Young Hearts Run Free Podcast

Gather together….it’s time to be awesome. You’ve maybe heard us mention once or twice that we were looking forward to the Anglo Celtic Plate. It’s been and gone now, it was every bit as epic as we had predicted, the gathering of awesomeness did not fail to deliver. Both the 50K and 100k events turned it to classics, and we had ringside seats. In this week’s episode we take a deep dive into how the day panned out, first up that’s through the eyes of John & Steven as they recall some magical moments from the day. Recapping on some spectacular individual and team performances as well as wallowing in the glow of meeting some folks from this amazing community we’re so happily immersed in. Then we get to speak to the girl of the moment, yes, we are joined by Jo Murphy to unpack her jaw-dropping 100k win in 2022’s Anglo Celtic Plate. On Sunday 3 April she created history, obliterating the 42 lap course record on the North Inch, Perth.  On her way to victory she smashed her own 100k PB and was crowned UK 100k champ, Scottish 100k champ and retained the Don Ritchie Trophy, whilst surely cementing her place in Team GB’s 2022 100k World Championship squad. We love Jo. It’s hard not to. We were very lucky to be able to grab some of her time during her recovery from the performance of her life.  We‘re treated to the race build-up and prep, the training, the fuelling and the plan….that’s before we even get to the business of the race itself. Ever wondered what it’s like to run the perfect 100k race? Then look no further. This was one of the finest executed race performances you are ever likely to see, precision pacing, epic support team along with determination and resolve in absolute spade loads. It was a wonder to watch it unfold and we get the low-down on just how Jo managed her 7 hours 41 minutes 12 seconds out on the laps. The chaos and energy of the start/finish straight, the kit, the trainers, the race day fuelling secrets and the reliance on her team mates & support crew and of course what were her post race rewards. It’s a brilliant listen, there’s a defintite lump in your throat moment as Jo sums up quite how much the win meant to her, make sure you hang on until the end for that! This episode will make you smile, greet and feel ALL the feels. Jo lit up the North Inch and now it’s time for her to light up your day. Enjoy our ACP round up!!  We’d like to say the final thank you to Adrian Stott and his team of volunteers who staged a magnificent and fitting gathering of awesomeness in our home city of Perth. Haste ye back.

Welcome to the Young Hearts, Run Free podcast. Ed Furtaw is many things.  Being first ever finisher of the Barkley Marathons would maybe top that bill for most mortals. A total of 22 outings at the Barkley Marathons have since followed. Even a book, Tales from Out There, published on the topic. However, Ed’s greatest ever Barkley appearance came very recently, in 2022 he made a glorious return to the start line at Frozen Head State Park. At the ripe old age of 74. He had quite the reason for it being an extra special occasion. To add to that he’s also just become Young Hearts, Run Free’s first ever transatlantic guest. Yes, we had the absolute privilege to hear ‘Tales from Out There’ straight from the horse’s mouth. Joining John & Steven from the USA Frozen Ed gives up one hour of his time to chat to us about the history, the characters (there are many), the course and it wouldn’t be complete without an insight in to the wicked mind of Gary Cantrell aka Lazarus Lake. You’re in for a treat, whether you’re a Barkley aficionado, a trail running enthusiast or just love hearing about human beings being stretched to the very outer limit of what’s possible. Enjoy this special edition episode. And remember, ‘Dream, Plan, Do’. A massive thanks to Ed for chatting with us. Thanks also go to Graham Connolly of Team Pyllon for hooking us up with Ed. You can read more Tales from Out There by grabbing Ed’s book here Tales from Out There: The World’s Toughest Trail Race Vol 1 Catch up on 85 other Young Hearts, Run Free episodes here YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE Episodes Follow us on twitter here Young Hearts Run Free Twitter Catch us on Instagram here Young Hearts Run Free Instagram

*Cue CONCH* Baby, this is what you came for………. No April Fools tomfoolery here at YHRF, 100% we’ve another humdinger of an episode for your listening pleasure, it’s no joke. To start us of we treat you to a first. John & Steven have a new toy, a hairy toy. Our hairy pal joined us to capture a first stab at an outside broadcast, join your hosts for a walk and talk around the hallowed turf of the North Inch in Perth. A lap of the Anglo Celtic Plate course, with our typical twist on it. Then it’s the start of some Barkley Marathons content we’ve all been waiting for, we’re joined by Graham Connolly.  A Barkley Marathons support crew vet. Graham was fortunate to make a return trip to Frozen Head State Park last month for the 2022 edition of ‘the race that eats its young’. A veritable Disney World for ultra-runners He gives us a remarkable insight into what it’s like to be on the ground in a support capacity at the world’s most infamous endurance event. The logistics, the unpredictable weather, the camp atmosphere as well as lifting the lid on quite how demanding the role of runner support is. The history, the characters, the behind the scenes. It’s all covered. Graham’s been entranced by the whole history of this unique event in the running calendar, that becomes apparent early on, and it’s hard not to be pulled into the magnificent Barkley universe. We’re grateful to Graham for many things. But his Barkley escapades really made us feel part of this event. He caught up with Lazarus Lake, he chewed the fat with Keith Dunn, he even almost got a shot of Danger Dave’s Bugle! All whilst supporting our big pal, the boss man Paul Giblin. Graham also made some new pals….and that is where things get even more interesting. He regales us, in an excited kid on Christmas morning style, about how he got to spend some time on the trail with a couple of Barkley Alumni. Frozen Ed Furtaw and Leonard Martin (yes, of Leonard’s Butt Slide fame). Not only did he spend a memorable mile with them out on the Barkley trail, but a chance request has also led Ed to agree to speak to the Young Hearts Run Free Podcast. And what an episode we’ve got coming right up as we welcome our first ever transatlantic guest… So come on down and enjoy Graham’s effervescent craic and be treated to an alternative take on the Barkley Marathons. *Cue Bugle*

Well hello y'all! Another belting episode? Och, go on then..... This week we say hello to runner, writer and environmentalist Ross Brannigan. Our chat gets us off exploring some wild places! Before welcoming Ross to the YHRF recording studio (a studio not immune to the odd fault) John and Steven kick off the show with a wee blether. Updates on Steven's exploits at the Inverness Half Marathon, John peaking just in time for the hotly anticipated Self Transcendence 50k as well as a dip into Steven's Pyllon Trax training ahead of his forthcoming trip to New England, USA! We're then treated to a braw chat with Ross. Our conversation centres on his forthcoming book, Running Adventures Scotland, but we first find out much more about Ross's personal running history. A lad who from an early age has had a passion for the outdoors burning brightly inside. Ross lifts the lid on some personal battles he's overcome before returning to the trails and wild places he holds so close to heart. He's not even let a move south of the border extinguish that fire, in fact we'd say quite the opposite. Ross's debut book then takes centre stage, avail to pre-order now (see link bottom of show notes) ahead of publication on 5 May, it takes us on an epic tour of the country John and Steven call home. Discovering '25 Inspirational Runs in Scotland's Wild Places' we find out just how the opportunity came a knocking for Ross before delving into the book itself. Ross gives us the lowdown on how he compiled the book, how he lent on some well kent faces in the Scottish running and outdoor community, why he had to stop at just 25 places and even gives us a glimmer that there are plenty of places yet to explore! The book floats John n Steven's boat with it's easy and concise layout, detailed maps and route guides plus the essential 'where to refuel' location for each route!! Ross treats us to an hour plus of sublime chat where his enthusiasm for Scotland as well as his love of exploring and cavorting around the hills and glens of the bonniest country in the world is evidently clear. Ross finishes up giving some of his own tips on gear and trail snackage, a soreen loaf baguette? Yes please.... So come along and get clarty with Ross and your YHRF dynamic duo, Run Free y'all. EPISODE LINKS Get your pre-orders in now for Running Adventures Scotland direct from the publisher Vertebrate Publishing here PRE-ORDER RUNNING ADVENTURES SCOTLAND Check out Ross's superb blog here Ross Runs Wild Blog Reach Ross on his social channels here Ross on Twitter and here Ross Runs Wild on Instagram

The Anglo Celtic Plate eh, you've heard us talk about it tons. It's now nearly upon us and we think it's about time to speak to two of our pals who'll be heavily involved on race day as well as both pre and post race! First, John, freshly off the Jet 2 flight from the Canaries joins Steven to catch-up. With his sun-drenched enhanced warm glow John finds out from Steven how his foray back into racing at the Inverness Half Marathon panned out. Was there PB's to celebrate? How many selfie's did he get asked for? What was the shwank to non-shwank ratio? All the important questions ye might say. Then it's over to Steven to get the lowdown from ACP race organiser Adrian Stott and Team Scotland Manager Debbie Martin-Consani. We delve into a bit of the history of the event first held in 1995 taking a trip down memory lane at some race highlights.  Adrian treats us to his top 3 moments in the previous 26 editions of the ACP as well as recalling the late great Don Ritchie's ways of coping with a bad patch during his record breaking efforts at the distance. Debbie recalls her own appearance in the race and reminds us just how tough running 100k on the road is. Brutal is overused, but you guessed it, it's brutal. Relentless type 1 fun! Debbie then gives us some insight into the Scotland team for the 100k as well as focussing on some of the top talent making it's way to Perth on Sunday 3 April from the England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland teams.  Adrian and Debbie also let us into their top tips in the 100k open race as it's revealed that the field is every bit as stacked as it could be. With the 50k and 100k open races also on the agenda we're left with a rallying call to get to the North Inch in Perth with your cowbells in tow and make some noise for the athletes taking on the 1.5 mile loop. We're up to high-doh and we think you should be too! It's not too late to sign up! Entries close on Sunday 20 March (remember choose the correct link!) 50k race or 100k race Fancy getting involved and volunteering on race day? You can reach out to Adrian on twitter here Tarit Tweets

In this week’s episode we are really chuffed to eventually catch-up with Aberdeenshire based ultra-runner Jenni Rees-Jenkins. She's been in our sights for a while and with John's newfound speed training we've somehow caught up with her. And boyo was it worth it.... We kick off proceedings with some John n Steven chatter. The Barkley Marathons tops our agenda as we start by analysing the 'race that eats it's young', lucky for us we had a few pals reporting live from Frozen Head State Park. We then have an announcement, our local running festival in Auchterarder is returning to in person racing and taking place on 10 & 11 September 2022, entries open this Sunday! In non-running chat, or food chat as we call it, we find out foods John has never tried....is it melon? is it mango? All is revealed! Then Jenni joins us for a most chilled out chat on her own remarkable running story. Jenni first captured us when we started out ultra-marathoning ourselves, she was/is an absolute 'kent face' in the Scottish ultra-community. With regular podium finishes she's also proved to be quite the athlete too. We chart Jenni's progress and find out such a refreshing outlook and spirit for running that's it's hard not be entranced. She talks openly and honestly about the reasons she runs with mental health and weight control cropping up. Running gives her sanity, now how many of us can relate to that? Her running though has allowed Jenni to find her tribe. What started out as 10k's soon became half's and then on to marathon distances before finding the wonderful world of ultra-marathons where she has achieved so much but more importantly made lifelong friendships and bonds with so many. 2016 saw Jenni compete in 20 ultras and the reason for that is one that sums up her approach to running so well, listen in to find out how things went a little crazy that year. Now firmly part of the ultra-running family Jenni has learned so much along the way and she's happy to share her lessons with us all. A talented storyteller we're sure you'll enjoy her tales from race experiences every bit as much as we did. With Bob Graham Rounds and Lakeland 100 in her sights for 2022 she's got plenty of chapters still to write too. As Jenni says herself 'the journey is more important than any PB's'. We agree. Enjoy our chat with the wonderful JRJ. Run Free.

Well hello Season 5!! Joining John & Steven for our season opener we welcome Karen Nicol aka Ultra Kazy. Karen has been in our sights for some time and we were super chuffed when she agreed to a chat on the pod. John and Steven spend their routine 10 mins chatting on the weeks happenings before being joined by Karen for an insight into her remarkable running story. Now a seasoned ultra runner with a glittering list of race finishes Karen admits running hasn't always been her thing.  Her background was in dance before finding a love of running. But running itself is just half the story, she's found friendship and support in abundance and it soon becomes clear just how much that means. Karen plays a key role in Pyllon Ultra, she's the one who schemes with Paul Giblin on how many miles you'll have to run for your Pyllon Exposure hour miles. Another 6 miler? No! But we get a brill insight into Pyllon Ultra including news of their up and coming Pyllon XP5 weekender. Karen recently competed for Team Scotland in the Backyard Ultra in Castle Ward, Northern Ireland. We delve right into that experience including how many fizzy pigs and muller rices she managed to get through! Karen has fought adversity through her running journey, battling back from career threatening injury to get right back to being a superb endurance athlete. She also pays back the running community in abundance, none more so than her role of guide runner for young Felicity, an inspiring story awaits on that one. We had so such a good time talking to Karen, we are sure you will love her infectious spirit just as much as we did. Check out her instagram for a glimpse at her awe inspiring running locations and some amazing days outs in the hills with her pals here @UltraKazy Enjoy this one, it's a cracker. And remember, running isn't just about running......it's about much much more than that.

We're back and we're comin' atcha! It's only our Season 4 finale!! Episode 80 of the Young Hearts, Run Free podcast takes us back to our basics, yip, you guessed it gassing for an over an hour with one of our absolute favs, the boabylicious Bob Turner. We've a smattering of everything you love in this episode as John & Steven chew the fat for 15 mins before being joined in the YHRF studio by Bob. And we've plenty on the agenda to catch up with him about. We talk about the weather, all the feckin' weather, and how overcoming it can help build mental resilience to make you runstoppable! Also, what can you balance in your facial hair!? What exactly is John's new party piece? As usual it doesnae take us much to get waylaid on to topics completely and utterly irrelevant to running! Gladly, the calm voice of Bob guides us effortlessly back on course as we find out how his prep for his up-and-coming appearance in the Anglo Celtic Plate 100k is coming along. We also discover how his plans for the remainder of 2022 hinge on the Anglo Celtic Plate outcome. It's a big year for Bob, he's defo not for letting a milestone birthday pass by without making it a landmark and unforgettable year! We then delve into his new adventures in run coaching, an insight into his role within the Pyllon Ultra Coaching network. This includes a glimpse at the Training Peaks app and cumulates in dissecting Steven's mid-term training block report as he races towards the start line of the Boston Marathon in mid-April under the tutelage of Bob. We sign off giving a wee insight into what season 5 holds for the YHRF pod, lots of exciting content on the very near horizon. Unsurprisingly our focus will firstly turn to the epicentre of the running universe very soon as the home nations collide on Sunday 3 April on the North Inch, Perth. Our high-doh o'meter is off the scale for that one! A huge tip of the hat to Bob who was able to join us at short notice. Enjoy our season finale, thanks for listening and please please give us a shout on our socials with any craic or comment. As always, RUN FREE!

We are cruising along in the home straight of Season 4 now, time to put the foot down? LET’S GO! We’ve a smile on our pus for this week’s episode as we welcome along to the YHRF couch another brilliantly entertaining guest, Daniel Kershaw calls himself a ‘fun runner’, now we aren’t quite sure if you’ll agree with his definition of fun, you’ll need to listen in to find that one out! Daniel joins us to (mostly) speak about his recent adventure as he took part in January’s Spine Challenger Race, that’s 108 miles of the Pennine Way, part of the Montane Spine Race. But we couldn’t let Daniel appear without uncovering a whole lot more! Daniel has a quite extra-ordinary running history. His trajectory from beginning to run in 2009 to where he is now is quite something, it’s saw him participate in an eye-watering number of races. We find out what fuelled Daniel’s raging fire. ‘How many marathons have you done Daniel?’ WOW!! Then we are treated to a quite wonderful account of Daniel’s Spine Challenger Race, it has highs and almighty lows and everything in between. Daniel articulates the whole experience in his own unique style, it was certainly a week in which he learned lots about the race AND about himself. It has quite the ending! So if you’ve every wondered about hallucinations late in ultra-marathon’s being a thing, déjà vu biting your ass when you’re on the last dribble of your emotional and physical energy or indeed where the remainder of Bill Duff’s brick collection is waiting then you’re in for a right treat! We think there is a thing or two to learn for everyone in this fantastic episode. So, let’s get on with the havering…..ENJOY!

Hey boys, Hey girls, Superstar Guests..........here we go..... Season 4 is creeping towards it's finale, and we've upped the ante yet again with this weeks episode. Joining John & Steven fresh (kinda) off the Penine Way this week is none other than friend of the show and Spine Race 2022 female champion Debbie Martin-Consani!! We were super excited to get the chance once again to catch up with Debs and what a topic to top the agenda! In mid January Debbie achieved the crowing moment in her 20 year running career by winning the 268 mile Spine Race. We have an insightful and honest chat with one of the most inspirational UK ultra marathon runners. It's glorious stuff, warts n all. Come find out just what it takes to master Britain's most brutal endurance race, the epic feeling of lifting the title and the aftermath of driving the body and mind to the finish line. We also manage to squeeze in some non-Spine chat with Debbie as we find out about her becoming a Pyllon Ultra Coach, touch on her forthcoming managerial role at the Anglo Celtic Plate which she holds so very close to her heart and gather some more golden nuggets from this golden girl of ultra-running. We also get to share some amazing news of what 2022 holds for Debbie, a trip to the US of A beckons.... Tune in and zone out to an hour a half chat with the incredible Ultra Run DMC! Episode links Badwater Ultra Marathon Hour 7 Ultra Running Team Photo credit: Jamie Rutherford (twitter @JMRuther4d)