The Big Run

The Big Run

By formacircleSportsRunning
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The Big Run episodes

  • On Track Nights x The Big Run - Track Fest - Ben Flanagan

    This summer… get ready to meet a different kind of track meet. 

    Where the world's fastest athletes meet a festival atmosphere. 

    The big run is proud to be partnering with On to bring you a series of preview podcasts around their global track night series.     

    This week we'll be building the excitement for ⁠Track Fest⁠ with episodes dropping each morning with key figures on and off the track.

    As the preview build continues, today we are joined by the Canadian record holder for the 5k, 10k and half marathon - Ben Flanagan. On athlete and member of the Very Nice Track Club, Ben will be toeing the line in the 5000m this Saturday at Track Fest.

    In this conversation we touch on his journey into running, his training with Ron Warhurst and why he likes to get comfortable being uncomfortable. It's a great conversation and we're super grateful to Ben for coming on the show.

    We have episodes dropping everyday this week so be sure to subscribe from where ever you get your podcasts to be the first to hear

    Here's what to expect at Track Fest:

    Part music festival, part track meet, LA's Track Fest is unmissable for running fans (and fans of a good time).

    It's a World Athletics Silver level meet organized in collaboration with Sound Running with 800m, 1500m, steeplechase, 5000m and 10,000m events. There will also be a community event where you can watch LA's local run clubs compete for the title in a 4x1 mile relay on the legendary Mt. Sac course. Grab a drink and cheer them on alongside ultrarunner extraordinaire (and master of ceremonies), ⁠⁠⁠Mikey Mitchell⁠⁠⁠.

    The track will be lit up with pyrotechnics, and surrounded by food trucks and beer tents. Oh yeah, and your food is covered with your ticket. And as if all that wasn't enough, to top it off, we'll have a performance from US rapper ⁠⁠⁠Kyle ⁠⁠⁠

    To buy tickets and learn more about how to stream the event via PPV head over to ⁠Sound Running⁠


    The Full line up of events are:

    Track Fest - 6th May - LA

    Night of the 10,000m PB's - 20th May - London 

    FAST5000 - 10th June - Paris 

    Track Night Vienna - 17th June - Vienna 


    find out more at ⁠ontracknights.com⁠


    Podcast series produced by ⁠⁠⁠formacircle.co⁠⁠⁠ 

    podcast image by @mattflynnparker




    41 min
  • On Track Nights x The Big Run - Track Fest - Jesse Williams founder of Sound Running

    This summer… get ready to meet a different kind of track meet. 

    Where the world's fastest athletes meet a festival atmosphere. 

    The big run is proud to be partnering with On to bring you a series of preview podcasts around their global track night series.     

    This week we'll be building the excitement for Track Fest with episodes dropping each morning with key figures on and off the track.

    First up is the founder of Sound Running and the main man behind Track Fest, Jesse Williams. Jesse has worked with athletes of all levels for the past 15 years with a career in sports marketing. He's a runner himself with 2.22 marathon PR and a former career as a hand model 😉

    In this conversation, we get the background to how Sound Running began, what to expect from the Track Fest and why they are building an experience driven, professional track season.

    It's a great conversation, thanks to Jesse for coming on the show.

    We have episodes dropping everyday this week so be sure to subscribe from where ever you get your podcasts to be the first to hear

    Here's what to expect at Track Fest:

    Part music festival, part track meet, LA's Track Fest is unmissable for running fans (and fans of a good time).

    It's a World Athletics Silver level meet organized in collaboration with Sound Running with 800m, 1500m, steeplechase, 5000m and 10,000m events. There will also be a community event where you can watch LA's local run clubs compete for the title in a 4x1 mile relay on the legendary Mt. Sac course. Grab a drink and cheer them on alongside ultrarunner extraordinaire (and master of ceremonies), ⁠⁠Mikey Mitchell⁠⁠.

    The track will be lit up with pyrotechnics, and surrounded by food trucks and beer tents. Oh yeah, and your food is covered with your ticket. And as if all that wasn't enough, to top it off, we'll have a performance from US rapper ⁠⁠Kyle ⁠⁠

    To buy tickets and learn more about how to stream the event via PPV head over to Sound Running


    The Full line up of events are:

    Track Fest - 6th May - LA

    Night of the 10,000m PB's - 20th May - London 

    FAST5000 - 10th June - Paris 

    Track Night Vienna - 17th June - Vienna 


    find out more at ontracknights.com


    Podcast series produced by ⁠⁠formacircle.co⁠⁠ 





    37 min
  • On Track Nights x The Big Run - Preview Trailer

    This summer… get ready to meet a different kind of track meet. 

    Where the world's fastest athletes meet a festival atmosphere. 

    This is athletics for the entire running community. 

    The big run is proud to be partnering with On to bring you a series of preview podcasts around their global track night series.     

    From LA to London, Paris to Vienna we’ll be chatting to key figures on and off the track.

    Bringing insight to elite level athletes and their training to celebrating local running communities and the work that they do. 

    We’ll be building the excitement throughout each of the weeks leading up to the main event. 

    Kicking off with Trackfest in LA, then Night of 10,000m PBs in London before heading to Paris for the FAST5000 and Austria for Track Night Vienna 

    Have a listen to a little teaser of what's coming up and what you can expect from these events… 

    Be sure to follow the big run to be the first to hear who we’ve lined up as guests. 

    Episodes start Monday the 1st of May. 

    Head over to the big run on Instagram or ⁠ontracknights.com⁠ for more information about what to look forward to and how to get involved.

    Here's what to expect at Track Fest:

    Part music festival, part track meet, LA's Track Fest is unmissable for running fans (and fans of a good time).

    It's a World Athletics Silver level meet organized in collaboration with Sound Running with 800m, 1500m, steeplechase, 5000m and 10,000m events. There will also be a community event where you can watch LA's local run clubs compete for the title in a 4x1 mile relay on the legendary Mt. Sac course. Grab a drink and cheer them on alongside ultrarunner extraordinaire (and master of ceremonies), ⁠Mikey Mitchell⁠.

    The track will be lit up with pyrotechnics, and surrounded by food trucks and beer tents. Oh yeah, and your food is covered with your ticket. And as if all that wasn't enough, to top it off, we'll have a performance from US rapper ⁠Kyle ⁠

    The Full line up of events are:

    Track Fest - 6th May - LA

    Night of the 10,000m PB's - 20th May - London 

    FAST5000 - 10th June - Paris 

    Track Night Vienna - 17th June - Vienna 


    Podcast series produced by ⁠formacircle.co⁠ 

    3 min
  • The London Marathon - Line the Streets - A TBR Special presentation.
    This podcast is a celebration of all those people who line the streets of the London Marathon and was recorded entirely on location at last year's event in October 2022.
    For this episode of TBR, we encourage you to listen with headphones for the full appreciation of London on this special day for running.
    Myself and Tilly (former guest and legend) met early at Blackheath,  The aim was to traverse the 26.2 as much as we could. 
    To see who we’d meet, hear what they felt and capture the sounds of this most iconic race. 
    To talk to the people lining the streets, the supporters, the volunteers, the stewards, the staff, the friends and the family the locals and tourists, all those individuals who trace the route and soundtrack the course.
    Featuring the voices of:
    Susan Toprak, Oasui, Nikki, Eric, Ama, John, Baz, JR, Sofia, Mark Allcock, Christine, Burt Butler, Bruce Roberts, John Finch, Nigel Irvine, Lille, Martin, Charlie Thompson from the 999 Club, Wayne How, Charlie Dark, Tyler Williams Green, Kai and the people of London.
    To all those running this year, good luck.
    and to those who support and make it happen, thank you.
    Line the Streets.
    Podcast Image by Arran Mcaskill
    34 min
  • Sustained Motion - On competing against ones self and growing in the process with Robbie Balenger - The Big Run Episode 148
    Hello and welcome back to the big run. 
    Today's guest is Robbie Balenger. A man not adverse to extreme challenges, his list of multi-stage ultra efforts reads long. 
    There are iconic races and unusual challenges such as loops around central park and outlasting a Tesla.
    Most recently a solo Speed Project effort saw him come in second in that iconic event.
    Still, he’s kept the momentum up and switched to crewing for another epic challenge to support Will Goodge as runs across America. An experience he is well versed in having done the challenge himself back in 2019. 
    Robbie caught up with us a few days ago in the early stages of the effort in Barstow California doing Laundry for the crew - oh the glamour...
    You can follow Robbie @robbiebalenger
    Find out more about his adventures at https://www.robbiebalenger.com/
    And keep up to date with Will's challenge @williamgoodge where you can follow along, donate and support.
    Podcast cover photo by @coltontisch
    Thanks so much for listening, if you're enjoying please leave us a review where you get your podcasts as it really helps the show. 
    And keep it locked for there are some big special episodes coming soon.
    I’ll see you next time, for The Big Run.
    51 min
  • We Can't Run Away from this - On Ultra's, endurance and the environment with Damian Hall
    Hello and welcome back to TBR, today's guest is Damian Hall. Damian is a record-breaking ultramarathoner runner and author. He represented GB aged 40 and continues to record competitive results in the world's toughest races. 
    This conversation was recorded not long after he took the win at the spine race, which is certainly up there when it comes to tough. It traces the Pennine way and this year runners were faced with freezing conditions. 
    In this conversation, we talk through that experience, and hallucinations ultra runners grow accustomed to as well as touch on some of the subjects Damian has uncovered in his most recent book We Can't Run Away from this which explores how we can improve runnings footprint in our climate emergency. 
    Podcast image by @davidmillerphotography_
    You can get Damian's book here https://www.adventurebooks.com/products/we-cant-run-away-from-this
    50 min
  • On Cloudsurfer review - first impressions, thoughts and feelings
    Evening, trying something a little new on the pod for this mid-week entry… Shoe Reviews …. "in podcast format?" Well, let's try shall we? 
    I’ll keep it short, so you can understand whether this shoe might work for you. Offer my thoughts from a first run, recovery and some faster work and leave the rest up to you…
    Thanks to Aspire PR for providing the sample for review:
    See below for some extract from the press release from On:
    13 years after hitting the markets with its revolutionaryCloudTec®–the Swiss sportswear brand is taking its groundbreaking running technology to the next level. The new Cloudsurfer has been revamped using On's latest CloudTec Phase to deliver the smoothest ride ever.
    Over a decade ago, On launched its first shoes that combined performance and comfort–creating the sensation of “running on clouds.” Now, the engineers at On Labs have further developed this technology while paying homage to the shoe that revolutionized the industry. In harnessing the power of computer-optimized technology–Finite Element Analysis (FEA)–they have investigated the impact of structures and materials on the human body while running, and have successfully minimized stress.
    Always looking to change the status quo, the team at On Labs is constantly innovating to create new products and technologies that give every runner the best experience–whatever their level. While the newCloudsurfer is the first model built with CloudTec Phase, other models will follow.
    The Cloudsurfer is available for£150 from on.com and other and selected retail partners worldwide from March 23, 2023
    10 min
  • 8 x 1k plus 4 / 6 x 400 with Hot Boys Athletics - The Big Run Episode 145
    Hello and welcome to The Big Run.
    It’s a crisp February evening at Paddington recreation ground in London.
    Im here to meet members of Hot Boys, an all women’s running collective who were linking up for their weekly session.
    Founded by Kimiko Ninomiya, the group meets every Wednesday for a track session to help them towards their running goals while connecting them with other Women who share the same goals. From seasoned marathoners to relative first timers all women and all abilities are welcome
    Tonight it’s 8 x 1k with some 400s to close things out as several members target spring marathons.
    A big thank you to Kimiko, Feyisola, Maddie, Flo, Sarah, Lisa and all the incredible members of the group for allowing me to come down and document the session and To Arran McAskill for the imagery that accompanies this episode.
    35 min
  • Support Systems - Audio postcards from loved ones to the Salomon supported team taking on The Speed Project.

    Good morning and welcome back to this special episode of The Big Run in collaboration with Salomon running. As The Speed Project draws near we reached out to an all-women's team taking part and asked them to nominate a key supporter

    A loved one, a friend, a guardian, a cheerleader, a confidant, a comrade -  someone has been witness to their preparation, a sounding board for concerns and listened ever patiently to the latest tweak to their training plan.
    We asked them to leave a message.
    A candid reflection about what it's been like to support that individual as they prepare to head into the unknown of this unique event.
    This episode is a collective chorus of admiration that runners everywhere will recognise from those individuals that support you in this sport that we love. 
    For in adventures like this. We are all protagonists. 
    Featuring the voices of:
    Johan Mpuiba, Eric Cooper, Samuel Bouchard, Boris Ghirardi, Jessica Van Droogenbroeck, Benjy Barnett, Robbie Balenger, Charlie Bodt
    Thankyou to Tilly GW for her guidance and collaboration on this work and to Salomon for supporting the episode. 
    You can follow the team on their adventures by heading over to the Salomon running Instagram account.


    Photo courtesy of Duy Nguyen


    20 min
  • The beauty is in the unknown - Training for The Speed Project with NO ID
    As the speed project draws near, The Big Run will be celebrating its return with two special episodes to mark the ten-year anniversary of this unique event.
    For the uninitiated, TSP is a 340 mile relay race from LA to Vegas where the only rules are there are no rules. Teams compete to see who can make it the iconic, “welcome to Las vegas” sign in the fastest time possible.
    A few weeks ago I went to Join NOID, a London-based team linking up in Battersea Park with some of their support crew for a mini race simulation…
    In this episode, you'll hear from members Mo, Ayo, Nathan, Jonty, Jen and Molly and some of their crew Emma and Ben. 
    You can follow the group as they head into the desert @_no_id_crew_
    And you can find out more about this unique event @thespeedproject
    First image by @christianbrecheis
    Rest supplied by @_no_id_crew
    26 min

About The Big Run

From the publisher's feed

Running is big. Elite athletes, records, technology, cutting edge gear. But it’s big for the people who lace up, head out and grab some miles. Day in, Day out. Whether it’s making it around the block, your first mile unbroken, feeling part of a community, clearer in your head or breaking what’s physically possible.