The Running Explained Podcast

Is there anything worse than needing an emergency bathroom stop on a run... except for needing TWO? What about when our poor gut health interferes with our ability to absorb important micronutrients or tolerate the fuel we need to power our long runs and races? Sports dietitian Kylee Van Horn, RD (@flynutrition3) is here to talk all about gut health for runners! Including...

What IS "good gut health" in general and how can we support it?

Our gut microbiome

Can changes in our gut health signal when our training balance is appropriate vs inappropriate?

How does "nutritional training" work to help us handle more fuel & fluids?

Signs your gut health isn't great (& what to do)

And more!

Kylee Van Horn, RDN is an endurance sports dietitian, who takes a balanced, sustainable approach to fuel the every day up to the elite athlete.  Her mission is to separate facts from fads in the nutrition space and work to provide easy nutrition solutions to help improve health and performance.  Today, Kylee is the founder and owner of her sports nutrition business Flynutrition, which helps runners, triathletes, and skiers to learn not only the ‘why’ but the ‘how’ behind fueling for performance.  She also is a freelance writer for Trail Runner Magazine, Women's Running Magazine, and Outside Online. Beyond her work in sports nutrition, Kylee can be found running peaks near Aspen, CO with her three Australian shepherds and ultra-endurance husband, Sean.

YOUR KNEES AND RUNNING, PART TWO with Dr. Lauren LaPierre, DPT (@thepersonalizedrunningdoc). Thought we'd covered it all last season? Nope!

-No, running still isn't bad for your knees

-How is it that we sometimes experience whole-joint soreness in the knees?

-Risk factors for knee injuries

-Isometric exercises to address knee pain

-Stabilization of the knee joint: understanding the role of the adductors

-How to harness the power of eccentric exercises to improve your running

-Is it OK to let my knees go past my toes when I'm strength training?

-Are we doing ourselves a dissevice in how we talk about having "good knees" or "bad knees"?

-Different rates of development for muscles vs. tendons vs. ligaments, etc

-If strength takes so long to develop... how come I can rapidly increase how much I can handle when I first start lifting weights?

-Why PRs aren't the only measure of improvement

-How to use injury as an growth opportunity

-"Offensive" vs "defensive" strength training as a runner

-And more!

Dr. Lauren LaPierre is a doctor of physical therapy by trade, runner rehab specialist and running coach! Dr. Lauren personally has over a decade of competitive running experience, competing throughout high school and later for the University of Rhode Island as a Division I athlete. Her personal journey with running is the reason she went to PT school and later started her business, The Personalized Running Doc.

Her mission is to help other runners overcome training-related injuries when all else has failed, empowering them to continue running for themselves and crushing their goals as they do. Since 2020, her comprehensive approach and hybrid training model have helped runners all over the world return to running pain-free and reach their maximum running potential!

Owwwww my hips hurt! Hip pain in runners is not uncommon, and physical therapist Dr. Sarah Louie joins the show to talk about hips, running, and what you need to know to "bulletproof" your hips as a runner!

-What are some misunderstandings runners have about hip injuries?

-The form and function of how our hips work

-Why you need more than clamshells to bulletproof your hips

-Ruling out bone stress injuries

-Injuries from morphology differences

-Strength training that WORKS for stronger hips

-Considerations for pregnant and post-partum runners

-Asymptomatic labral tears: what next?

-And more!

Sarah Louie is a Fellowship Trained Doctor of Physical Therapy and return-to-run coach who specifically helps women runners with hip pain return to run comfortably and confidently through the EmpowHER Hip Program. 

https://www.instagram.com/dr.sarah_thehipdoc/

Running Explained Coach and 25x marathoner Jessie Gruca joins the show to talk about MARATHON TRAINING! Hear from Coach Jessie on the evolution on her marathon knowledge, what's been the most impactful changes for her (especially as a post-partum runner), and how she approaches coaching her own marathoners!

-The biggest marathon training mistakes most runners make

-Should we try to PR every single time we run a marathon?

-The importance of fueling and hydration

-Novice marathoners vs gain experience in the marathon

-Marathon effort vs marathon pace

-Why it's a problem if you're hammering your marathon pace workouts in the hopes of impressing your coach or forcing your goal pace

-Key marathon workouts for more experienced runners

-How to pace your marathon properly

-Building mental toughness in training

-and more!

Our miniseries on triathlon continues with Sports Dietitian Natalie Robertello, MS, RD, CSSD, CDN of BeFueled Sports Nutrition to educate us on the FOUNDATIONS of fueling for multisport events, i.e. triathlon!

The basics of multisport fueling

How do your daily nutrition needs change as training volume increases?

Understanding your hydration needs

Planning your multisport nutrition plan

Sport fuel vs. "whole" food fueling

Liquid carbs: how and when?

60-90 g/hr vs 90+ g/hr in training and racing

Having a plan vs EXECUTING the plan!

Being a data-driven athlete: the role of continuous glucose monitors for performance

and more!

🕶️🦩This episode is sponsored by GOODR SUNGLASSES! Every pair comes with a 1-Year Warranty and 30-day FREE returns. 100% satisfaction guaranteed (plus Goodr is 100% Carbon Neutral company + 1% for the planet 🌎) Get FREE SHIPPING on your next order of sunglasses & support the show using code RUNEXP at www.goodr.com! 🕶️

Natalie Robertello is the Owner & Head Dietitian at BeFueled Sports Nutrition. Nourish your body with the foods you enjoy. No matter what your sports performance goal, focusing on what you can ADD IN is what will benefit you. I help you make the connection between what foods will help to support your training and what foods you enjoy to help you to feel and perform your best.

https://www.befueledsn.com/

https://www.instagram.com/befueledsportsnutrition/

WHY AM I GETTING SLOWER? As coaches, this is a common question we we get, and Coach Amanda Brooks (@runtothefinish) and Coach Laura Norris, MS (@lauranorrisrunning), co-hosts of the Tread Lightly Podcast, are here to talk about it!

-When an athlete comes to you and says "help, I'm getting slower", what are the first things that come into your mind about what you want to know about the athlete?

-Detraining/time-off impacting fitness

-Supercompensation negative trends due to life stress, poor fueling, etc

-Overtraining and doing "too much" can actually take you backward

-Generally, how often do you see athletes completely miscalculate simply how much their life stress impacts their training tolerance?

-"Help, I think I'm getting faster but my races aren't reflecting that!"

-"Help, I’ve gone from running BQ marathons to barely being able to run 5 miles in the past 6 months!"

-"Help, I've started easy running but now I'm getting slower" - what are the possibles here?

-When is it time to start working with a coach, when you just need to stop panicking and stay the course, when it's time to see a medical professional, etc

Amanda Brooks is the author of the Run To The Finish: The Everyday Runner's Guide to Avoiding Injury, Ignoring the Clock and Loving the Run. With over 470 Amazon reviews declaring her advice is described as perfect for "middle of the pack runners that are trying to do the best for themselves, stay injury free, and train healthy while still living their lives." As a certified running coach and personal trainer, she's helped thousands of runners over the last 10 years, run over 26000 miles and believes running is more important now than ever before.

Laura Norris is the owner and coach behind Laura Norris Running. She recently earned her Master of Science in Applied Exercise Science. She is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a certified sports nutritionist through the International Society of Sport Nutrition, and a certified running coach through RRCA and VDOT. She practices evidence-based coaching blended with a holistic treatment of the athlete as an individual. In her 7+ years of coaching, she's coached over 400 runners, from first-time racers to podium finishers. Her personal bests include a 1:34 half marathon and 3:29 marathon. She lives in Colorado with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. Laura's hobbies include running, gravel biking, learning German, daily Wordle, and sci-fi/action/fantasy movies and books.

Let's learn all about our calves nd Achilles tendons and how important they are for running! Sports Chiropractor Luke Nelson (@sportschiroluke) joins the show today to teach us all about our calves!

-The structure of our calves: what are the key muscles?

- What role do our calves play when we run?

-Common calf-related issues runners face: tightness, muscle cramps, etc

-The Achilles tendon and what it does

-Common Achilles-related injuries

-What can runners do to help make our calves as strong and functional as possible?

-And more!

Luke Nelson is a titled Sports & Exercise Chiropractor, who has worked in private practice in Melbourne, Australia for 20 years.  He has presented widely across Australia & Internationally, on various sporting injury-related topics, primarily focused on running. A keen fitness enthusiast himself, Luke has completed 7 marathons, an ultra-marathon and 2 Iron Man triathlons. Luke fulfils a number of committee roles including Past President & current Education chair of Sports Chiro Australia and Vice-chair of Sports Medicine Australia Victorian committee. His postgraduate qualifications include International Sports Chiropractic Practitioner, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Chiropractic, Masters of Sports Science, ASCA Level 1 Strength coach & Athletics Australia Level 1 Recreational runner coach. Luke was recently awarded the 2022 ACA Chiropractor of the Year for his services to the profession.

What can perimenopausal athletes do to support their health and training? Well, let's start with nutrition! Registered Dietitian Brooke Czarnecki, RDN, LD of Intentful Nutrition (@intentfulnutrition) joins the show today to talk about perimenopause, being an endurance athlete in perimenopause, and what you can do to support your health and performance during this time!

What is perimenopause?

Why it's a tricky time for runners specifically

What are the symptoms of perimenopause? What's normal and NOT normal?

Why the traditional advice of "eat less, move more" won't apply to you as a runner when addressing body composition changes

The role of PROTEIN! What do you need? How does that change?

Do your micronutrient needs change in perimenopause?

Do intra-run nutrition recommendations change?

What about running with insulin resistance?

Weight loss drugs; what's the deal?

and more!

🕶️🦩This episode is sponsored by GOODR SUNGLASSES! Every pair comes with a 1-Year Warranty and 30-day FREE returns. 100% satisfaction guaranteed (plus Goodr is 100% Carbon Neutral company + 1% for the planet 🌎) Get FREE SHIPPING on your next order of sunglasses & support the show using code RUNEXP at www.goodr.com! 🕶️

-- Brooke Czarnecki, RDN, LD is the founder of Intentful Nutrition, where she helps you understand the what, why, and how behind your nutrition. Her mission is for all individuals to tune out diet culture, understand their unique definition of health, and for all individuals to treat their body with dignity and respect.

https://intentfulnutrition.com/

Let's talk about low-carb diets for endurance athletes! Sports dietitian Holley Samuel, RD, MEd, CPT (@holleyfuelednutrition) joins the show to talk about low carbohydrate approaches for endurance athletes. Good? Bad? Let's discuss!

• Intentional vs unintentional carbohydrate restriction
• The purported benefits of a low-carb approach; does it translate to performance gains?
• The current state of the research on low-carb approaches for endurance athletes
• What "fat burning"/being fat-adapted actually means
• Is it the carb restriction or calorie restriction that creates the risk?
• The limitations of the research and what we still don't know
• The risks of a low-carb approach from a health perspective (especially for people with a history of disordered eating)
• What about body composition?
• The relationship between carbohydrate restriction and Low Energy Availability (LEA)/Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
• What's going on with the small subset of (mostly male) athletes who seem to thrive for years on a low carbohydrate approach?
• And more!

Holley Samuel is a dietitian, personal trainer, master of education & eating disorders, and podcaster at her virtual practice Holley Fueled Nutrition. Holley works with runners and helps them learn to fuel their bodies without restriction, make peace with food, and prevent injuries to become stronger and faster runners for life. https://holleyfuelednutrition.com

HOW can you be an informed consumer of sports nutrition products? How can you critically evaluate the claims set forth by different sports nutrition companies, sort through the BS, and find the best products for you? Sports Dietitian Stevie Lyn Smith, MS, RDN, CSSD, CDN (@stevielynlyn) joins the show to help us become more informed consumers and understand different marketing pitches for sports nutrition products

• Trends in sports nutrition products & marketing
• Special claims and how certain products try to differentiate themselves
• What's the deal with products marketed as "low sugar"?
• A peek behind the curtain of endorsement deals and your favorite runners promoting specific products
• Understand slow vs. fast carbs
• How to "read the label" on your sports nutrition products: what to look for & what you're looking at
• Marketing buzzwords
• Electrolytes!!
• Other sports nutrition products: protein powder, collagen, pre-workout, caffeine, creatine, etc
• and more!

Stevie Lyn has ten years of experience in providing nutrition education and counseling in a variety of clinical settings and with athletes of all levels. Growing up as a three-season athlete and playing lacrosse at the collegiate level, being active has always been a passion. After retiring from team sports, she has since completed ten full Ironman distance triathlons, numerous half-iron distance triathlons, and marathons, along with many other endurance events including the ultra-marathon distance. As an avid endurance and team sport athlete, she knows the importance of eating to support a healthy lifestyle both on and off the field. When working with groups and clients one-on-one she provides an evidenced-based and practical approach using her education and experience to empower individuals to improve their physical and mental well-being.

While Stevie Lyn is a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, she also has worked with many other populations providing medical nutrition therapy. Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease later in her athletic career, she feels strongly about helping others to continue to stay active and healthy while managing chronic autoimmune disease.

What do you get when you run all six of the Abbott World Major Marathons: Berlin, Chicago, London, New York, Boston, and Tokyo? You get a special medal and a place on the short list of runners who have accomplished such a feat! Marathoner, journalist, and coach Ashley Mateo (@ashleymateo) joins the show to talk about her Six Star journey!

• What does it mean to run these 6 races?
• The logistics of running a major marathon (sometimes in a different country)
• Goal setting when you're running a huge race
• The pressure we put on ourselves to perform a certain way when the stage is big
• The differences in the different courses
• What you can - and cannot - control on race day
• and more!

Ashley Mateo is an award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Runner's World, Women's Running, Men's Journal, Health, Women's Health, and more. She's also a 13x marathoner and an RRCA- and UESCA-certified running coach based in Denver.

How do we get better at racing? We need to race! Racing is a skill that is developed through experience, and yes, you'll make some mistakes along with the way - that's NORMAL. Coach Sara Manderscheid joins the show to discuss the lessons we can learn from racing, how to learn the RIGHT lessons from your races (good or bad!) and more!

• What do we mean when we say "racing is a skill"?
• Racing enough to develop the skill of racing without racing all the time!
• How do you communicate about racing & race planning with someone who is new or never really raced before?
• What do we mean when we say "the goal is to finish strong" in a race?
• What do we mean by "peak fitness" and why can't we race our fastest possible races all the time?
• Troubleshooting common race errors and what we can learn from them
• "I was trying to run faster but my legs wouldn't turn over!"
• "I kept pushing harder and harder but my pace kept slowing down!"
• "I went out at xx pace... why couldn't I hold it?"
• "It felt like my whole body just shut down at mile (10/16/22, etc) - what happened?
• "Why do I need to adjust my race plan when it's hot/humid, etc?"

Sara's mission is to deliver customized training plans, motivation, inspiration, and support for committed runners looking to take their training to the next level. She meets the athlete where they are to create the right plan for them. Running gets to fit into life, not the other way around. With over 15 years of running experience and knowledge, Sara's goal is to help each individual become the strongest version of themselves. Showing up for yourself is the first step, Sara is right there with you in the process to discover your potential and breakthrough to new levels - as a human and as an athlete! ❤️

https://elevateyourrunning.com/

How do you learn to TRUST that the process is working? How do you learn to TRUST yourself instead of trying to be "perfect on paper"? How do you become OK with your goals taking longer than you want to achieve? Coach Angie Brown, DPT, of @realliferunners, joins the show to talk about TRUST: learning to trust the process and trust yourself!

• Common misconceptions about the process
• Why is it so hard to learn to trust ourselves?
• Getting frustrated & overwhelmed when you're trying to do "all the things" at the same time
• When our ego gets in the way
• Letting go of instant gratification 
• Learning to tune into your body, not your watch
• What if it takes longer than you want to reach your goals?
• Focusing on the process, not the outcome
• Not letting a single bad workout or race destroy your confidence  
• And more!

Dr. Angie Brown, DPT is a mom, wife, entrepreneur, coach, and physical therapist that is the founder of the Real Life Runners Training Academy and Real Life Runners podcast that she hosts alongside her husband, Kevin Brown. She loves helping runners to run faster and longer without injury so they can have more energy, be strong, healthy, and fit, and have more freedom in their lives. She holds her doctorate in physical therapy, specializing in runner-specific strength and conditioning, mobility, and injury prevention for runners and also holds a certification in nutrition to help her clients integrate healthy eating to complement their training and overall health goals. She has a passion for health, wellness, food, fitness and helping to educate people on the importance of healthy lifestyle changes, in order to live an active, vibrant life, both now and as we get older.

Website: https://www.realliferunners.com/

Email: support@realliferunners.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realliferunners

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realliferunners

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@realliferunners 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realliferunners 

PLYOMETRICS! What place do they have in an endurance runner's training? Dr. Matt Casturo, DPT, CSCS (@themovementsystem) joins the show to introduce us to plyometrics for endurance runners!

• What are plyometrics?
• "Sport-specific" training vs "general fitness training"
• Muscle fiber types and "explosive" power
• The Stretch-Shortening Cycle
• Tendons!
• WHY an endurance runner might want to include plyo
• How to SAFELY introduce plyo into your training
• and more!

The Movement System was created by Matt Casturo, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, to improve your understanding of human movement and make the world stronger. Matt received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The Ohio State University in 2021, and his Bachelors in Exercise Science from The Ohio State University in 2017.

What's the deal with... supershoes? The Doctors of Running (@doctorsofrunning) Matthew Klein, PT DPT PhD(c) OCS GCS FAAOMPT, and Nathan Brown, PT DPT OCS, are here talk all things CARBON PLATES, fancy foams, performance improvements (maybe...?) and more!!

• What IS a "supershoe"?
• History of this new generation of footwear
• Getting nerdy about foams
• What does the "plate" actually do?
• Supershoe geometry
• What does the science say about what these shoes DO?
• If, how, and when to wear a plated shoe
• Do stability plated shoes exist?
• Is this CHEATING? 

Doctors of Running (formerly Kleinruns DPT) was founded by Dr. Matt Klein as a way for him to share his thoughts and learn more about footwear, biomechanics, physical therapy, rehabilitation, running, and performance.  It continues to evolve to this day to meet the needs of those who contribute, those who read/visit and those looking for assistance. 

https://www.doctorsofrunning.com

https://www.facebook.com/doctorsofrunning

https://www.instagram.com/doctorsofrunning

https://www.youtube.com/@doctorsofrunning

https://twitter.com/DoctorsRunning

Welcome to Season 3! Dr. Matt Minard, DPT, CSCS, founder of Learn2Run, joins Coach Elisabeth for the first episode of 2023 for a deep dive on running cadence.

WHAT is running cadence?

WHEN does cadence matter?

WHO should pay attention to cadence?

Learn about optimal cadence, the relationship between cadence and speed, cadence and stride right, and more in this wide-ranging conversation about running cadence!

Dr. Matt Minard owns Learn 2 Run, a program that teaches runners how to run smarter, safer, and faster. He hopes this podcast will help runners improve their metrics while reducing injuries. In practice, he focuses on 3 very important aspects of running: optimizing mechanics, building a base, and increasing VO2max. His purpose is to help people. With a passion for human movement and fitness, he is driven to help others learn how to move their bodies strategically and efficiently to reduce the risk of injury and increase overall wellness.

https://www.instagram.com/learn.2.run

https://www.tiktok.com/@learn.2.run

www.l2rsmartersaferfaster.com

🕶️🦩This episode is sponsored by GOODR SUNGLASSES! Get FREE SHIPPING on your next order of sunglasses & support the show using code RUNEXP at www.goodr.com! 🕶️

Coach Elisabeth breaks down 5 lessons & reflections from 2022 in this final episode of the year, including....

• Stress is stress
• You can't always get what you want
• A little speed goes a long way
• An object in motion stays in motion
• Being in shape is awesome; getting into shape sucks

This episode is sponsored by InsideTracker! For a limited time, get 20% off the entire InsideTracker store; visit insidetracker.com/runningexplained today! Created by leading scientists in aging, genetics, and biometrics, InsideTracker analyzes your blood, DNA, and fitness tracking data to identify where you’re optimized—and where you’re not. You’ll get a daily Action Plan with personalized guidance on the right exercise, nutrition, and supplementation for your body. Add InnerAge 2.0 to any plan to calculate your true biological age, and see how you’re aging from the inside out!

Let's finish up 2022 with an old-fashioned listener Q&A! Coach Elisabeth goes through a variety of listener-submitted questions in this second-to-last episode of the year, discussing training cycles & trying to get pregnant, stress fractures, best hydration vests, run coaching, and more!

• What is "diet culture" and how does it influence our approach to performance fueling?
• "Discipline" versus balance
• Recognizing common obstacles to appropriate fueling
• "Dieting" culture
• Fear of carbs/fear of "too much"
• When liquid calories have a place (sometimes a mandatory one!)
• What happens when you feel like you can't carb load, i.e. eat the recommended carbohydrates per day?
• Tips for planning your pre-race carb-load 
• Generational and gender differences in common obstacles to performance nutrition
• The stories we tell ourselves about how the way we eat defines who we are
• How to dis-entangle our beliefs around running more & eating less when we originally started running as a way to lose weight
• Weird "internet" diet trends
• The way certain sports nutrition products are marketed using "diet culture" talking points

https://www.befueledsn.com/

Sports Dietitian & owner of BeFueled Sports Nutrition, as well as an endurance athlete (triathlete, runner).

The only constant is change, and while running may seem like your rock in the ever-flowing river of life, your relationship with running WILL change over the course of not only your life, but the seasons of life you find yourself in. Tina Muir, Founder of Running for Real, mom, podcaster, and former professional runner and international runner for Great Britain & Ireland joins the show to talk about the many ways we can form a relationship with running, and what we should be striving for at the end of the day

• Tina’s experience an a professional runner and what her relationship was like with the sport when it was her job
• The strange challenges and pressures professional runners face when running is how your job
• Not every season of life is going to be the season where you’re training hard and setting PRs
• Running as a mom & not getting caught in the comparison trap
• “You can’t quantify your way to a guaranteed outcome”
• Branching out and finding joy in ALL the things, not just chasing times

This episode is sponsored by InsideTracker! For a limited time, get 20% off the entire InsideTracker store; visit insidetracker.com/runningexplained today! Created by leading scientists in aging, genetics, and biometrics, InsideTracker analyzes your blood, DNA, and fitness tracking data to identify where you’re optimized—and where you’re not. You’ll get a daily Action Plan with personalized guidance on the right exercise, nutrition, and supplementation for your body. Add InnerAge 2.0 to any plan to calculate your true biological age, and see how you’re aging from the inside out!

Tina is the founder and CEO of Running For Real. Tina is a mother of two and former international runner for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Tina hosts the Running For Real Podcast, which has amassed over 6 million downloads. The Running For Real Podcast is a collective of conversations about running, the climate emergency, and social justice. Tina also hosts a second, NPR style podcast with Knox Robinson called Running Realized, noted as "The 'Invisibilia' of running" by Women's Running. Tina has worked with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and been featured in The Guardian, The Telegraph, People Magazine, Outside, SELF, and Women’s Health.