The Natural Running Network

Battle Frog is quickly becoming the OCR Series of choice among discerning competitors in the world of Obstacle Racing. Christopher Acord is Battle Frog’s chief architect/Race Director, fondly nicknamed “The Beard” for obvious reasons.  We thought it was time to reach out to Christopher to gain some insight into the planning and development of “the other OCR events”. This interview was highly enlightening and for those who have never competed in a Battle Frog Event, this is clearly a show you don’t want to miss!

For those out of the running jargon loop, an F.K.T. is the acronym for a “fastest known time” event. Generally orchestrated by a few brace souls who develop an event never run before to establish a record.  Running a trail race that has never been attempted comes with a great deal of risk. Getting lost, being in inaccessible terrain for extended periods is very dangerous and not for the meek.  Join us as we invite Charlie Engle back to share the exploits of his and Nickademus Hollon’s attempt at the Sea to Sea Ultra F.K.T. project, an Ultra trail running event of over 140 miles of unforgiving terrain.

We invited a few competitive Obstacle Racing Athletes to come on and to discuss the past year and prospects for The New Year’s performances.  Jack Bauer, Alexandra Walker and Benjamin Pina agreed to share their thoughts.  The questions were… How did it go last year? What do you feel you need to improve on? What is your key race focus for 2016?  We also delve into various training considerations that would benefit anyone hoping to improve in the coming year. Listen in; we might give you some food for thought leading into your new racing season.

Learn a few simple exercises that will greatly reduce your incident of upper and lower body injuries that are common among runners and OCR athletes from the ground up offered by Dr. Emily Splichal, world renowned podiatrist and human movement specialist.  In the sport of Obstacle Racing there are a lot of demands placed on grip strength. Improper approach to training and racing can result in extensive injuries to both the upper and lower extremities. Dr. Emily shares a few exercise techniques that develop “stability from the ground up– foot to core” by adopting these simple exercises you will gain a significant improvements in running skill, upper body strength while greatly reducing the incident of injury.

The host of “The Natural Running Network” Richard Diaz says: “This episode, I believe provides the most powerful and useful take away training advice we have offered all year.  I’ve spent over two decades working with athletes many of whom battle with nagging injuries that hamper their performance potential.  Dr. Emily is on the cutting edge of evidence based sports science and her research on the subject of developing functional stability is unparalleled.

If you put your body to task you should not only listen to this episode over and over until you completely understand these concepts, you should also share it with your friends”.

Yancy Culp is an internationally recognized OCR coach with an all-star cast of Elite Spartan Athletes in his stable. It was great fortune for Coach Richard Diaz, his “Posse”, Miguel Medina, Nickademus Hollon and his wife and long time running mechanic Lori Diaz to converge in Austin Texas to put on their ever popular Off Season Running Clinic. It was a great experience for all in attendance, many who partook in A VO2max test administered by Coach Diaz, running fundamentals and a real time technical trail running clinic directed by Nick Hollon, world renowned Ultra Trail Runner and Elite Pro Spartan Miguel Medina.  Post event, Yancy Culp and Richard Diaz discuss the importance of honing running skills in the off season and how running influences the sport of Obstacle Racing.

 

I invited Stew Smith former Navy Seal, who spent eight years in the SEAL Teams and an instructor at the Naval Academy Physical Education Department. He has also been showcased on National Geographic’s “Fight Science”.  Stew demonstrates his ability to perform tactical exercises under the most extreme of conditions.  An incredibly disciplined athlete and warrior, Stew is an expert in dealing with harsh cold environments. I asked him to share his experience and tips on staving off hypothermia and staying sharp while racing over obstacle courses.  If you want to be competitive in OCR, Spartan or Battle Frog events and don’t deal well with cold, you don’t want to miss this amazing interview. Racing Cold – The Battle with Hypothermia.

This episode was drawn from our archive of shows done 2 years ago.  It is an interview with Gilbert Tuhabonye a genocide survivor, world class runner and now an amazing running coach thriving in Austin Texas. This show is hands down one of them most powerful interviews we had ever done and if you had not hear this story, you really need to listen. It’s about faith, running, hope and achievement.

Every year as a way of showing our appreciation to our listeners, we do a Black Friday giveaway show. The way it works is simple: Write or message me, Richard Diaz or The Natural Running Network Facebook page and provide a question related to Obstacle Racing, Running or associated training. We’ll do our best to…

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This year’s Black Friday episode is going to be all about giving back to my listening audience! No gimmicks, just our way of saying thanks for following us over the years.  I plan to give away over $1000 worth of cool stuff. To earn a chance to get yours all I ask is that you…

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The 2015 World’s Toughest Mudder set the bar high for team participation. With a $100,000 carrot held out for the team that could cover 100 miles in the allotted 24 hour deadline. It was an interesting race and with the best attempts from the top teams, the money remains uncollected. There was a new course…

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