Keep Running

Keep Running is delighted to be partnering with TRIBE for April. 

This week Rachel and Armana are joined by the man tasked with the demanding job of pacing the elite women to the Olympic Qualifying time in the recent British Marathon Trials, Kevin Quinn.

Kev though, is so much more than a pacer. He is a very, very decent runner in his own right boasting times of 2:22 for the marathon, 66:37 in the half marathon, 30:32 in the 10k and 14:37 in the 5k. These times were all posted after under going major heart surgery to repair four holes in Kev's heart which were found by chance after running a 2:25 marathon and feeling a little 'off'. 

Kev is also a coach for Team Real Runners, the running group he founded and which now boasts an Olympian coach in the form of Scott Overall in its ranks. 

Kev found running early on in his life, as he was tragically spurred on to take up the sport after his sister Lucy passed away at the age of just three years old, he took up the sport to run in her name and he has not looked back ever since. 

Link to Cardiac Risk In The Young - https://www.c-r-y.org.uk/ 

Tribe - This episode is sponsored by TRIBE.  To try a pack of TRIBE nutrition products, head to wearetribe.co/keeprunning and claim your first pack of delicious energy and protein bars for ust £2 (including shipping) by using the code TRIBEKEEPRUNNING

Keep Running is delighted to be partnering with TRIBE for the next four episodes.  

This week Rachel and Armana are joined by former elite High Jumper turned Marathon Runner and Author, Jayne Nisbet.

Jayne talks to the girls about her career as an elite high jumper and her transition into running and distance events. 

She talks openly about her struggles with disordered eating during her former elite years, how she overcame it and gives advice to others going through similar. 

Jayne is now the author of two books, ‘Free-ed’ - Free Yourself from Self Sabotage and Live Your Life Again and Life Planner, 90 days to a beyoutiful u’ which both help on the journey, which is Jayne's main goal...‘learning to love YOU a little bit more’.

We hope you enjoy the podcast. 

Tribe - This episode is sponsored by TRIBE.  To try a pack of TRIBE nutrition products, head to wearetribe.co/keeprunning and claim your first pack of delicious energy and protein bars for ust £2 (including shipping) by using the code TRIBEKEEPRUNNING

This week Rachel and Armana are joined by footwear specialist Emma Kirk Odunubi. 

Emma is a self proclaimed 'shoe gait geek' and talks in detail about how to go about finding the right running shoe that suits you during lockdown. She also answers many of the questions Rachel, Armana and many of you probably have about your running trainers, from 'when to buy a new pair?', to 'is putting them in the washing machine a good idea?'

Emma is not only a shoe specialist but also an Under Armour run ambassador, a running and strength coach and a cross fit fan. On this episode Emma also gives advice about what strength exercises you need in your locker if you are to become a better runner. 

Emma has a wealth of running and shoe knowledge and we hope you take something away from this episode that helps you to become the runner you want to be. 

This week Rachel and Armana speak to Sports Television Presenter, Youtuber, Influencer and of course Runner...Michael Timbs (Timbsy). 

Timbsy has interviewed some of the World's top footballers from the likes of Neymar and Mesut Ozil through to the legend, Zinedine Zidane, you may have seen him presenting on the BBC's Match of The Day spin off show, MOTD X. 

A two time New York Marathon finisher, Timbsy recently attempted to run 7 marathons in 7 days to raise money for charity, an experience which he described as 'beautiful'....He also chats to the girls about what running has done for him and why he runs. Timbsy is a deep thinker and shares with us the books that are enhancing his life and his running...maybe they will enhance yours too. Enjoy! 

This week on the ‘Keep Running’ Podcast Rachel and Armana are joined by the elite level athlete Nick Goolab. 

Nick is the former British 5k road record holder (13:27) who beat the mark set by Sir Mo Farah, in a race in Monaco in 2020.

Nick speaks to the girls about nearly quitting the sport on many occasion due to self-doubt and how working with a life coach changed his mind set and put him back on the right track, he also shares some useful tips on methods he has been taught to help any negative thinkers out there too.

Nick also gives some tips on how to run your best 5k and talks all about his British 5k road record breaking race in Monaco.

Today Rachel and Armana have their first guest from New Zealand, elite athlete and coach, Lydia O’Donnell.

This female has donned the national silver fern kit on several occasions but her route to the top was far from simple.

A brief stint in America which turned out wasn’t for her and trying to juggle a career and become a full-time athlete left her at an all time low. However, this resilient female bounced back and has taken national titles in the 5,000m, 10,000m and half marathon distances, boasts a 2:39 marathon personal best and is still excelling in her running career to date.

She was the winner and female team record holder of The Speed Project, an event which Lydia sights as one of the best things she has ever done, Lydia is not only striving to be the best herself but in her role as a coach and founder of Femmi, she is also striving to better the next generation of athletes too.

A real, inspiring and educational conversation, we hope you enjoy it.

On this week’s #KeepRunningPod Rachel and Armana are joined by Jevi Majid who has made it her mission to inspire more minority ethnic women to run and to be a role model helping to bring diversity to running.

This trail blazer recently became the first minority woman on the cover of Runners World in Norway and is leading the way for change in our sport.

Jevi talks about the barriers she faced from her community when she took up running to being an inspiration and role model to her two young daughters.

On the Keep Running Podcast this week we have Max Willcocks who is both a creator and a creative.  

He is an Adventurer, Influencer, Content Creator and Storyteller.  

If you’re in the Running and Adventure space then there is a big chance you will have seen some of his work without even knowing it.  

Or maybe you remember him as that guy who ran on a treadmill for 12 hours straight, in the window of the Lululemon shop on the Kings Road to try and break a World Record. Whatever the case, you are probably subconsciously aware of him.

Our guest has worked with some of the biggest brands in the business...Adidas, Under Armour, Jay Bird, Fit Bit, Strava, Men’s Running, today's guest likes to make things happen but just don't expect him to give you a motivational quote as that isn't his style.

Kicking off series 2 Rachel and Armana chat Ashley Fraser, My_marathon_journey on Instagram.

She is such a breath of fresh air in how she approaches her running and lives by the mantra ‘you only live once’.

Since starting her running journey in 2017 when she got accepted to run the London Marathon Ashley has progressed to being a true believer in running helping the soul. 

Coached by elite British Marathon runner Charlie Purdue, Ashley is currently making the transition from the roads to the trails and if you check out her Instagram, which oozes positivity, you will be find her running through many a field and smiling as she does it. 

Anna Boniface shares her memories from the London Marathon in 2017 where she crossed the line as the first female in the mass participation race. 

She also talks about her love for the club scene and her club, Reading AC. 

Anna also talks openly about achieving her first England vest and getting selected to run a marathon for her country in Montreal, however things didn't go quite to plan on her international debut, Anna didn't finish the race due to suffering a stress fracture which then got revealed as the result of RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) which has since plagued Anna's career. 

An open and honest chat with a very inspiring female. 

Dean Karnazes, THE Ultra Marathon Man, shares stories from some of his epic adventures. He also talks about dealing with fame, the by-product of his running success, on meeting the former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama and on why he thinks he has managed to achieve all that he has. 

Dean started running age 30, on his 30th birthday, when a shot of tequila lead to him deciding that he wanted a change from his corporate job in the city and to forging a path of adventure and excitement through running. Dean left the pub where he was celebrating his birthday and headed out for a 30 mile run and literally never stopped. 

You can find more about Dean’s inspirational story here
http://www.ultramarathonman.com/web/about/bio.shtml 

This week Rachel and Armana chat to the former elite British marathon runner, Mara Yamauchi.

Mara still boasts the second best marathon time of 2:23:12 for a British female athlete from her second place in the London Marathon in 2009.

Mara participated in two Olympic Games during her running career and placed 6th, the joint best time for a British female marathoner, in Beijing in 2008.

Hear Mara talk about how it took her 24 years to realise her running dreams, about balancing a demanding job as a diplomat at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Tokyo, Japan with her running career and how winning the Osaka marathon in 2008 was her greatest achievement, “a win is a win” as she says.

This week Rachel and Armana chat to Emily Young who has already achieved so much in her short sporting career. She is a two time marathon finisher, clocking an impressive 3:21 on her debut, 5 times Iron Man finisher including the prestigious Iron Man World Championships in Kona. She is also a blogger, author, influencer and has her sights set on achieving big things in the future.

Emily also talks about juggling her sport with managing a full-time international job, how she deals with people questioning her training methods on social media and how important she feels Pilates is for a runner.

Matt Marchant aka Matt.Runs on Instagram is a marathoner runner and cancer survivor. Matt speaks to Rachel and Armana this week about how he dealt with two operations and chemotherapy when overcoming his battle with testicular cancer. 

Matt also tells us about his journey back to running since recovery, how his outlook on life has changed, being the face of not one, but two marathon major campaigns and his ambitions for his running future. 

This week Rachel and Armana are joined by @thewelshrunner,  Matt Rees. 

With the 18th-24th May 2020 being mental health awareness week, we would like to say a  huge thank you to Matt for opening up about his own past struggles and anxiety and how running has been a massive help to him.

We speak to Matt about that famous finish line of the London Marathon 2017 and whilst we might know Matt for his true sportsmanship and that iconic image, there is so much more to him! 

Matt talks about why he started running only 5 years ago, how he has already become a sub 2:30 hour marathon runner, his coaching business and fitting in his running around his hectic family lifestyle which he shares with fellow runner, Kelly Ruck @kellogs_ontherun .

Kelly Ruck, or as she may be known to lots of you on Instagram, Kellogs On The Run, joins us this week to tell us about her journey back to running four and a half months after giving birth to baby number 5, fitting running into her hectic home life, dealing with her type 1 diabetes and how she has fallen in love with the Ultra running community.

CEO of Midnight Runners, Jody Bragger, tells us all about the loud Global Running Community which is taking over the World one country at a time, MR is already established in 11 countries and counting. Jody also talks about his running adventures and founding the first marathon to be held in Somalia since the outbreak of the civil war. We also get an insight into his experience of the UTMB and his love for the Ultra South Africa event.

We also want to say a big thank you to SunGod, the epic sunglasses we all run in, for making this chat happen.

UK Running Influencer Katie Brown aka Paces and Porridge on Instagram talks us through her breakthrough sub 80 minute recent half marathon, what her weekly unstructured training schedule looks like, her lack of running sessions and her love for the London Underground.

Adventurer Anna MucNuff  shares her stories about her recent barefoot run across the UK, how she made the leap from her office day job to full time adventurer and her positive outlook on life. Anna also reads an extract from her new book, ‘100 adventures to have before you grow up’.

In this episode Rachel and Armana talk to Olympian Aimee Fuller on what it was like to run a marathon in one of the most isolated countries in the World, North Korea, where her love for running stemmed from and running the London Marathon hand in hand with her mum.

We also get the low down on a marathon in a World UNESCO heritage site, The Great Wall of China Marathon, with the silver medallist from 2017, Lauren Cooper. 

The 6 World Marathon Majors, a far away dream for many runners, but not for Amrit Ghatora. After knocking 1 hour 51 minutes of his time, Amrit’s dream became a reality when he crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2019 to pick up his 6th World Major medal and complete the collection. Rachel and Armana chat to Amrit about his decade long marathon journey culminating in joining this exclusive club, breaking sub 3 and why running is such a big part of his life.

In 'Keep Running' : The Running Podcast 

TV Presenter and ex-international runner Rachel Stringer and running influencer Armana Rai share their experiences, talk to real and inspiring runners and give you that extra bit of motivation for your next run.