Run To The Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide To Running

Mark Gainey - Social Media For Runners This week we hear from Mark Gainey, co-founder and Chairman of Strava, the social network for athletes. Founded in 2009, millions of athletes worldwide have joined Strava for the ability to track and share their fitness activities as a community whether they are running, cycling, hiking, racing, skiing, swimming or just working out.   Mark is a runner, cyclist and fitness enthusiast. Started as a youth soccer player later moving to Cross Country in high school, winning the individual State Championship as a Senior. After a collegiate career as a rower, Mark returned to running in the 1990’s and has participated in local 10k’s, marathons and an IronMan and has completed the Chicago, New York and Boston Marathons. He now has his sights set on an Ultra Marathon.   In this episode we learn how and why Strava was developed and has evolved over time and why so many athletes choose to connect through its website and app. Strava is device-agnostic, so you don’t have to spend a l

In this episode, we chat with well-known and highly acclaimed scientist, doctor and author Professor Tim Noakes. We learn is a Low Carb, High Fat diet can be beneficial for athletes. We also discuss the controversy and challenges athletes face when trying to eat low carb and high fat. This episode is quite dense with nutritional information, historical information and may put some of our deepest held nutritional beliefs to the test. But as Tim says, the most important thing is that we listen to our own bodies and not necessarily any ‘experts’ (including him) to determine our optimal nutrition.

Earlier this month, Sarah Crouch was the first American female finisher at the Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:32:37, which was also a PR, and 6th place overall. In this episode, she shares some of her training secrets and nutrition strategies for the marathon!  

In today's episode, here from Trail Running Film Festival, founder James Varner discusses how his films help inspire and motivate trail runners. Plus, learn how you can catch some of these amazing stories when they're in a town near you.

Pease Brothers - Creating Impact Beyond the Finish Line On October 13th, 2018, brothers Kyle and Brent Pease will compete in the grueling Ironman World Championship triathlon in Kona, Hawaii consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles of cycling capped with a full 26.2 mile marathon. And they will be competing as a wheelchair assisted team.

William Pullen, is spreading the message that movement is medicine for mind, body and soul. He is the author of the book: Running with Mindfulness: Dynamic Running Therapy (DRT) to Improve Low-mood, Anxiety, Stress, and Depression, which offers solutions to many of the issues people are currently experiencing.  

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella recently wrote Run for Your Life: How to Run, Walk, and Move Without Pain or Injury and Achieve a Sense of Well-Being and Joy.  This book addresses many of the common questions runners have about gear, motivation, running form, injury prevention and more.

Claire Bartholic - The Planted Runner This week, we hear from 2:58 marathoner, multiple BQ-er, Masters Athlete and RunnersConnect Coach, Claire Bartholic. You may recognize her voice from the “Extra Kick Podcast” from RunnersConnect, and in this episode we learn even more about how she uses s plant based diet to train her best.

For regular runners to children, to elite competitors, RRCA is behind the scenes making running accessible to all of us at all stages of our running lives. RRCA provides support to over 40 programs through grants, serving over 23,000 children around the US via school-based running programs as well as offering two levels of coaching certification to help runners achieve their goals and much more.  

Allen Curanno ran his first 50k in 2010 and has since run several 50k’s, the North Face 50-miler in Marin, the Miwok 100k, the Wasatch Front 100 mile and Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile trail races. He has also run the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, and for a while had the Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the East Bay Skyline Trail. He enjoys the competitive and social aspect of trail races, but what really excites him is long, self-sufficient adventure runs in the High Sierra which is why he attempted to run the entire 211 mile John Muir Trail unaccompanied.

Sally Edwards is a running pioneer who has carried the fitness torch since the early 70's.  The 70's was the beginning of her career as an exceptional athlete and an astute business woman, dedicated always to the credo that fitness is a way of life. From Western States to the Olympic Trials, to snowshoeing 24 hours continuously in Alaska, and many more accomplishments as a business woman and extreme athlete/runner Sally has a great story to share and the fact that she had "the courage to finish last" is just one of many interesting facets to her life.

Being Vegan isn’t just a diet, it’s a lifestyle. But is a vegan diet sufficient for athletes? Well, just ask Ultra-Marathoner Rich Roll, Marathoner Scott Jurek and our own coach, Claire Bartholic and I’m sure you’ll get 3 emphatic replies of YES.

Michael Jordan. Phil Mickelson. Michael Phelps. Meb Keflezighi. Even the greatest athletes have coaches. Or rather, ESPECIALLY the greatest athletes have coaches. Will working with a coach transform you into an elite runner? Well… not necessarily. But will working with a coach increase your performance greater than going it alone? Absolutely.  

Strength Training. We all could benefit from it. But who has time for it? What if you’re still fairly new to fitness or running and don’t want to invest in hundreds of dollars of equipment? What if you don’t like the idea of going to a gym and ‘performing’ exercises for the whole world to see? Enter Krista Stryker, creator of 12-Minute Athlete, a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout regimen consisting of incredibly short, effective workouts based on calisthenics, cross-training and functional fitness.

One of, if not THE, best way to improve your running AND prevent running injuries is by implementing strength training into your training program. But where do you start? How should you start? This week’s episode features RunnersConnect founder, Jeff Gaudette. Jeff has been a runner for 25 years with personal times of 2:22  in the marathon and 28:45 in the 10k. Recently, Jeff has been focusing on strength training and injury prevention and he speaks with our host, Stephanie, on the science and philosophy of how important strength training is for runners.

Coach Stephanie expands on her marathon training method and how it has helped athletes qualify for Boston. This week focuses on 3 quality runs per week and introduces early training nutrition as an additional and essential part of effective training.

In this week’s episode our host, Stephanie Kay Atwood, runs solo from across the border in Mexico with a tried and true training strategy for Boston Qualifying (BQ’ing): Run-Walk. That’s right. By using run walk, over-distance training and only 3 days of running per week, Stephanie and other athletes she has coached have successfully BQ’d using this training method.

Learn how to use your brain power to be a better runner! Psychologist, bestselling author, athlete and teacher, Dr. Michelle Cleere, works with high achieving athletes, musicians and other top professionals to stay on top of their game. In these pressure-filled fields, the mental factor can be overwhelming. Staying focused and motivated is key to their success.

Justin and Denise Ricks of Mad Moose Events share the history, geology, topography and the incredible routes to run and race in their home area of Moab, Utah, home to two National Parks: Canyonlands and Arches, plus nearby Bears Ears National Monument.

Simon Ong talks about his past health issues and how he changed his life through running. He shares details of his training cycles, from workouts to nutrition and how he went from couch potato to sub 6 minute miles in a half marathon. His story is one of inspiration and passion for running; the enthusiasm for life clearly in his voice.