Running Things

Riley is joined this week by the 800m World Champ Donavan Brazier, checking in from Portland, Oregon. Donavan is on off-season, fresh back from a Euro trip to Monaco and Stockholm. Donavan speaks about his approach to racing – his coach Pete Julian preaches tactics and being able to win races from any position – something we've seen from Donavan over the last 18 months especially. Donavan talks about the growing pressure from athletics fans to challenge David Rudisha’s famous world record. On a recent trip to Stockholm, Donavan used his downtime to fish in the city's rivers – something he loves to do whenever he gets the chance locally or abroad. Finally, we ask Donavan a few questions from the audience – thanks to Kyle, Rylie, Moe, and Abdi for the questions!

This week we're joined on the show by 400m hurdler and US Olympic gold medallist and world record holder, Dalilah Muhammad. Checking in from LA, Dalilah talks about her rise from unheralded collegiate athlete to becoming a professional, and ultimately becoming the greatest 400m hurdler in the world. After a long 2019 in which Dalilah set the WR in July, and then broke it in October, Dalilah has enjoyed a lower intensity season in 2020 and is using the year to refresh herself for the 2021 season.

Of note, Dalilah talks about her first WR in July 2019 - about blocking people out so she could focus in the days leading up to the race, and about the plan her coach gave her. Going for a WR in a selection race for the World Championships is risky – but that's what makes champions different. Dalilah also talks about her professional relationship with 800m star Donavan Brazier.

Away from the track, Dalilah shares how she spends her downtime – including watching a lot of track, eating popcorn, and immersing herself in fashion.

We're joined this week by David Laney – one of the world’s most accomplished ultrarunners. David shares some great info around the realities of training load as a trail runner and the risks of overtraining now that races are off the calendar for the time being. As an elite runner but also a coach to amateur runners, David is passionate about breaking down the barriers that stop people from running – he talks with Riley about some of the most common hurdles and why everyone should slow down. Finally, we hear about David's interests outside of running and get a revealing look at his YouTube watch history.

We start episode two briefly discussing the upcoming London Marathon and looking at the main contenders – and also wondering why Mo Farah being a pacer is getting so much airtime.

We have another big name guest on Running Things as Riley interviews 2016 Rio Olympian and Bowerman Track Club member Marielle Hall. Marielle talks about how she took decisive action in the 10,000m world championships in Doha, choosing to be an active participant in her fortunes rather than letting the race happen around her. She also talks about a possible foray into marathoning in the future, although acknowledges the grind of solo training for a marathon. We also get to hear about the realities of training in a group like Bowerman, and managing the complex duality of camaraderie and competitiveness.

Marielle also offers great insight into the process of writing her guest column in Runner’s World and discusses the reaction from her teammates and the running public.

Finally, Riley announces next week’s guest on the show, trail athlete David Laney.

A huge show for the start of season two, as Riley is joined by Bowerman Track Club star Shelby Houlihan. Shelby is a dominant force in the 1500m and the 5000m in the US, holding the American record in both events.

With the postponement of the Olympics until the summer of 2021, Shelby spent this season competing in intra-squad races against her teammates – and lowered her American record in the 5000m by 10 seconds in the process.

Shelby talks about how she stays motivated in turbulent times and says she thinks she can go even faster in the 5000m. We also hear about how Shelby spends her offseason – including what her go-to snack food is when it’s couch time.

In the season's last episode, Riley is joined by Portland athletics personality Jeff Merrill. Jeff is the host of popular internet show Tracklandia, producer of The Hunt – the short film about the historic 5000m at Nike’s Michael Johnson Track in September 2019 – and deeply involved with Portland Track – the organising body of the Portland Track Classic. Jeff talks us through his most recent article for TEMPO, a piece about Donavan Brazier, and also gives his outlook on racing for the remainder of 2020.

We’re joined on Running Things by Max Stevens, Australia’s 2019 National Champ in the steeplechase. Max talks us through his current training situation in Adelaide and hits on some of the highs and lows of his 2019 season – arguably the year in which he truly arrived.

Riley gives out a couple of book suggestions, and more importantly previews a couple of exciting features dropping soon on tempojournal.com. Finally, Riley speaks about our next guest on Running Things.

On this episode, Riley speaks with Will Hatton, Co-Owner of PACE Athletic – a group of independent running stores in Sydney, NSW. Will talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the running retail industry and shares the way shopping habits are changing with no races on the horizon.

Riley also talks about some recent news snippets relating to the Tokyo Olympics and the London Marathon as well as previewing next week’s guest.

Today’s show sees Riley interviewing Dan Vernon. Dan is a professional photographer who is best known for his work covering the NN Running Team. Dan talks about what it’s like to shoot the biggest moments in marathoning, and shares some great stories about spending time in training camps in Africa. Dan and Riley also discuss tips for new photographers.

Our guest this week is British marathoner Charlotte Purdue. She’s familiar to a lot of Australian running fans for training in Melbourne with Sinead Diver and the Melbourne Track Club. Riley speaks with Charlotte about her last 12 months – which included some huge PBs – and showed her potential for upcoming events like the London Marathon until it was postponed. We also find out how Charlotte is maintaining her fitness now and what she’s doing besides running.