Welcome to episode 120 of the multi-award winning Women’s Running Podcast. We don’t scream about it here, because we recorded before we knew, but we have won Podcast of the Year at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards last Friday – for the second year in a row! We are giddy with it, and will chat about it to DEATH in the next podcast. For now, we’re talking about being ill, not washing our duvets, and how marvellous our Podcast Live was last week. New date for the next one coming soon!

Running in winter

We talk about Raynaud’s (which I suffer from), and running in the cold and dark. We asked our lovely patrons on the Live about how to motivate ourselves to run in the winter, and they came up with some ace suggestions which we go through here. We start talking too about when we need to start our training for the Paris half marathon, which is slightly sooner than Holly thinks.

TW:  eating disorders

We’ve had an email in that we’d like to discuss from a listener who is recovering from anorexia, so we chat about that – not from a medical perspective, but we chat about injury, strength training and overtraining, touching a little bit on RED-S, more of which in a future episode.

This leads us on to chats about our own struggles with body neutrality, and body. We end by confessing our favourite body parts – and this is where you will instantly (because I will) be googling the phrase Thigh Brow.

Links

Join us on Patreon for exclusive episodes and newsletters from me and Hol!

Use this to train for a half marathon by time rather than distance

It’s not too late to join us in Paris!

Buy yourself the best Chrimbo present in the shape of a Women’s Running membership

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

This episode we have a special guest in the shape of Claire Maxted, co-founder and formed editor of Trail Running magazine, the owner of the Wild Ginger Running YouTube channel, and the author of the Ultimate Trail Running Handbook, so she knows a thing or two about trail running! 

We talk here about PE days again, because I’m slightly obsessed with them, and how they can give us such a negative experience of sport and movement, and as we chat about here, it’s not necessarily the sport itself that makes us hate it, but all the other peripheral stuff  like communal showers. 

The big reason I got Claire on here was to try and persuade pavement pounder Holly on to the trails. If you’ve never randomly decided to head down an unknown footpath, it takes a lot of courage to tread the path less travelled. Claire is here to instill us all with a bit of trail confidence, and my favourite tip she gives us here is about navigation which can feel like a bit of a dark art, but as she said the easy way to discover a path is to run down it and then we can run back again! Claire is a joyful, enthusiastic trail runner, and it doesn’t take long to persuade Holly to try something new, and hopefully you’ll get some of that enthusiasm too.

And then we eventually discuss Bake Off and what actually constitutes a flan. We get in a bit of a muddle about summer pudding, bread pudding and bread-and-butter pudding. No haters, please.

Links 

Join us on Patreon for an exclusive podcast

Watch Claire’s fab films on trail running

And you can also buy her brilliant book from the same place

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

This is the first in a series of bonus podcasts, exclusively for our Cheer Squad! In this, we talk about a scandal in the world of women's running: the events of the women's 800 metre race at the 1928 Olympics. I got all the material for this episode from Roger Robinson's brilliant book Running Throughout Time: The Greatest Running Stories Ever Told - which would make an excellent Christmas gift, just saying. Not to give the game away, we talk it all through here. We hope to bring you more outrageous running stories, exclusively for you lovely lot, as well as some out-takes from our usual podcasts, as a reward for being our most valued patrons! Thank you for subscribing!

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

BIG shout out to join us on Patreon to chat to us on our Podcast LIVE on Wednesday 23rd November at 7pm (GMT), exclusive to patrons on all levels. 

We start with Bake Off, obviously, but the issue here is that Holly hasn’t seen the most recent episode, and so I have to lie to her and tell her that everything is okay and Janush is definitely still in it. She knows now, it’s fine, but I just needed to make sure *you* knew that she knows and I’m not being a bad person for mentioning it here. She’s fine, by the way, although we’re both firmly in denial. Then we’re on to the main meat of the podcast, which is the kit we’re loving right now. We do this every year around this time to give you some ideas of kit that we like in case you might want to circle a few things for your own Christmas lists. So we talk through our favourite tights, tops, bras, shoes, and various other bits and pieces. Please note: this episode is not sponsored by any of these brands, they are genuinely the bits that we have loved running in, working out in, and just slobbing about it.

Links

Ful:ki leggings, the hoody from Thought, the brilliant On Cloudneo, get a pair of Monkey Sox! (Better still, get a FREE pair when you subscribe to Women’s Running), I swear by these pants by Nixibody,  this brilliant top by BAM, the Maaree Solidarity, the Shokz headphones 

The Sweaty Betty Powers, leggings from Salomon, the HOKA Kawana, running tee from Runr, good value headphones from Edifier, holly’s bra from Sportjock 

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

This episode is sponsored by Sweaty Betty. In this episode, it’s the morning after I’ve been out-out. I’ve been to see the Scummy Mummies and begin this episode retelling a joke that’s too rude to repeat here. After a long section on hair removal, for which I make no apology, we have a bit of a chat about what we’re up to. And then we decide to go back to the beginning to discuss where we’ve come from and where we’re going. This is a little bit like one of those Insta squares where people go, “ooh I’ve got a million new followers, I should introduce who I am!” – and that’s exactly what it is, without the million followers. We want to properly introduce ourselves and explain how we’ve got to where we’ve got with our running and our lives and how we view sport and our bodies. All of this colours what we want to do next – our goals and ambitions with running, so there are a lot of uncovered secrets and honesty in this episode about how we felt about exercise and all sorts through school, university and beyond. We end with the advice we’d give our younger selves, and how we’ve devised our own life philosophies, which we’re obviously extremely pleased about.

Links

Pre-register for the Women’s Running Podcast Paris Half Marathon (aka Pod Squad Go Mad in Paris) right here. Come join us! We can’t wait!

Join Holly and me this January by taking on RED January – you dn’t have to run every day, you just have to MOVE ever day, and you can print out a lovely calendar to pop on your fridge and tick off as the month goes on.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly, and invites to patron-only zoom chats with us too!

Thank you for listening. Email us at [email protected] with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

This episode is sponsored by Sweaty Betty. We start off by talking about herbal teas and Hoovers, because that’s the way we are. We then move reluctantly on to running. Holly is planning her first 5K post half marathon, and I have some ideas about keeping her running oar in so to speak. At this point we chat about the Paris Half on March 5th 2023, as this will be her biggest motivator when it comes to winter running. This is big for us as we want you to join us! We’ve partnered with Sports Tours to organise a nice discount and a load of other benefits to try and get as many of you along with us as possible. All you have to do is pre-register for just £50 – that £50 is then fully refundable against the price of the package. Full details of the packages will be released on November 24th, but as a guide package prices start from £219, based on two sharing, without flights (but flights are super cheap at the mo). The package includes accommodation in central Paris, support from expert Sports Tours reps, a shake-down run, a pasta party, and post-event drinks with us featuring – we hope - a live podcast recording! Plus everyone that joins us will receive a limited edition Women’s Running Sports Tours hoody! It’s almost too exciting. Link below!

We also talk about other things we can do to keep our fitness up through the winter. I touch on SAD and depression, so please be aware of that if it’s triggering for you. Full disclosure, I find winter very hard in terms of my mental health, but one thing I found extremely helpful this year was signing up to RED January – having a calendar to tick things off was very grounding, and helped move me through the month. And I truly believe that building new habits in terms of my fitness has prevented injuries and has made me a better runner. I reckon you should all do that with Holly and me, too, and this is a bit easier as it’s free. Sign up below.

We finish with the obvious bake off chat.

Links

This episode is sponsored by the very lovely Sweaty Betty

Pre-register for the Women’s Running Podcast Paris Half Marathon (aka Pod Squad Go Mad in Paris) right here. Come join us! We can’t wait!

Join Holly and me this January by taking on RED January – you dn’t have to run every day, you just have to MOVE ever day, and you can print out a lovely calendar to pop on your fridge and tick off as the month goes on.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly, and invites to patron-only zoom chats with us too!

Thank you for listening. Email us at [email protected] with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

This episode is sponsored by Wine52, which is thoroughly appropriate. Today’s episode is about one thing, and one thing only – and that’s Holly’s half. Mine too, but mine is nowhere near as important. We start this conversation the day after the Bath Half talking about French school songs and novelty loungewear. But then we’re into the meat of it, with Holly talking through her nerves, her carb strategy and how she felt on the morning of the race. She was really nervous ahead of the day, but she used all the mental strategies that we’ve been talking about over the past few weeks. There’s a lot to talk about in terms of race days throwing curve balls at us – the weather was warm! And that had an impact on our running and our hydration, so there are a lot of learns there, but not least that you have to expect the unexpected. She is so proud of herself, and I am so proud of her. It’s my first race after the London Marathon, and it was actually okay – slightly painful but okay.

It’s also time for our Big Announcement about what we’re going to be doing in March 2023, and we’d like to involve you. I was hoping to share a discount code here, as you’ll hear on the pod, but we’re not quite there yet – next week, we’ll have it for sure, and it’s better than I thought! More details to come. And of *course* we finish up with some intense Bake Off chat.

Links

Claim your three whole, proper sized full bottles of wine from Wine 52, and you just have to pay 8.95 to cover the cost of postage.

Please support us on Patreon and you’ll get some lovely patron-only perks, including an exclusive newsletter from me and Holly, and invites to patron-only zoom chats with us too!

Thank you for listening. Email us at [email protected] with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

 Today we have a very special guest in the shape of Charlie Watson, who you might know better as Runner Beans. Charlie was one of the first runners I followed on Instagram many, many years ago, and her enthusiasm and realism when it came to training, goals and nutrition have been fundamental to my own running journey, so we were thrilled to speak to her here. Charlie has had an adventurous journey so far, from aspiring marathon runner, to NHS employee in the face of the pandemic, and she has also very honestly documented her journey to parenthood, of which she touches on at the end of this podcast. To begin with I ask her, now that she’s just completed her 16th marathon, does she still have the fear when she steps on the start line? We also talk about how she got into running in the first place, and how she moved into her new career as an NHS dietition – a sidestep that is in fact entirely linked to her running. Both Holly and I are desperate for advice ahead of Holly’s half marathon, so we quiz her here on training and nutrition, and if there are any shortcuts we can take ahead of our next goals. I think you all know the answer to that one...

Next episode: Holly's half marathon debrief!

Links

This episode is sponsored by Merrell! All podcast listeners can get an exclusive 20% discount off all Merrell Orders over £50 at SportsShoes.com. Just use the code OUTOUT20 at the checkout on any Merrell products.

Sign up to Charlie’s free, monthly Rise & Run from the Westin. 

Both Charlie and I stayed at the Westin London City ahead of the marathon – you can’t get a better location! Check it out if you’re running in April, or just planning a visit to the Big Smoke.]

Follow Charlie on Instagram.

Check out her brilliant book, Cook Eat Run – the best cookbook for runners.

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

First things first – I need to give you a big old trigger warning here, as we’re chatting about pregnancy and I also bring up the topic miscarriage. Please stop here, if this chat isn’t for you.

This episode we welcome our third, very beautiful, wheel in the form of Kate, who works with us on Women’s Running and is – SPOILER – up the duff. We wanted to bring her on as she is a personal trainer and a runner and a pregnant person, and we thought it would be wonderful to combine all those things and talk about running and pregnancy.

Kate talks us through her experiences with training and pregnancy through the first and second trimester. Her experiences will not be applicable for everyone – they’re certainly not the same as mine – so I’m not asking her about these as guidance for pregnant people, it’s just what she has experienced and how she has managed her training. As a sensible woman and through her experience working in fitness, it turns out that her saving grace was the trusty Couch to 5K app, which she used when she started running again after her morning sickness had subsided.

I talk about the miscarriages I went through before having children – so if this is triggering for you, do please avoid this episode. I only wanted to bring this up because my experience was that I gave up running and exercise immediately when I got pregnant because of having those miscarriages and wrongly assuming one had something to do with the other, while Kate has continued to exercise and is reaping the rewards from that.

Kate has also some sensible words on eating and pregnancy, and how that it has actually been a refreshing thing for her, to be able to see food as fuel.

Speaking of fuel, we end with Bake Off. Obvs. Oh and we start with conkers. Standard.

Links

This episode is sponsored by Merrell! Use OUTOUT20 at the checkout at SportsShoes.com on any Merrell order over £50 to receive an exclusive 20% off. 

Please support us on Patreon and you can join us for our SECOND Live event on Thursday 20th October for a chat on Zoom!

Get your hands on Women’s Running magazine for half price, and bag yourself a pair of exclusive Monkey Sox running socks! Just enter X22WRP at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at [email protected] with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Get bonus content on Patreon

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

This episode is about one thing and one thing only (with a few tangents): the London Marathon! We’re speaking here at 10.30am on a Monday morning, the day after the London Marathon and this is the first chance I’ve had to talk to Holly about it all. There is so much to discuss! We talk about the sleepless night beforehand, the famous people I had pep talks from, and the surprises along the way. The actual running was almost just a secondary part to a day that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I had specifically downloaded an audiobook purely for its distraction techniques, but as I divulge here, I didn’t listen to any of it (aside from the sexy bits). Instead I was entirely distracted by the experience itself – the sights, the crowds, and managing my running. Please bear with me here: I’m extremely sweary, but emotions are high, and mostly high because I’ve finished it, but also because I loved it. I can’t wait to do it again. And a very big shout out to you, our wonderful podcast crew: I had so many messages of support and so many donations to my sponsorship page, that I felt lifted by all of you. You made me cry, but in a very good way. We also, in this episode, discuss Holly’s latest running adventures. Two weeks out from her half marathon, she’s had a little wobble over the weekend, but I hope I’ve seen her right. Finally, it’s been the third episode of Bake Off and we have had a few thoughts about that, which we have to talk about now that we are the unofficial Bake Off podcast (with a bit of running on the side).

Links

This episode is sponsored by Maaree, makers of the most wonderful running bras in the whole wide world. Fact.

Please support us on Patreon for exclusive weekly newsletters!

Get your hands on Women’s Running magazine for half price, and bag yourself a pair of exclusive Monkey Sox running socks! Just enter X22WRP at the checkout.

Thank you for listening. Email us at [email protected] with any questions or running stories, as we’d love to include them. 

Get bonus content on Patreon

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