The Runna Podcast

Matt James went from The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars to one of TV's most legitimate marathon runners, and he says the best part of marathon season is the training, not the race.

This week, Anya sits down with Matt to talk about why running used to feel like punishment, a month training in Kenya, and the pacing mistake that ended in a walk up First Avenue. He explains why he'd rather enjoy the process than chase a time, shares his five race day tips with the marathon in New York around the corner, and gives us an exclusive on his pasta gel.

In this episode:

🏃 From Punishment to Joy: how he retrained his brain to enjoy running

🌍 A Month Training in Kenya: running alongside champions, and what it taught him

📈 Training Over Race Day: why he calls the race "the cookie"

🚫 The Pacing Mistake: going out too fast, and why he swears by negative splits

🍝 5 Race Day Tips: fuelling, pacing, smiling and a straw

🍩 Dream Race: the Krispy Kreme Challenge

🎧 New episodes every Friday with Olympians, World Record holders, and inspiring voices from the running community.

🎁 Try Runna FREE for 2 weeks with code PODCAST26: https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve ever looked at your plan and wondered why it has both tempo runs and intervals, this episode was made for you.

This week, Coach Anya sits down with Runna athlete and Olympian Colleen Quigley for a Coach on Call episode all about training for speed vs training for endurance.

Colleen raced the steeplechase and the 1500m, where it’s all over in minutes. Anya trains to run for hours. So who’s right about what matters more? Turns out, both of them. They get into what each session actually does, how it should feel, and why it’s so easy to run your tempos too fast.

In this episode:

🏃 Tempo vs intervals: What each one looks like on your plan

🔬 The science: Aerobic vs anaerobic and why lactate threshold matters

🐢 Tempo tip: Why starting slower helps you get more from the session

🎯 Your goal: How to match your training to a 5k, a half or a marathon

🚫 Myth busters: Fact or fiction, rapid fire

Want to give Runna a go?

🆓 Try it FREE for 2 weeks with code: PODCAST26

👉 https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📱 Follow for more running content:

Instagram → @runna

TikTok → @runna

📺 You can watch our episodes too! → @therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Training's going well, so why do you feel so flat? Three weeks out from marathon day, peak week can make getting fitter feel exactly like getting worse.

In the second episode of our mini-series building to New York, Coach Anya sits down with Savannah Sachdev (@savannahsachdev) for a peak week check-in. They talk about what the biggest weeks of marathon training actually feel like, and why feeling exhausted doesn't mean your fitness is slipping.

Savannah is known for her relatable, hilarious running content and her daily run streak. She's lining up in New York, where she ran her very first marathon, and she gets honest about dreading the 28K, going in probably the least fit she's been, and why her progress right now isn't about speed.

With Anya deep in her own biggest weeks, they unpack how to tell if peak week is working and why you're suddenly so hungry. It's a good listen if you're in your own toughest block right now, or just curious what the hardest part of marathon training really feels like.

In this episode:

🧠 Peak Week Reality: why getting fitter can feel like getting worse

😬 The Long Run Dread: why the biggest weeks feel scary

🍞 Fuelling Peak Weeks: food as motivation, and malt loaf over gels

🎮 Gamify It: how three 7Ks got her through a treadmill long run

🎁 Try Runna FREE for 2 weeks with code PODCAST26: https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever skipped a rest day because it felt lazy - this episode was made for you.

This week, Coach Anya sits down with Runna athlete and Olympian Colleen Quigley for a short, sharp and very actionable Coach on Call episode all about rest and recovery. Colleen shares how she spent years pushing through when she should have stopped. Now she calls rest days non-negotiable - so what changed?

They get into the difference between complete rest and active recovery, how to read your body before you dig yourself into a hole, and why the rest day isn't a break from training - it's where the training actually lands.

"You do the workout. And then the rest day is letting it sink into your bones."

In this episode:

🛌 When to take a rest day: Reading your body, your block and your wearables

💪 The science of recovery: Muscle repair, cortisol reset and why bones take longer than muscles

📊 Active recovery vs complete rest: The difference and when each one is right

🏊 What an Olympian does: Colleen's go-to recovery options and why she swears by them

🧠 The mental reset: "You are more than just a runner" - and why that matters

Want to give Runna a go?

🆓 Try it FREE for 2 weeks with code: PODCAST26

👉 https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📱 Follow for more running content:

Instagram → @runna

TikTok → @runna

📺 You can watch our episodes too! → @therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sticking to your marathon training plan but still doubting you can finish? Five weeks out, the novelty of training can start to fade and self-doubt can creep in.

Coach Anya sits down with Carson Gillaspia (@CrustbyCarson) to talk about what this stage of marathon training actually feels like - the honest setbacks, what’s working, and why trusting the work you’ve already done can sometimes be the hardest part.

Known as @CrustbyCarson, Carson’s food and running content has made waves across the internet. He’s spent the last few years championing both the pursuit of the perfect sourdough loaf and long-distance running as tools for mental wellbeing. Now, as he trains for his fourth marathon, he opens up about the doubts that surface as race day gets closer.

As Anya builds towards her own start line in New York, they get into the reality of being five weeks out, how to handle those inevitable wobbles in confidence, and the coaching lessons that can help you trust the foundations you’ve already built.

In this episode:

🎉 Last Year's New York: too many high-fives, not enough pacing

💛 Running for His Grandad: training through grief, and what it's given him

🧠 The Self-Doubt Nobody Warns You About: why "on track" doesn't always feel like it

📈 The 10% Rule: building mileage and speed without overloading

🎁 Try Runna FREE for 2 weeks with code PODCAST26: https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please note: this episode contains references to suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a healthcare professional for support.

Fergus Crawley attempted to take his own life ten years ago. This year, on the anniversary of that day, he set a Guinness World Record for 10 Ironman-distance triathlons in 10 days, across 10 UK cities, raising money for CALM.

This week, Anya sits down with the hybrid athlete to talk about the three concussions that ended his rugby career, the years he spent telling no one what he was going through, and the day in Cardiff, eight days into his Ironman challenge, when he genuinely thought it was over.

In this episode:

🏉 Rugby to Rock Bottom: three concussions in four weeks, and the void that followed

🧠 Rock Bottom & Recovery: his 2016 suicide attempt, and eighteen months of silence

💪 Why Endurance Helps: five reasons training supports mental health, without being a substitute for it

🌍 Project TENacity: the Guinness World Record he kept quiet until it was done

🎧 New episodes every Friday with Olympians, World Record holders, and inspiring voices from the running community.

🎁 Try Runna FREE for 2 weeks with code PODCAST26: https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Doing everything right but not seeing the results? You're not alone, and it's rarely about trying harder.

This week, Coach Steph and Anya unpack the four most common reasons a runner's training plateaus: unclear goals, the "grey zone" trap, under-recovering, and skipping strength work, plus practical fixes for each one.

What You'll Learn:

🎯 Why you need a real goal, not just a vague one

⚖️ Why your easy runs probably aren't easy enough

😴 The three things that actually drive recovery

💪 Why strength training could be the missing 6% edge

Covering everything from goal-setting and easy pace discipline to sleep, nutrition and strength work: this is the perfect guide for anyone who feels stuck at the same pace no matter how hard they train.

Want to give Runna a go?

🆓 Try it FREE for 2 weeks with code: PODCAST26

👉 https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

🎧 Take this on your next run → https://linktr.ee/runnapodcast

📱 Follow for more running content:

Instagram → @runna

TikTok → @runna

📺 Watch more episodes → @therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Davis has been called masculine her whole life. And she wants other women to stop treating strength and femininity as a contradiction.

This week, Anya sits down with Lucy, the true embodiment of the hybrid athlete to talk about leaving competitive swimming at 18, breaking the HYROX Women's Open World Record on her first ever solo race, and going on to run multiple sub-3-hour marathons and ultras.

Lucy is also honest about developing an eating disorder in her early twenties, and how learning to focus on what her body could do, rather than how it looked, changed her relationship with sport for good. 

We get into refusing to be boxed in, her sister Megan's role in building activewear brand Aesene, and Lucy’s recent comeback from knee surgery - including a secret first-ever half Ironman she told no one about until it was done. Plus, we get a podcast exclusive on her first marathon back since surgery!

In this episode:

🏊‍♀️ From Swimmer to World Record Breaker: leaving competitive swimming at 18 and stumbling into HYROX by accident on her first ever solo race

🕳️ Sitting With Discomfort: her mindset for pushing through the "pain cave" when everything in her wants to stop

💪 Refusing to Be Boxed In: one sport, one idea of femininity, one idea of success - and why she's rejected all three

🧠 Body Image & Sport: her honest reflection on developing an eating disorder in her early twenties, and the shift from how her body looked to what it could do

🩹 The Secret Comeback: a first-ever half Ironman just six months after knee surgery, telling no one until it was done

🎙️ A Podcast Exclusive: her first marathon back since surgery

Please note: this episode contains references to disordered eating. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a healthcare professional for support.

🎧 New episodes every Friday with Olympians, World Record Holders, and inspiring voices from the running community.

🎁 Try Runna FREE for 2 weeks with code PODCAST26: https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feeling that September pull to reset your running routine or set some new goals? You're not imagining it.

This week, Coach Steph and Anya break down the psychology of the "fresh start effect" and why this time of year makes us all feel more motivated. Steph shares three practical coaching tips you can use to turn that motivation into a routine that actually survives winter: from setting realistic goals, to preparing for the winter season ahead, and carrying summer's mindset forward.

What You'll Learn:

🧠 The psychology behind why September feels so motivating

🎯 How to set realistic goals based on where you are now, not where you wish you were

❄️ Why winter training gets harder, not easier, and how to prepare for it

💪 How to lose the all-or-nothing mindset and adjust your plan instead of abandoning it

🧥 Simple ways to prepare mentally and physically before conditions toughen up

☀️ Why carrying your summer running joy into autumn helps you stick with it

Want to give Runna a go?

🆓 Try it FREE for 2 weeks with code: PODCAST26

👉 https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

🎧 Take this on your next run → https://linktr.ee/runnapodcast

📱 Follow for more running content:

Instagram → @runna

TikTok → @runna

📺 Watch more episodes → @therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jordan Litz went from the US Olympic Trials in swimming to becoming the longest-running Fiyero in Wicked's history, first on Broadway and now in the West End's 20th anniversary production.

Anya sits down with Jordan to talk about the wildest crossover of endurance and performance: running the New York City Marathon last year and then walking straight onto the Wicked stage for two full shows, forty minutes after crossing the finish line.

Jordan talks about the discipline that carried him from a black line in a swimming pool to eight shows a week on stage, training for a marathon around fatherhood and a demanding schedule with Runna, and why he's changing everything for a redemption run at the 2026 New York City Marathon.

In this episode:

🏊 Pool to Stage: US Olympic Trials swimmer to Broadway's longest-running Fiyero

🏙️ Marathon Meets Matinee: NYC Marathon followed by two Wicked performances, same day

💪 High-Performance Repetitiveness: 1,800 shows, 20 years of swimming, and what consistency really takes

👨‍👧‍👧 Time Management: Training with Runna around eight shows a week and being a dad

🎯 The Redemption Arc: Chasing a faster marathon (and Harry Styles) in 2026

New episodes every Friday with Olympians, World Record Holders, and inspiring voices from the running community.

🎁 Try Runna FREE for 2 weeks with code PODCAST26:

https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.