end up running marathons, they would have laughed.

But as a non-binary person, Jake's love of running grew after they discovered the Seattle Frontrunners, a running and walking club for the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies.

These days they are both a committed runner and campaigner, championing inclusivity within the running community.

One way of doing this was to create the Guide to Non-Binary Inclusion in Running, which they wrote after making the difficult decision to no longer register or participate in events that didn’t affirm their gender identity.

Jake then began partnering with race organisers, including the team behind the Chicago Marathon, to implement the solutions in the guide.

They also founded Run Beyond (RUNN+), a community for non-binary athletes to connect, and are now the vice president of Seattle Frontrunners.

Running Tales spoke to Jake about what being non-binary means, their own journey - both in terms of their gender and within the world of running - and how they believe the world of running needs to evolve... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

Learn more about the organisations Jake is involved with at the links below:

Seattle Frontrunners: https://www.seattlefrontrunners.org/

The Queer Running Society: https://www.queerrunningsociety.com/

Run Beyond: https://nonbinaryrunning.com/runbeyond

To learn more about Jake’s work and the movement toward non-binary inclusion, visit nonbinaryrunning.com 

This week, Michelle and Craig are enjoying a (well deserved?) holiday in Split, Croatia so instead of our usual interview style podcast we bring you the story of one of that country’s finest runners.

Franjo Mihalić was a Yugoslav and Croatian long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and for a silver medal performance at the 1956 Olympic Games.

Those successes were the pinnacle of a career which saw him compete across marathon and cross-country races, breaking a combined 25 Croatian and later Yugoslavian national records in long-distance track events between 5000m and 25km - but which started as a cyclist and footballer.

Today, Running Tales tells his story… 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

When his father, Pete, was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) last August, Joe Thomas decided it was time to take on a major challenge.

Despite only being an occasional runner, Joe had listened to David Goggins' story and hit on the target of running a 100-mile race.

He signed up for the 103-mile North Downs Way 100, which runs from Farnham in Surrey to Ashford in Kent - only discovering along the way that he needed to complete a 50-mile race before he could enter.

Earlier this month, Joe completed his challenge of a lifetime by finishing the race - which includes 11,000 feet of ascent - in 27 hours and 55 minutes, well within the 30 hour cut-off time.

Along the way, he has so far raised more than £12,000 for MDS UK - money which will mean MDS patients get the support they need when they receive a life changing diagnosis.

Running Tales spoke to Joe about why he set his sights as high as 100 miles, the joys of eating your way through an ultra and possible future plans to swim the English Channel... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

You can donate to Joe's JustGiving page for MDS UK here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/joe-thomas-ndw100 

Running Tales first caught up with trail runner Kim Levinsky back in April as she prepared to take on the 358-mile Long Path.

Starting from the 175th Street Subway Station in New York City, crossing George Washington Bridge and running across the Catskills all the way to Albany, the Long Path combines woods, a series of 2,900 foot peaks, and trails that pass over lakes and streams.

Kim, who has also completed the Tahoe 200, was hoping to achieve a fastest known time for a supported female on the Long Path.

In July, she did it in nine days and ten hours, registering 378 miles and 72,000 feet of elevation.

Running Tales caught up with Kim to talk about everything from overcoming early injury niggles and shimmying across unsteady logs over raging water to farm dogs and wet shoes... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

You can find more details about, and donate to, Kim's charities for the Long Path FKT at:

Bigger Than The Trail Fundraiser:https://biggerthanthetrail.networkforgood.com/projects/160786-kim-levinsky-s-fundraiser-to-provide-free-counseling 

New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Fundraiser:https://www.nynjtc.com/supportkim 

When Martinus Evans went to get some hip pain checked out 10 years ago, he was shocked when his doctor ignored the fact he was on his feet for eight hours a day at work and instead concentrated on his weight.

As a larger man, Martinus weighed in at 300 pounds (21 stone), but he was living an active life combining his busy work days with playing basketball at weekends.

But the doctor dismissed him as 'fat,' telling him to start walking to 'lose weight or die'.An angry Martinus replied that he wouldn't simply start walking - he'd run a marathon.

With his hip problem correctly diagnosed by a different doctor, and quickly cured through physio, Martinus started out on his running journey.

Ten years later, he has been an adidas spokesperson, a model on the cover of Runner’s World and a Boston Marathon finisher.

In all, Martinus has now completed eight marathons.

But he wasn't finished.

His personal goals soon turned into a mission to promote running as a sport for people of all shapes and sizes.

The Slow AF Run Club was born and now boasts thousands of members, while a guide to running called 'Slow AF Run Club - The Ultimate Guide For Anyone Who Wants To Run' has become a bible for many new runners.

Running Tales spoke to Martinus about how he has faced prejudice and taunts along the way, and on his mission to make running a truly inclusive sport... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

Find out more about the Slow AF Run Club and Martinus' story at https://slowafrunclub.com/

Georgia Francis' granddad William, or Bill, McKim represented Great Britain in the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

But his fourth placed finish in the heats - narrowly missing out on a place in the finals despite suffering from an illness which should have prevented him competing - doesn't tell his full story.

Not long after the event he beat eventual winner Peter Snell of New Zealand, and a year later he ran a sub-four minute mile - just seven years after Sir Roger Bannister had done so for the first time.

He went on to repeat the feat a year later, before turning his attention to marathons and completing the New York event in two hours 35 minutes.

In later life, Bill went on to climb Everest twice and hike the Inca Trail - something Georgia repeated years later, standing on the same spot he did to overlook Machu Picchu and making an emotional call to him back in England.

Bill has since sadly passed away, but in this episode we talk to Georgia about how he was always destined to be a runner and why he nearly didn't got to Tokyo at all... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

Mary McNerney is the brains behind a new running programme for schools in Chicago - and hopefully beyond.

The former school teacher is the founder of Run Like A Cheetah, which has the ambitious mission of teaching social-emotional learning to children through the power of running.

Run Like A Cheetah aims to teach running in a fun, inclusive, non-competitive way to improve children's physical and mental wellbeing, particularly those who may have suffered trauma or come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Mary hopes running can become a lifelong friend and companion for children who have previously seen the sport as a punishment or simply the means to breed elite athletes.

Running Tales also spoke to Mary about her own running journey which saw her take up the sport at 16 and go on to complete three marathons - Chicago, twice, and New York - as well as enjoy running with her own children... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

Find out more about Run Like A Cheetah here: https://runlikeacheetah.com/ 

At the end of May, the man behind a satirical Twitter account outed himself.

That account was the Secret Tory - a topical and sometime controversial lampooning of the Conservative government.And the man behind it is Henry Morris. a fitness instructor and - as it turns out - ultra runner.

The Secret Tory Twitter account, which has close to 200,000 followers, started life as a parody of Tory MP Mark Francois and developed into a sharp-elbowed critique of government policy and personalities.

Although it often bordered on the ridiculous, many pundits speculated the account was run by a disaffected MP or a Westminster insider.Instead, it was Henry Morris.

Running Tales spoke to Henry about the inspiration behind the account, how it got so huge, and - most importantly - all about his running.

Henry abandoned a party lifestyle in favour of ultra running, and has now completed close to 50 ultras including one of 110 miles.

He often runs to raise money and awareness of environmental issues, including the threat posed to wildlife including birds of prey by grouse moors.

We also spoke to Henry about what's next for the Secret Tory, how he trains to run long distances and his plan to run to raise awareness of the plight of the hen harrier...

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.