It's a banging episode to kick-off 2026 and we decided to bring in the big guns! We are joined by athletics nerds Conor Curran and Connor McCann to help us recap all of the recent local results, Valencia 10k, World Cross + loads more! Once we get through the results section we then look back at our highlights for 2025 from an Irish and international perspective and share our thoughts on what we are looking forward to in 2026. We hope you enjoy the first episode for 2026 and a HUGE thank you to the lads from NBH for joining us. Hooroo!

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This one is all about the Euro Cross! In part 1 we recap the results from each race and highlight some of the standout Irish performances. In part 2 we welcome European Champions Nick Griggs and Callum Morgan as well as the master coach that is Mark Kirk! We recap the race and what it means to the lads and then get chatting about what is to come. Big thanks to the trio for joining us on the pod and a massive thanks to all our listeners for a great year. We are excited for 2026 and all that is to come!

Hooroo!

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Busy couple of weeks calls for a jam-packed episode! In part 1 of the episode we dive into all of the results from the Irish Novice Cross Country in Abbottstown and Irwin Spiers XC before we recap the 2025 Seeley Cup! To help us with the recap we bring the men's winner - Conall McClean onto the pod to hear about what was happening at the pointy end and how this changes the game for him and his training partners. In part 2 we dive into a preview of the upcoming European Cross Country in Portugal and highlight some of the local talent and international talent that will be lacing up down there. Thanks for listening to the episode, we will be back soon! Hooroo.

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Abdel Laadjel is an Irish International and current Oregon Duck. Abdel recently became an All-American XC runner placing 9th at the NCAA Div 1 Cross Country Championships. Abdel has had a brilliant year thus far on the grass and track and looks set to smash some PBs such as his 13:29 5,000m. It was great catching up with Abdel and hearing what it is like running for Oregon alongside his teammates as well as elite athletes such as Charles Hicks. Abdel shares his plans for the future and some of his favourite bits of gear and training sessions. Thanks again to Abdel for joining us and we hope the listeners enjoyed this very special episode. Hooroo!

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The National Cross Country Championships 2025 was hosted in Derry this year and The Back Straight is delighted to welcome the National Champions onto the podcast! Super grateful to have the amazing Fiona Everard from Bandon AC and the charming Brian Fay from Raheny Shamrocks who are your champs for this year. This episode is very centred on the races in the muck over the weekend but we do venture proverbially to the US for some great results in the NCAA XC Champs. Rounding out the episode we throw out some contenders for the Seeley Cup this coming weekend, who have you got on the podium? Let us know in the comments. Look out for the Abdel Laadjel episode dropping next week and until next time, hooroo!

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This is the cross country episode of the year with epic results popping off both locally and internationally. We review all of the recent action from the McConnell Shield in Ballyclare, the Novice XC in Stranolar as well as some brilliant results out of the States and San Sebastián. A few other talking points hit the agenda such as Caitriona Jennings' amazing 100 Mile World Record this past week. In Part 2 of the episode we were delighted to welcome Dara Furey and Allan Bogle from City of Derry Spartans to help us preview the Irish National Cross Country in a few weekends time. The Derry men talk to us all about what to expect on course, how the event came about and who the big hitters will be on the day. This is not an episode to be missed and we look forward to seeing any listeners up in Derry in a few weeks. Until then, hooroo!

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It is an absolutely massive episode this week as we are still reeling from the amazing results at the 2025 Dublin Marathon! We are very lucky to be joined by the 2025 Irish National Marathon Champion - David McGlynn - for an interview and race recap. David was a great guest and it was epic to hear how the race played out for him as well as what went into the achievement. Plenty of Northern Irish runners toed the start-line in Dublin as well and we recapped a few standout performances. In part 2 we go through a few more results from the past fortnight and get chatting to Isaac McCollum - the man behind the new Nick Griggs documentary which had it's recent premiere. Stay tuned for a link on that front and thanks again for listening! Hooroo.

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Plenty to chat about in episode 54 as we have some great action on the roads of Armagh and in the fields of Comber! In addition to that we get chatting about Chicago Marathon and the main stories there as well as the upcoming Dublin Marathon that always produces some great results. Rounding out the episode we look towards the Autumn XC International and the Galloper Thompson 5k this coming weekend. Finally, we share our thoughts on training and racing over the muck and what to consider when looking for a running coach. We hope you enjoyed this episode, we certainly did! Hooroo.

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Savage guest on the pod this week, Irish international and recent representative at the Tokyo World Champs, Darragh McElhinney! We are delighted to have Darragh on the pod as he talks us through his origin in the sport and bumpy road in the lead up to the Tokyo World Champs. Agonisingly close to making the final in the 5,000m, Darragh still made Ireland proud with his efforts and we look forward to seeing where his career takes him next. Thanks for listening and cheers Darrragh for giving us the time. Until next time, hooroo.

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Episode 53 of the Back Straight Podcast revolves around two interviews with some local champions over the half and 10k distance on the roads of Belfast and Bangor. In the first half of the episode we recap the results from the Belfast Half Marathon where over 7,500 people took part. Top of the podium in the women's race was Dearbhla Cox from Annandale Striders so we called her up for an interview - thanks Derv! In part two of the episode we recapped the Seaton Classic 10k in Bangor, and, similar to part one, we called upon the man of the moment, Craig McMeechan, to join us for an interview after his emphatic win. Lots of other tidbits in this episode as well, we hope you enjoyed it!

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