The RunThrough Podcast

Ayesha Pervaiz is a digital creator, hijabi athlete, and the voice behind @active.ayesh, where she's spent the last two and a half years combining her Muslim faith with a growing love of fitness and running. What started as content made for herself during a tough period for her mental health has grown into a community of thousands of women who see themselves in her journey, proof, as she puts it, that her hijab isn't her barrier; it's her biggest strength.

In this episode, Ayesha joins host Ben Sheppard to talk about her path from a shy, performing-arts-loving kid to an online voice for hijabi women everywhere, the emotional high of crossing the line at her first-ever 10K, and why she's swapped chasing 5 am starts for listening to her body instead. She also opens up about training for the London Marathon, fundraising for Charity Right, and the mantra, " There's nothing I cannot do - that's carrying her into 2027.

Chloe's two online lives couldn't look more different. She started a cosmetics page at 17 that grew to half a million followers almost overnight, then spent years without the confidence to even show her own face on camera. It wasn't until lockdown pushed her into running, training up from not being able to finish a single street with her mum and auntie, that she found a totally different kind of page, now known as On The Go Clo, and a very different kind of confidence.

In this episode, Chloe joins host Ben Sheppard to talk about building a cosmetics following as a teenager, why it took years to find the confidence to speak on camera, learning to stop comparing herself to other runners, and the backyard ultra that saw her and her friends cover over 114 kilometres together. She also opens up about juggling two very different "jobs," chasing a 24-hour ultra next, and why she wants to be the person other women look up to in running.

Jordan Purdy has been a barber in Nottingham for over a decade, but these days he's just as well known for the hiking, wild camping and ultra-running content he shares as @purdsoutdoors. A life-changing road trip around Slovakia pulled him out of pub culture and into the mountains, and a tough childhood, including a violent attack as a teenager, taught him early on not to take anything for granted.

In this episode, Jordan joins host Ben Sheppard to talk about growing up on the move, the night that changed the course of his life, and why he'd never change his past even if he could. He opens up about completing his first ultra marathon at Lulworth Cove with RunThrough Trails, chasing dark tourism destinations like Chernobyl and the world's most dangerous train journey, and why he's such a vocal advocate for men's mental health.

Jemma Owen had never really been a runner. A busy mum of two young girls, she wasn't sporty growing up, and for years joked that her partner Dave "ran for the both of them." But turning 29, with a year ahead that would see her turn 30 and get married in the same week, she decided she wanted to reach that milestone as the happiest, healthiest version of herself, and quietly set out to make it happen.

In this episode, Jemma joins host Ben Sheppard to tell the full story behind her secret nine weeks of training, swapping her sofas for a treadmill and running up and down the stairs while her daughters napped, all building towards a surprise nobody saw coming: running the Warrington Running Festival half marathon alongside her 77-year-old granddad Eddie, who was raising money for the Lilac Centre where her nan is being treated for stage four ovarian cancer. 

She talks through revealing her race number to him on the start line, holding his hand over the finish, and why a marathon is already next.

Rayma Risquet's path to becoming an obstetrician and gynaecologist specialist trainee wasn't exactly a straight line. It started with a childhood love of robots and prosthetics, a spell as an air cadet dreaming of designing limbs for injured soldiers, and finally a front-row seat to her first birth that changed everything. Now a specialty trainee, she delivers babies for a living and spends her downtime chasing half marathon PBs, lifting heavy and working towards her first muscle-up as @dr.rayisfit.

In this episode, Rayma joins host Ben Sheppard to talk about the emotional weight of her job, from the highs of every birth to facing death for the first time as a young doctor, why it's okay to be a beginner even once you've got the title, and the imposter syndrome so many healthcare professionals carry. She also opens up about why she's stopped chasing the next goal and started finding joy in the present, on the wards, in the gym and everywhere in between.

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Rayma Risquet - https://www.instagram.com/dr.rayisfit/?hl=en

Ben Sheppard - https://www.instagram.com/bensheppard93/

Four and a half years ago, Harry Marshall was not a runner. Now, he holds the fastest known time for running the 230 kilometre Icefields Parkway through the Canadian Rockies.

Harry joins host Ben Sheppard on The RunThrough Podcast to share the deeply personal story behind his journey into ultrarunning.

After losing his brother to suicide and his mum shortly afterwards, Harry found himself in the darkest period of his life. Running gave him somewhere to put his thoughts, a reason to get up each day and a way to feel connected to them both.

His journey began with a challenge to run at least 5K every day for a year, spanning three continents and raising £14,000 for a local mental health charity. He finished that year with his first marathon before going on to complete seven marathons in seven days and a series of increasingly ambitious ultramarathons.

Harry also takes us inside his biggest challenge yet, running 230 kilometres from Lake Louise to Jasper in 30 hours, 2 minutes and 31 seconds to set a new Icefields Parkway FKT.

Expect stories of grizzly bear preparations, running beneath a full moon, being caught in a biblical thunderstorm and finding the strength to keep moving when every step hurt.

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Harry Marshall - https://www.instagram.com/scrambledlegs___/

Ben Sheppard - https://www.instagram.com/bensheppard93/

What happens when you combine a love of running, cricket and slightly ridiculous endurance challenges?

Sam Bodoano, better known online as IronBodz, joins Ben Sheppard on The RunThrough Podcast after breaking the world record for the longest cricket run up.

Sam ran 100 kilometres from Lord’s Cricket Ground to Valley End Cricket Club in full cricket whites, carrying a cricket ball the entire way. After 14 hours of running, he arrived one minute before the match was due to begin and completed the record by bowling a legal delivery to his dad.

Sam shares how a conversation with a friend became a world record attempt in just five weeks, attracted widespread press attention and raised around £6,000 for the Ruth Strauss Foundation.

He also takes us back through his running journey, from completing his first parkrun at nine years old and the London Marathon at 18 to taking on Ironman Wales, ultramarathons and a backyard ultra alongside Russ Cook.

Expect plenty of stories about running through London in cricket whites, surviving a jellyfish filled Ironman swim, playing cricket after running 100 kilometres and why your first 5K can mean just as much as somebody else’s first ultra.

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Sam Bodoano - https://www.instagram.com/ironbodz/

Ben Sheppard - https://www.instagram.com/bensheppard93/

In a special collaboration between The RunThrough Podcast and The RunThrough Trails Podcast, host Ben Sheppard heads to the Peak District for two conversations with trail athletes Joe Farrelly and Jordan Rowe, in partnership with Samsung and the new Galaxy Watch Ultra2.

Joe shares how turning his life around led him to running and ultimately competing on the international trail running stage. He opens up about the experiences that continue to drive him, balancing training with work and family life, and his ambition to compete amongst the world's best.

Jordan's journey took him from school cross country to the NCAA system in America and years of track racing before a switch to the trails helped him rediscover his love for the sport. He discusses his competitive mentality, his desire to win and the challenge of stepping into a completely new side of running.
Along the way, they discuss racing, recovery and pushing their limits while putting the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2 through its paces on the trails.

And if you want to win a Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2 of your own, plus a £200 RunThrough Kit Voucher, enter our Trail Bundle competition for everything you need for your next adventure.

Enter here: https://www.runthroughtrails.com/forms/trail-bundle

Model, actor and fitness creator Theo Ching joins Ben Sheppard on The RunThrough Podcast for a conversation about discipline, self-belief and staying ready for every opportunity after completing the RunThrough Summer Triple.

Theo shares how a childhood spent practising martial arts developed into a career spanning fitness modelling, acting and specialist action work. After being scouted at university, he found a way to combine his physical abilities with his creative ambitions and build a career around the things he genuinely loves doing.

He explains why self-belief comes from knowing that you can depend on yourself, how discipline allows him to perform whenever an opportunity arrives, and why luck is simply what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Expect honesty as Theo discusses how to recognise your value without losing your humility, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people and building self-respect through movement, consistency and accountability.

Theo also takes Ben inside the Great Wall Marathon, his first attempt at the distance and one of the hardest physical challenges he has ever faced. He reflects on the heat, elevation, relentless steps, and moments of gratitude that carried him towards the finish.

Theo Ching - https://www.instagram.com/theoching_/?hl=en

Ben Sheppard - https://www.instagram.com/bensheppard93/?hl=en

Content creator and Twitch partner Pia Blossom joins Ben Sheppard on The RunThrough Podcast for an honest conversation about perseverance, health, and discovering what her body could achieve.

Pia shares how she continued creating videos despite being bullied at school, why she treats every piece of content like a lottery ticket, and how one TikTok video receiving 12 million views transformed social media into her career.

She also opens up about losing more than 100 pounds, the hurtful comments she received, and why health was always more important to her than appearance. Pia explains how her pursuit of weight loss eventually developed into body dysmorphia and disordered eating, and how therapy and running helped her rebuild a healthier relationship with food, exercise, and her body.

After completing her first 5K in October, Pia progressed to a 10K and then signed up for the Shakespeare Marathon. Just six months after beginning her running journey, she crossed the finish line in under five hours.

This is a powerful conversation about starting again after setbacks, refusing to overcomplicate running, and proving that looking after your health can unlock possibilities you never knew your body had.

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Pia Blossom - https://www.instagram.com/piablossom_x

Ben Sheppard - https://www.instagram.com/bensheppard93/