The Natural Running Network

During our last episode in where Richard Diaz covered the finer points of proper running skills, the show was met with a lot of favor. Many people wrote and asked for more of this type of Q&A format. Hoping to satisfy this request, we reached out to the social media and prompted our audience to send in questions for Richard to address. Topics include: How to effectively employ heart rate, what to do with muscle tears vs strains or sprains, running shoe selection, when and how to include rest in training, questions on cadence, muscle mass and more.

OCR athletes are hungry for information and most found is anecdotal. The sport is too young for foundational advice which leaves a wide path for misinformation. The goal is to cut through much of the misconceptions and provide logical advice without chasing intangible conclusions. If you enjoy this episode let us know. Our aim is to serve.

If you can’t run well you just won’t win in Obstacle Racing. It does not matter if you are part monkey and fly through the obstacles, the time lost running opposed to the time gained over an obstacle puts you at a serious disadvantage in OCR.

Here is another tip: If you set your mind on pushing harder into your running program, you stand a better chance injuring yourself than improving your running splits.

This episode is a down and dirty explanation of the things you need to focus on in training and why. If you had never attended one of Richard Diaz’s running clinics, listen to this episode, its short and to the point and these training tips will go a long way in helping you to improve your finish times and may even get you on the podium like many of Richards’s clients. To learn more or to schedule a private session with the coach visit www.diazhumanperformance.com

 

Many of us aspire to train “Naturally”. We have evolved from the traditional gym rat mentality, we’ve gotten outside to get our dose of exercise, we’ve adopted what believe to be functional style training but are we really getting the most of our efforts? Enter Erwan LeCorre, founder of MovNat and the MovNat Method. Erwan has devoted his life to training himself and others in a way that revisits our primal instincts. I asked him to come on the show to share his insights, how his training methods differ from what is typical and how this training might server the Obstacle Racing community. If you are looking to take your physical abilities to the height of your innate capacities, you should make a point to listen to this episode. Erwan’s training methods are offered around the world, his retreats are designed to serve all ages and fitness levels.

 

The Death Race for years served as the pinnacle of the Spartan Obstacle Racing challenge, it has recently been shelved and replaced with a different type of extreme challenge The Agoge an event that provides up to 60 continuous hours of adventure. Yet, is it as extreme as its predecessor? We speak with Dylan Davis who over the past year participated in the winter and summer Death Races and the first two installments of Agoge to get his take on what one can expect when they face this challenge. What you learn may surprise you. Does Joe De Sena, mastermind of these challenges have a plan that has yet to be revealed? Listen and draw your own conclusions.

The Spartan Agoge claims to bring together physical and mental strengths while developing innovative thinkers, prudent risk-takers, and expert decision-makers.  Are you truly Spartan enough to meet this ancient rite of passage?

To speak with Lindsay, you get a sense that she is meek, affable and home spun. If you follow her career as an Elite OCR Athlete you gain entirely different picture. Lindsay competed in around 20 OCR events in 2015 and won most all (13 races) in which she toed the line including the OCR World Championship, 2nd in the Spartan World Championship while placing no less than 3rd in 6 of the 20 and a 4th place to round of the bunch. Suffice to say; Lindsay has had an epic year and it looks like this year will be no less impressive. Lindsay is fiancée to Ryan Atkins whom is also recognized as the most dominant competitor in the men’s pro field. He being The Worlds Toughest Mudder World Champion, both residing in Ontario Canada, they seem to swoop down to take the crowns and head back home to recover and prepare for the next challenges. Richard Diaz, our host asked Ryan if he could arrange an interview with Lindsay and here it is for your listening enjoyment.

In previous episodes I had interviewed various coaching experts; guys like Jim Vance and Hunter Allen, both world renowned in endurance sport. We spoke on the evolution of training metrics, such as heart rate, power and the apps in which to gather this information.  All the while behind the scenes, techo-geeks were hard at work developing ways to finally create a reliable gadget that can allow runners to gain the benefits that cyclist have come to appreciate and depend on for several years. We all have come to believe that this is the next BIG Deal in running performance.

Listen as our host Richard Diaz interviews Johnny Ross, founder and CEO of Medhab Inc. A company that is at the forefront of this evolution in sports performance the first precision power meter for runners; RPM2 (pronounced RPM Squared). Find out what these unique training insoles can do for you and why a serious athlete, someone who works hard to improve and or has struggled with injuries would want to own a pair.

Obstacle Course Racing is hot. Anyone that does an OCR event knows what I am talking about. Some say that they suffer from PRTSS (post-race traumatic stress syndrome), once the race is over, the buzz starts to ware off and the competitors begin to miss the race community they have come to love and respect.

Enter Obstacle Maniac, the brain child of Gary Borad and Craig Covington founders of the social site geared to promote post-race banter among the people who collectively understand this experience and want to talk about it beyond the race weekend. Sure, there are other sites that cover the goings on of the race favorites, the elites and pros of the sport but they get plenty enough coverage. Certainly, the familiar names and faces appear but they share the lime light with the mid packers who are proud of their efforts and are hungry for more chatter about all things OCR. If you are one of these folks and have been looking for a place to share your happiness post event, it would serve you well to visit obstaclemaniac

Getting back into racing and training as quickly as possible is the hope of every athlete who has been afflicted with nagging injuries. Dr. Steven Capobianco is the director of education for ROCK TAPE and is recognized as a leader around the world in the application of kinesiology taping strategies. I (Richard Diaz) have personally been using these taping strategies on my clients to contend with; IT band, Knee, Shin, Hamstring, Calve, Achilles and plantar fasciitis injuries for several years. Perfect for OCR, CrossFit, Trail and Road Running athletes.  If you have ever wondered how, when or why to apply this tape, this a show you don’t want to miss.

Often times, we interview elite athletes from various sports, the hero’s that command the podium race after race. As much as we admire their physical prowess, many of our listeners have their own agendas and goals they hope to fulfil.  So, we intend to offer the spotlight to those of you who have questions and hopefully we can provide answers that will make a difference in your running, training and racing experience.  In this episode we feature OCR Athlete Cody Higgs from Nashville Tennessee, along with a few questions from Richard Rachal of Baton Rouge Louisiana.

Over the years Richard Diaz (our host) and diaz human performance has put on elite caliber running clinics all over southern California. The impact of this training and education is so dramatic that athletes from all over the country go through great pains to attend and or visit for personal coaching and evaluation.

Our current project is to put on a Two Day Running Clinic and Lab Testing by invitation in Baton Rouge Louisiana on the 27th-28th of February (registration deadline is quickly approaching Jan. 25th 2015). In order to provide a detailed explanation of what to expect for those interested, we decided to offer the details direct from the horse’s mouth! Richard Diaz along with forward statement’s from Elite Spartan Pro OCR Athlete Hunter McIntyre and hosts Richard and Emily Rachal is onboard to share all the pertinent details.  For quick registration visit: www.naturalrunningcoach.net/clinics.html