Young Hearts Run Free Podcast

In this week’s episode we focus on our trip last weekend to the inaugural Run with Pyllon event held in shadow of the Cairngorms at Badaguish Outdoor Centre. If gleaning knowledge from inspirational coaches, mixing with other like-minded folks from across the running community or indeed running in the breath-taking Scottish Highlands is your thing you’ll be keen to hear our review of what turned out to be a memorable day. None of that turn you on? Well, there was scran and, unsurprisingly, we cover that in great detail. Leading the day were our pals (and joint YHRF appearance record holders!), James Stewart and Debbie Martin-Consani heading up an all-star Pyllon cast. Ably abetted by fellow coach Grant MacDonald and the amazing Karen Nicoll providing the icing on the cake we knew from the off the day would be special. Under blue blue skies we got to take full advantage of our location as we were taken on a tour of the iconic Glenmore 24 loop on the banks of Loch Morlich, describing the setting doesn’t quite do it justice, Scotland in its fullest pomp. A run workshop with an opportunity to pick the brains of the coaches as well as other athletes flew by, meeting some of you guys who listen to the pod provided the cherry on top of that already tasty cake. That’s before we got the oppo to take a dip in the Loch….yip taps aff the lot! With an avo spent refuelling whilst getting to hear from James, Debs, Grant and Karen in a workshop designed to help mindset and approaches to endurance events a rich day of learning was complete. We had a treat of a day mixing with all the other participants and learning so much about how to approach 24-hour or looped racing. A whole new set of tactics were gleaned and are now sitting pretty in our toolbox waiting to be unleashed. Good luck to anyone racing at Glenmore in a fortnight, that includes Jamie Marshall our Run with Pyllon competition winner who had a blast at the event, go get that ton Jamie!! Find out more about the event and any future Pyllon events here Run with Pyllon Get in touch with Pyllon Ultra to find out about coaching options here Pyllon Ultra Website

Clicking Click it’s Season 6 Episode 6.  And we’re going running up that hill this week in pursuit of yards, lot’s of yards as we welcome a familiar face to the show for a long overdue debut. Joining us to have a deep dive into her recent outing at The Highlander Last One Standing is Fiona Watt (aka Steven’s other half).   With John asking the questions we get to know about Fiona the runner and Fiona the coach. A potted history of her running story takes us to a first ever marathon in Glasgow in the year 2000 as well as (frequent visits) to Newcastle for 13 Great North Runs.   Before moving on to the main topic we also discover more about Five Star Run Club where Fiona is head coach and get an insight into how run coaching has helped both her athletes and herself.   We spend the majority of the time though talking through Fiona’s recent experience in Blair Atholl where she took part in her first ever Last One Standing Backyard Ultra. An epic weekend in Highland Perthshire ensued and we get the full nitty gritty of her high’s and lows.   Her tactics, her fuelling strategies, frequent loo visits, failing head-torches and camaraderie with other runners. No stone is left unturned. How many yards did she complete? You’ll need to listen to that one out. Oh and fish suppers were involved…….   We finish off by finding out about Fiona’s race director role at the Auchterarder Running Festival and the famous Chilli Trail Race. Links to both these events are noted below.   Fiona offers 1-1 virtual run coaching as well as hosting 11 coached run sessions a week in Auchterarder. Again links below to all the info, message the page to contact Fiona. Auchterarder Running Festival Links Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Auchterarderrunningfestival/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/auchterarderrunningfestival/ Twitter https://twitter.com/auchterarderrun?s=21&t=MYAap0wonbvSlslfrcVoAw Five Star Run Club & Coaching Links Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FiveStarActive/groups Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fivestarrunclub/

Here it is our Lakeland 50 race report and review.  Warts and all, a no-holds barred episode all around our weekend down in Coniston. We had an agenda for the weekend, and top of that agenda was to cross both start and finish lines. What transpired was a whole lot better than we could have dreamed and that's because of the people. Listen in to hear the frustrations, the smiles, the pain and the suffering, all in the name of having fun...right? What happens at the Lakeland 50 is quite special, unique actually, an experience like no other. If your considering taking part in a future Lakeland event, all the info you will ever need as a runner is in this episode...no even joking!

Renee McGregor is a renowned sports dietician, she has worked with elite athletes across a spectrum of sports. You might wonder then why she agreed to speak to John n Steven.... We aren't sure either, but we made the most of our time in her company, and the result is an episode chock full of priceless golden nuggets any runner will benefit from. We not only find out about Renee the dietitian we also unearth Renee the ultra runner by taking a deep dive into her own running story. Including a detailed blether about her recent superb outing at the Spine Sprint. Renee is an authority on nutrition and with your hosts liking their grub getting the lowdown on approaches they could adopt, things we should all be considering and how there is no one size fits all solution is a wonderful insight. Renee makes the science of it all simple and understandable. The big takeaway....keep it simple. Enjoy learning from the entrancing Renee McGregor. P.S next stop for us is the Lakeland 50, full round up next week! You can grab her book here https://www.adventurebooks.com/products/more-fuel-you Make sure to give Renee's educational Instagram a follow here https://instagram.com/r_mcgregor?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Coming at ya with our Young Hearts Run Free Summer Special! As you will be aware (if no where have ye been?) our gal Debbie was over in the U S of A taking on Badwater 135 We get the lowdown, delivered in Debbie's inimitable style about her adventure, the training, the crew, the build-up...the whole shebang! Debbie also describes a very personal part of the build-up to her race, one that turned into an opportunity to raise some awareness and also funds for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, if you are able we would urge you to donate using the following link. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Debbie-Martin-Consani

'John Connolly of Dumbarton, Scotland' the immortal words spoken as this week's guest's name was pulled out of the Western States 100 tombola earlier this year. We were as thrilled for John, as everyone was when we heard the news, in fact we'd even say it got us up to high-doh. Our enthusiasm though also got us into a wee bit of a bother with John......eeek. This week's episode is sensational.  Note: Adult Language from start to finish We start with a quick hop, skip and jump over to Eugene, Oregon for some Track n Field action, then a preview of this weekend's Last One Standing, The Highlander and a stark reminder that your lovable hosts are just a week away from a return visit to the Lakeland 50. John then treats us to a warts n all chat unearthing not just his 2022 foray over to compete in the Western States 100 but his full end to end running story. What started with throwing an entry into Toughmudder 8 years ago cumulated on the track at Placer High School in Auburn, California. His coach and best mate Paul Giblin at his side. John had the time of his life, we'll leave it to the man himself to tell his compelling story. It's authentic, it's moving and it's absolutely compulsive listening.

Hello Season 6, we’ve been expecting you. And we are off to a flyer, quite literally, with this week’s guest Robbie Dunlop. Robbie has enjoyed a remarkable 2022 so far and we were super keen to get the lowdown from the man himself. We start with a look at happenings over in California as our gal Debbie Martin-Consani mastered the conditions at the Badwater 135 AND we’ve a competition for all you to enter!! And it is well worth winning, we’ve a place at the Run with Pyllon event on 13 August up for grabs! Listen to find out how you can join Debbie and James Stewart in Aviemore! With two outstanding outings under the belt this year bringing 2nd place finishes at the Highland Fling and West Highland Way Race our guest Robbie is enjoying the time of his life out on the trails. His year-on-year improvement since a debut marathon in 2016 has been astonishing. Robbie gives us the story of his running journey. From a footballing background to finding running. Learning his craft from some of the best, understanding the importance of structured training and consistency along the way. We then home in on those 2 recent great outings on the West Highland Way. In Robbie’s own words they both ‘couldn’t have gone much better’. We get under the skin of all that though, a 16 hour and some loose change West Highland Way doesn’t just happen after all right? We have our first shwank discussion of the season (quell surprise!) as well as find out Robbie’s nutrition/hydration fav choices. Robbie unveils how his own motivation and inspiration was super-powered by his daughter Maisie. A real personal reason for stoking the fire. Robbie offers us an honest and refreshing take on his own progression into the world of ultra-marathons, a super talented athlete with a super humble outlook. We know fine well there is plenty more to come from Robbie, his dedication to learning and improving is meticulous, he’s only getting started! So, grab your ear buds, give Alexa a shout or whatever you do and settle down for our amazing season opener with Robbie Dunlop. Find out more about Run with Pyllon event here RUN WITH PYLLON

It is our Season 5 finale!! It is episode 100!! Best make it a good one eh! A massive thanks for tuning in, it has been the most unexpected of times since we launched the podcast back in 2020. Meeting new folks and being constantly inspired. Life enhancing, we really hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have. Our guest this week is quite fitting for us hitting the big century. We’re going transatlantic baby! 20 years ago, when she was 26, Jacky Hunt-Broersma lost her left leg to cancer.  She did not run back then, but it started a quite remarkable journey into running that makes for a jaw dropping story cumulating in an inspirational world record earlier this year. 104 marathons in 104 days, it’s quite something. We were excited to catch up with Jacky, you should be excited about hearing her story, our chat with her is amazing. You’re in for a treat. Jacky is a gem to speak too, easy going but with a steely determination. She is so open to speak about the challenges of adapting to being an amputee. From the moment she decided to invest in her first ever running blade the freedom she felt became an unstoppable force. Not one to ever be told she could not do ‘anything’ Jacky’s positivity and attitude shine bright, that led her to running marathons, which led to running trail marathons, which led to running ultra-marathons…..which led to, well we’ll let you listen to see where it took her. Her gratefulness for life and love is abundant throughout, using the power of her mind to overcome personal challenges once perceived to be impossible. Jacky is proud to be an amputee. She has not let it stop her so far and with more adventures and exploits planned for her next chapter we cannot see anything stopping her either. Jacky has a passion for bringing the joy of running to other amputee’s. As part of her 104 marathons challenge she has already raised an eye watering amount of money for the Amputee Blade Runners charity.  You can still donate to that effort here https://www.gofundme.com/f/102-marathons-in-102-days Jacky has a fab Twitter account charting her day to day, follow her here https://twitter.com/NCrunnerjacky

Welcome to another episode of YHRF, it’s our 99th, it’s our penultimate of season 5 and needless to say….it’s a belter. Joining us this week is none other than the incredible Lynne Allen. Hot off the heels of her magnificent West Highland Way Race victory we were stoked to get the chance to catch up with Lynne. We cover her superb day on the Way, but we discover much much more too. We start tho with our pre-guest amble through the latest weeks happenings including a look back at the Moray Way Ultra, Race 2 the Towers, Lairig Ghru Hill Race and of course the Western States Endurance Race, some brill action to keep our agenda packed! We then pose the questions to Lynne who offers us her take on all sorts. We cover her journey into running as Lynne reveals part of her why and her unearthing ultra-running as her ‘thing’.  We find out about the critical role that the friends she has found along the way have played as she was embraced by the always supportive community. Lynne then leads us through how her planning and execution of her West Highland Way Race went as well as she could have hoped for. Race management was nailed, and Lynne is happy to let us in on what that looked like and how she stayed in control of her day as the battle for the win heightened. Crucially Lynne also speaks about what she ate, spoiler alert pot noodles and chips are to the fore! With many running honours already under her belt Lynne lets us know what it felt like to pull on the Scotland vest, she’s had the privilege of a two-time appearance at the 100k Anglo Celtic Plate in Perth. What shines through though is quite how humble Lynne is.  Despite being at the sharp end of her sport she speaks more passionately about the importance of human connection and what being part of the running family means to her. Tipping her hat firmly towards the people who help both her and the sport blossom. Lynne has big plans remaining for 2022 and even bigger ones for 2023, the mountains are calling, and she must go. With a massive list of golden nuggets for you to pick up along the way Lynne brings an honest and refreshing angle to the chat, we hope you enjoy this one as much we enjoyed speaking to Lynne.

You might've heard of Stranger Things but have ye heard of Hairy Things? No? Well step on in. Last weekend was a busy one, this weekend is a busy one, in this episode we do our best to unpack it all. From West Highland Ways to Western States with plenty stops along the way. With John undertaking his support duties for Gillian McGale (Team 67) and Steven managing a flying visit to Bridge of Orchy the West Highland Way Race unsurprisingly dominates our agenda. The iconic race was back, and back with a bang. We even managed a half successful outing of the hairy toy so expect some unprecedented snippets from out on the Way. We’ve shed loads more to discuss too. Summer Spine Races, , LEJOGs, Belfast 24, and a LeBuffBuff travelling all the way to the summit of Kilimanjaro. We also take a quick look ahead at what’s coming up, are you getting Twatted in Orkney, will you be glued to the Western States this weekend? We even managed a quick trip over to the Dolomites for the Laveredo Ultra Trail. It's all happening and we’ve not even got to John’s lengthy waterproof trousers kit review yet. Oh, and there’s even some hint of new YHRF merch on the horizon, form an orderly queue! Roll up to the show, and get your lugs roond this……