We are joined by none other than Ciara Mageean for our first episode of 2025! Ciara is a true local legend and international running superstar. She is a 5-time Irish record holder and has won multiple medals at a number of championship events such as gold in the 2024 European Champs 1500m. Ciara gives us the full low-down on her move back to Belfast, training set-up, reflections on 2024 and what is to come in the future. This is not an episode to be missed and we hope you enjoy! Hooroo!

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

Short snippet of commentary from Rome 2024 world champs was taken from RTE2 and is not property of the Back Straight Podcast.

East Down and now one of Providence's finest athletes, Anna Gardiner, joins us for episode 34 of the Back Straight! Anna is fresh off a bronze medal team result at the prestigious NCAA Cross Country and a stellar performance in Turkey at the Euopean Cross. Anna talks us through the ins-and-outs of American college running, from the cafeteria all the way to private jets! We think Anna is a true icon of the running scene in Northern Ireland with so many great results ahead of her, we can't wait to see what comes next! This is not an episode you want to miss. Merry Christmas y'all! See you in 2025, hooroo.

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

Big recap episode this one! We brought in well-known running nerd, Conor Curran, to help us properly analyse an assortment of recent races. We get chatting on the Seeley 10k, European Cross. Country, Valencia Marathon and the NCAAs. Thanks for listening, you will hear from us soon! Hooroo.

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

The title says it all! For this week's episode we are joined by a legend of Northern Irish running, and the Seeley especially, Ben Branagh! Ben has won the event 3 times during his prestigious running career and gives us the inside line on what it takes to run well through Ormeau Park. We chat about the main players for the 2024 event and how we think it is all going to go down. Send us your predictions for who you think is going to win on Saturday, it's gonna be epic!

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

It was a brilliant day in Irvinestown for the National Cross Country Championships, and who better to help us recap the races than the winners themselves! We are delighted to be joined by the 2024 champions Keelan Kilrehill and Anne-Marie McGlynn for this very special episode. We hope you enjoy it! Hooroo.

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

Big interview this week as we are joined by the current king of Parkrun, Nick Griggs! In part 1 of the episode we chat about the results of the Novice Cross Country in Finn Valley. From there we transition to a preview of the British and Irish Masters Cross Country and National Cross Country which are both happening this coming weekend! Stacked weekend of racing in the muck, lots to look forward to! Part 2 of the episode we catch-up with Nick after his stunning 13:44 at Victoria Park Parkrun. We recap Nick's impressive year where he set a number of PBs across a range of distances. Nick gives us the lowdown on the Puma running line up and how he is going to approach the National Cross as well as the coming 12 months. Plenty to wrap your earbuds around in this episode, we hope you enjoy! Hooroo!

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

It is marathon season y'all! In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Caitlyn Harvey of Roadrunners AC. First up, Michael and Dan recap the Dublin Marathon and Valencia Half and then in part 2 we have a special interview with Caitlyn after she once again rewrote her marathon PB in Dublin by posting a brilliant 2:42. Caitlyn talks to us about how she trained for it, what it was like to experience the race as an elite entry and how it all unfolded on the day! Not an episode to be missed! Thanks Caitlyn for joining us and congratulations to everyone that ran in a marathon or half over the weekend. Hooroo!

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

Big Back Straight Bonus Episode! This one is very road-running forward with hints of fast PBs. We are stoked to welcome Welsh marathoner, Natasha Wilson, to the podcast alongside Candour Athletes Tony McCambridge and Conall McClean who recently ran sub 30 min at the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k. For those of you that don't know who Natasha is, she is a former national record holder in the marathon for Wales, ASICS sponsored athlete and winner of the recent Belfast Half Marathon! Tony and Conall on the other hand are well known for their prowess over the shorter distances and are now proving they can hang with the best in the UK over 10k and beyond. We hope you enjoy this bonus content, feel free to share it with a running friend! Hooroo.

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

You read that right, Gerard Heaney of the Runner Beans Podcast agreed to join us on the episode this week and geez did it take some time to edit the audio! Super grateful to have Gerard on the pod this week as we discussed the local cross country action such as the NI Masters XC trials, Comber Cup, Autumn Open, Leeds Abbey Dash and altitude training, and last but not least, the matter of a sub 2:10 women's marathon world record! Astonishing! Let the nostalgia flow this week as we go back and forth with some questionable commentary, and someone check on Mark Malone for crying out loud! Stay tuned for a special bonus episode drop in the next week and join our club on Strava for all of the segment challenge details for this fortnight! Hooroo, see you soon!

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight

The masterminds behind Tafelta AC, Cathaoir and Francis Purvis join us from Mid-Ulster/Font Romeu for episode 27 of the Back Straight! It was a real pleasure chatting to these two and hearing the story of Tafelta as well as Cathaoir's solid streak of PBs the past little while. We wish both them and the club all the best for the future! Plenty has happened since the last release with the Armagh XC, Belfast Half Marathon and Bangor 10k all getting a feature this week! The results and battles across the local racing scene have been all-time so don't miss this one! The Strava Wars is back for a second iteration with the segment for this coming fortnight being the famous City Hall in the centre of Belfast. Thanks for joining us again for another episode and we look forward to being back again in 2 weeks time to do it all again! Hooroo!

Contact us here:

Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thebackstraight