The Drop 434 | Andy Baddeley, Olympian, The Running Channel
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Feb 16, 2026 
Andy Baddeley, Olympian and co-founder of The Running Channel, shares his journey from elite mile runner to running media creator. He talks about building an inclusive, entertaining channel, presenter stories and shoe testing. Conversation covers parkrun’s community role, transitioning to marathons, and differences between US and UK running cultures.
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Late-Blooming Sub-4 Mile
- Andy Baddeley started running because a friend dragged him to cross country and he kept going to keep the friend company.
- He ran his first sub-4 minute mile at 21–22 while at Cambridge, which felt like a late breakthrough for him.
From Freedom To Pressure To Rediscovery
- Turning pro changed Andy's relationship with running into high-pressure, career-defining performances.
- After retiring he took nearly a year off, felt liberated, then slowly fell back in love with running on his own terms.
Change Units To Reset Pace Perception
- Switch measurement units to change perception of pace; Andy used kilometers to avoid comparing to his pro-mile pace.
- Avoid converting in your head so you don't mentally sabotage current progress by past standards.