The Shakeout Podcast

As in almost every previous year, in 2025, Canadian elite startlines looked much the same from coast to coast. Whether it was 5,000m on the track, 10K on the road or on the mud and grass of the cross-country course, a familiar cast of national elites toed the line from Vancouver to Montreal, Edmonton to Ottawa. But among the rows of seasoned harriers, one face was relatively unknown: Matt Talbot of Ailsa Craig, Ont. 

An OFSAA qualifier nearly a decade ago, Matt went the route of most avid high-school runners, putting his passion aside to pursue education and a career. It wasn’t until nearly a decade later, at a local road race in London, Ont., that his passion to compete was rekindled and transformed into one of the sharpest ascents in Canadian distance-running history. 

In just over a year, Talbot has shaved a nearly five minutes off his 10K personal best and begun to establish himself in the lead pack of some of Canada’s premiere distance races. Accumulating a run of personal bests on the road and track, Matt broke through into the collective consciousness of Canadian distance running just over a month ago, when he traded blows with the likes of four-time Olympian Moh Ahmed at the Canadian Cross Country Championships, running to a fourth-place finish and booking his spot on his first national team. He's now set to represent Canada at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., this weekend. Today, Matt joins the show to talk about his return to the sport, his rapid ascent and what it means to kick off the year in the red and white. 

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Check Out Matt Talbot on Instagram @matt.talbott

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The Shakeout Podcast kicks off 2026 with a special New Year's Day episode featuring guest host Rory Linkletter. Rory joins John Gay for a conversation with recently crowned The Marathon Project champion JP Flavin, fresh off his win and new lifetime best of 2:09:18. The pros-only event was held in Chandler, Arizona last week.

Flavin, a member of the Michigan-based Brooks Hansons Original Distance Projectteam, discusses his build up for his most recent event and his year-over-year progression in the marathon, with a personal best in each of his last five showings. In addition, JP talks about his decision to move up to the event right out of university, and whether other young distance runners should consider making the jump earlier in their careers. The crew also talks training, fuelling and marathon peaking, while laying out the biggest storylines heading into the new year.

Give JP Flavin a follow @JFlavinP

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Check out the Out & Back Podcast on Instagram & Spotify

While the holiday season represents a break from training for some, for others it’s the perfect opportunity to start ramping up towards big goals in the year ahead.

 Regardless of where you find yourself, the end of one year and the beginning of the next marks a perfect time for all runners to take some time to plan for racing and training goals in the year ahead. And while plenty of athletes will be obsessing over their Strava year-end stats and setting even loftier targets for fast times and high mileage in the new year, many might be overlooking an area for improvement that’s equally ripe for the taking: their nutrition. 

This week on The Shakeout Podcast, we’re joined by Registered Dietitian Sandra Kilmartin of No Sweat Nutrition. Sandra’s joint passions for running and nutrition come together in her work helping athletes of all abilities, from the track to Ultramarathons, fuel better, feel better, and get the most out of themselves through real-world nutrition solutions. Today, she joins the show to talk about steps runners can take to make sure they’re giving their bodies the fuel they need to perform, how to avoid some of the common race day fuelling pitfalls, and what it looks like to create a nutrition plan that works with you to achieve all your running 2026 running goals. 

Find more Sports Nutrition advice at nosweatnutrition.ca

Follow them on Instagram @NoSweatNutrition

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After being named to lead the Canadian marathon team at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Malindi Elmore had some injury struggles through the spring and summer and was forced to withdraw. She  decided to focus on returning to full health in hopes of finding a later starting line where she could arrive in top shape. 

She built steadily through the fall, and her decision to delay returning to the marathon paid off in Valencia, Spain, last week, where Malindi crossed the finish line in 2:24:53, breaking the Canadian 45-49 age group record by a staggering 14 minutes. Malindi now owns five of the six fastest times in Canadian history. The time also eclipsed the men's Canadian 45-49 record, making Malindi the fastest Canadian of all time, male or female, in the age group.

Today on The Shakeout Podcast, Malindi joins the show to discuss how she built back from injury to make it to the starting line in Valencia healthy and fit–and how in this, the 10th marathon of her career, she continues to grow and evolve in pursuit of her best performances.

Follow Malindi on Social Media @Malindielmore

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On November 20th, McGill University announced devastating budget cuts to its athletics programs and the dissolution of 25 varsity and competitive club sports, effective next year. Amongst that list was both men’s and women’s track and field, programs which have existed on campus for more than a century. 

The decision to cut the track & field program at one of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious universities has quickly drawn the condemnation of the broader Canadian athletics community while raising concerns about the future viability of similar programs across the country. A petition launched in the wake of the announcement to save the program has already garnered more than 11,000 signatures.

Joining the show today is Derek Covington, head of Friends of McGill Track & Field, High Performance Director of Athletisme Quebec, and alumnus of McGill Athletics, where he was a multiple time All-Canadian on the track. Derek highlights the critical role that McGill’s track team has played as a development pathway for Canadian athletics talent, its importance to the broader track & field community in Montréal, and what McGill’s decision means for the state of amateur athletics across the country. 

Learn more at Friends of McGill Track & Field

Sign the Petition 

Follow @savemcgilltrack on Instagram

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When a debilitating back injury derailed Jesse Prescott's own athletic endeavours over a decade ago, it created in him an obsession with better understanding the root causes of pain, learning how to strengthen his body against future injury, and sharing what he learned with athletes of all ages and abilities. What followed was a journey into the inner workings of movement and performance and a career teaching others how to overcome their own pain and unlock the best version of themselves through his corrective manual therapy practice and strength coaching. 

Soon, Jesse was working with some of the fastest runners in North America in Flagstaff, Arizona; constantly tweaking and improving his programming to be tailor-made for the needs of runners. Combined with his manual therapy practice, runners began finding a solution to years spent dealing with chronic pain and vicious injury cycles and The Robust Human Project was born. 

Today, Jesse joins the show to share his unique approach to pain management and his strength training philosophy, one that he believes is at the heart of helping runners of all abilities get healthy, stay healthy, and bring out the best performances of their career.

Learn more about Jesse Prescott at The Robust Human Project website

and on Instagram @the.robust.human

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Thanks to this week's sponsor, CanPrev

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After missing out on seeing Ceili McCabe in competition this outdoor track & field season, the wait is over for running fans to see her back at a national championship, as she returned in style this past weekend with a masterclass performance at the 2025 Canadian Cross Country Championships in London.

In her first national championship as a professional, the national steeplechase record holder and 2024 Olympian broke away from the field and never looked back, running nearly a minute clear of the competition to claim her second ACXC title and remove any doubt as to whether she was back to her pre-injury form.

This week on The Shakeout Podcast, Ceili joins the show to recap her ACXC win, discuss her road back from injury, and share what lies ahead in 2026 in her first full season as a pro, starting with the World Cross Country Championships next month in Tallahassee, Florida. 

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Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code “shakeout” Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout

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As a teenager, Jane Roos was one of the country’s most promising young talents in track and field, with Olympic aspirations to represent Canada in the heptathlon. At age 18, those aspirations came to an abrupt halt after a devastating car accident brought an end to her athletic career.

While tragedy marked the end of her personal pursuit of Olympic glory, it also served as a catalyst for a new pursuit that would help countless other Canadians achieve their own sporting dreams. While recovering in hospital from the spinal surgery needed to repair the broken back suffered in the accident, Jane set about raising money to fund fellow athletes pursuing the upcoming Olympic games [Sydney]*, creating the vision for a charity that would help bridge the gap between good and great for promising Canadian athletes by providing them with direct financial support. Shortly thereafter, the Canadian Athletes Now Fund was founded.

Fast forward to today, and CANFund has provided direct financial support to 80% of Canadian Olympians spanning every Games from Athens 2004 to the upcoming Games in Milano-Cortina in 2026. In recent years, reliance on the funding CANFund offers has become even more acute for many, as rising costs place an added squeeze on athletes. Add to this the Federal government’s announcement earlier this month that they would not increase core funding for National Sport organizations from their most recent increase 20 years ago, and the prospects of competing on the world stage for many of Canada’s top athletes have become evermore unfeasible. 

Today on the shakeout podcast, CANFund founder Jane Roos joins the show to discuss how CANFund is gearing up to meet a record number of applicants and why it’s more important than ever for Canadians to support the athletes that represent our country on the global stage.

Find out more about CANFund HERE

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The best distance runners in the country are heading back to London for the 2025 Canadian Cross Country Championships and Canadian Running is your source for all the action.

The stakes are extra high for this year’s edition of ACXC, as athletes go head-to-head for to secure their place on the Canadian team heading to the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida in just 6 week’s time. 

This week on The Shakeout Podcast, Canadian Running Staff writers Cameron Ormond and Marley Dickinson join host John Gay to tackle all the major story lines heading into this year’s championships. They break down the entry lists on both the men’s and women’s sides and give their picks on medal threats, dark horses, and which athletes will be punching their tickets to to don the red and white in Florida.

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Huge thank you to this week's sponsor Smartwool. Join the Smartwool mailing list to receive updates and 15% off your first purchase. 

https://bit.ly/4hCway5

 Conditions apply: Valid on regular-priced items. Can., 16+. Initial registration only. See terms for details.

Cover Photo: Sean Burges - Mundo Sports Images

For as long as he can remember, running has been a fundamental component of Kevin Smith’s life. Even during recurring bouts of injury, Smith held onto the identity and community that the sport provided, trusting that someday, he’d have the chance to find out just how much he was capable of. 

Through the years of setbacks and time relegated to the status of what he calls a “non-practising runner,” Smith turned his attention to helping other runners reach their goals, holding fast to the belief that one day he’d string together enough healthy years to realize his own racing goals, as well. 

While the goals changed over time, the relentless pursuit of achieving his best–whatever that might be–remained the same, finally resulting in the breakthrough he had waited decades to experience. 

Following a Canadian 55+ record in the half-marathon at last year’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Smith set out in pursuit of an audacious goal: notching a dozen records in the same number of months. A year on, he can now count himself a six-time Canadian record breaker at distances from five miles up to 30 km.

Despite falling short of his 12-record target, the quest brought a renewed passion for the sport and brought home the importance of chasing big goals, no matter your age or ability. Today, Smith joins the show to talk about his breakthrough year, continuing to find joy in the sport as he got older, and how settingh bold goals is its own reward.

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code “shakeout” Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout

Conditions apply: Valid for a limited time on regular-priced items. Cannot be combined with other offers or the member discount. One use per customer.