Join us as we round the bend for the home straight of Season 11. And we're doing so with a swagger. The UTMB. The Champions League final of trail running. For many of our tribe it's a mainstay on the bucket list. Dave Adams had that dream. In 2024 he made it a reality. And he joins us to share his UTMB experience. In typical YHRF style we first fin…

Jay interviews Ryan Hall about the process of not coaching and Ryan's transition from coaching professional athletes. Great discussion that we hope you will enjoy!

Destination Windermere for this week's bumper episode as we look back at our experience taking on The Lap Ultra Marathon. And we've brought our pals! First up we have the pleasure of a race debrief with John Robb. John finished up a superb 2024 racing with another outstanding outing in the Lake District. An honest account of his Lap ensues, oh that…

Let's dip back in time a smidge. This week we're joined by Robyn Cassidy winner of the 2024 Lakeland 100. Robyn took the top podium spot in Coniston, we focus on that terrific effort but delve into tons more. Robyn runs us through her running career to date picking out highlights along the way. A recap of a busy 2023 including a win at the Dragons …

We take a momentary break from the 'Danger Zone' this week for a much-needed catch-up with your hosts. No guest, but we throw a curve ball by posing 3 questions a piece to each other. Mixing things up, ken. The kettle is just off the boil, mon in for a chill. Whether you want to hear about John's latest scran plan, looking for alternative races for…

We've met some great folks along the way whilst doing this podcast malarkey. This week's guest sits comfortably in that bracket. Dan Bentley is that man, you may have seen some of his work on your social channel timelines over the last few months. Dan, a jogger, an ultra-runner and a helluva photographer. In traditional YHRF style we first get to f…

Keeping safe out on the trails and hills. Could we be doing more? This week we're joined by James Anderson, an ultra runner and volunteer member of the Galloway Mountain Rescue Team part of Scottish Mountain Rescue. We bumped into James at this year's Lakeland 100. He was taking part. Raring to go. Then his weekend took an unexpected twist. James c…

Neil Walker joins us this week to recount a memorable day spent on the Rob Roy Way. Drymen to Pitlochry. Come on and dive in to hear all about it. Neil takes us through his recent attempt to grab the Fastest Known Time on the famed Rob Roy Way Trail. He chose the tougher of the two route options, just shy of 90 miles with almost 11k feet of vertica…

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!!!In this week's episode we're joined by winner of the 2024 Jungle Ultra Ben Harrison.Taking us straight into the danger zone from the get-go Ben's take on his memorable time in the Amazon rainforest is both inspirational and appetite whetting.How does a lad from Tenby conquer a jungle ultra in Peru? Listen into find out.A cap…

We said we’d be back to unpack our Lakeland 100 weekender, let’s go! Dusting ourselves off after another everlasting weekend in the Lake District John, Stevie Boy and Mel Sykes sit down for the big debrief! We’ve plenty to cover. It proved to be a tough race for both John and Mel as the course threw all it had at them. Their outcomes differed with …

In this episode we chat with Run Free Athlete Kristen Briglia about her journey overcoming RED's (relative energy deficiency) and HA (hypothalamic amenorrhea). Kristen shares what she has learned on her path to recovery after decades of under eating and the subsequent health decline she experienced as a result.…

Danger Zone ye say? Mon then. Our eyes are on the Lake District this week as we turn ALL our attention to what is set to be another tumultuous weekend in Coniston. Yip, the time has come for our John to hit go on his latest adventure as he looks forward to taking on the Montane Lakeland 100. Joining us is fellow LL100 2024 starter, our esteemed Yor…

This week we're over the moon to chat with a guy who's made a monumental impact in the sport of trail and ultra running. Dylan Bowman joins us for another landmark episode of the Young Hearts Run Free Podcast. Hot off a heavy schedule covering race weekends the length and breadth of the USA Dylan blows the lid off in our recap of his running career…

Jarlath Mckenna had an absolute belter of a day this year on the West Highland Way Race. Snatching that coveted first place with aplomb. Yes...Jarlath entered the danger zone, but how did he react, how did he deal with it? We've got all of the answers and more as he joins us for a race debrief. We don't just speak about the WHW though, we cover Jar…

Who would run 60 miles over Wales toughest Mountains, and then turn around and do it all over again? This weeks guest Ajay Hanspal did exactly that on his way to setting a new Double Paddy Buckley Round FKT. What is the Paddy Buckley round? Ajay gives us the details, but in summary it covers 132 miles, with 58,500ft of elevation and includes 94 sum…

The Cape Wrath Trail. It's almost mythical. It certainly presents a danger zone. This week we welcome the quite magnificent Tom Rainey to tell us all about it. Tom recently tackled the North to South version of the Cape Wrath Trail in pursuit of the Fastest Known Time. 240 miles of arduous terrain, it turned out to be quite the adventure! We're uns…

It's the 2024 YHRF summer special bonus episode 110 miles up the Pennine Way, a few months after a brain operation, is this even possible? It is if your our Yorkshire Correspondent Mel Sykes.Mel chats with us about the kit list, the terrain, the rain, what it takes to complete this demanding long distance event. Did we mention the rain? Did we ment…

Welcome to season 11 episode 1, welcome to the Danger Zone!Let's talk iconic Scottish trail races, let's talk Scottish running icons, let's talks West Highland Way race, let's talk to Fiona Rennie.Fiona started running in the early 1980's and has covered a fair few miles since! 103 ultra marathons...so far!Fiona's first ultramarathon was the Speysi…

EPISODE 200! It's a whopper!! We lay out the red carpet for the return to the podcast of the indomitable Jasmin Paris. It's the most fitting of season finales. We've a single-minded agenda as Jasmin leads us through her historic Barkley Marathons finish. Her achievement rightly became global news but how exactly did she manage her time out on the t…

This week we're joined by two-time Scottish Anglo Celtic Plate Team member Catherine Cowie. You'd think that would top the bill for our discussion, you thought wrong. Catherine first leads us through her own running odyssey and of course we spend a good while chatting all thingsACP and the memorable events that took place on the North Inch in March…

Magical things happen on the West Highland Way. We know that. This week's guest Elsey Davis does too. Hot off a phenomenal performance at the 2024 Highland Fling where she took the win and set a new course record Elsey joins us to chat about her career. From an iffy first marathon wearing her Dad's ill-fitting socks to chipping her marathon time do…

In this episode we chat with the author of Built to Run, Dr. Matthew Silver. Matt is a long time runner with a passion for helping his fellow runners become more resilient to injury, reduce pain, and achieve their best performances. We’re very excited to share this information packed episode with you and also announce that Matt will be joining us t…

We're off berry picking this week, the good news? You're invited along! We were thrilled to welcome Andy Berry back to the podcast for a catch-up with a focus on his recent outing at UTS by UTMB. A 2nd place well-earned on race weekend but we want to know more, much more, and Andy is open to tell us all. The rugged Welsh mountains provided the back…

It's here, you've asked in your bucket loads, we've listened, we've responded. It's John's Highland Fling recap for your listening pleasure. We do love having guests, we also love the odd episode where we get a good blether with each other! John has hot footed back from his hols just in time for this week’s recording, and boy is he full of beans. W…

Running. It's an addiction, eh? This week's guest knows all about it. Boab Keenan is that man and we're glad to have him along to to tell his tale of recovery. A chronic alcoholic at the age of 21. Hooked on drugs. Down with the gang culture. Life was unravelling at a rapid rate of knots for Cumbernauld based Boab. Then running became his life save…

Come plunge yourself into an hour of unadulterated self-indulgence, this week we welcome non-runner Andrew O'Donnell tae the YHRF sofa for all the chat. Andrew, ya know, is the official Young Hearts Run Free Podcast songsmith. Better known as Beluga Lagoon his tunes have fuelled many a mile in the hills n glens. The soundtrack to our running advent…

In this episode, Jay and Chad chat about the the largest component of run training, aerobic runs. These runs bring a ton of value and fitness but don't get talked about as often as the more flashy workouts. So why do we need to spend so much time running easy? Jay and Chad share their own personal experiences playing around with how they executed t…

Spring marathon season reached it's crescendo on The Mall last Sunday, Stevie Boy was on the ground to witness it all. London Marathon debrief anyone? Step on in. John grills Steven on his weekend in the big smoke. The focus is on his race however the all-important pre-race activities and post-race festivities are also meticulously discussed. From …

Blow the conch baby and rock on into another belter of an episode! This week our guest is Chamonix based runner & coach Kaz Williams. Living on the doorstep of the UTMB route it's no surprise we start in the Alps finding out why she's also known as 'Mountain Kaz' along the way. Kaz then treats us to a world tour of her running adventures, peppered …

We are bouncing along in our season of unpredicatability just fine, this week we're being purposely predictable though! Just to twist your melons eh. Joining the fray for a chat is Dougle Selman, the men's 100k winner at the 2024 Anglo Celtic Plate 100k. He's a fella with running in his DNA. We find out how he's moved through the distances from tra…

In this episode we catch up with Sarah Webster. We had the privilege of watching up close as Sarah set a New European 100k record of 7:03:48 at the Gathering of Awesomeness in March 2024. This works out to an average pace of approx 6min 49 sec per mile, or 4 min 14 sec per km. The previous record of 7:04:03 was set by Florianne Hot in 2022. Sarah h…

In this episode, Ryan rejoins as co-host as we catch up with one of his athletes, professional runner and Run Free coach Rory Linkletter. This conversation comes fresh off Rory's blazing fast race at the Seville Marathon where he posted a 2:08:01, sneaking under the Olympic standard for the marathon. Rory has a lengthy running resume and we're exci…

When we started the podcast back in 2020 this week’s guest was on our hit list, 4 years later we’ve managed to pin him down for a chat. It’s well worth the wait. Paul Giblin is that man, John and Stevie Boy are primed to unearth his story. Just who is Paul Giblin? From familiar begginings as he took his foray into running through to his recent epic…

The gathering of awesomeness, you've maybe heard us mention it. In this week's episode we're joined by Adrian Stott to discuss all things Anglo Celtic Plate ahead of the event on Sunday 24 March. The Home International battle for the ACP takes top billing but there are many other sub plots and stories waiting to unfold on the North Inch in Perth bo…

Unpredictable? Well this week Steven bails after the intro leaving John to fly solo!! The cheek! In this episode we welcome to the podcast Sarah Perry. Fresh off setting a new Backyard Ultra British female record of 41 laps/yards at the Rasselbock Backyard Ultra. Sarah snatched the record from oor pal and inspiration UltraKazy aka Karen Nicol. For …

The Tunnel. A 200 mile (ish) ultra-marathon through the darkness of the UKs longest pedestrian tunnel. 100 out n backs. Who's in?? In this episode we speak to Alan Risk. He said yes to The Tunnel and he's with us to tell the tale. We caught up with Alan a mere day after his race. Listen in to get his superb immediate take on taking part. As is rout…

It was last summer we last caught up with our Yorkshire correspondent Mel Sykes. Since then, much has happened, this week Mel gives us a huge update. After successful outings last year, Ultra Trail Snowdonia, Summer Spine Challenger and Lakeland 50 amongst them, Mel has been hampered. After suffering from blurry vision and some balance issues Mel w…

In this episode Jay and Chad chat about their second metabolic tests with Calorify and how they both managed to change factors in their metabolic output through diet manipulations. Jay has since had great success with energy and weight management with himself and others who have tried his program. For more information on coaching or the Run Free Ca…

Continuing Season 10's highly unpredictable nature this week's episode takes a look at the sport we love through a different lens. We welcome along to chat all things running and photography with the renowned David Miller. His expertise has become increasingly well appreciated in the last few years, it's easy to see why.David first shares his own r…

It's only been a wee while since Kayleigh Webster started running, like 3 years! Starting with Couch to 5K in 2020 and completing the final 5k run on Christmas Day was a great way to start. Then things started to change... May the 4th be with you? Why indeedy! A significant date in 2022 for Kayleigh as it started a change in direction of going alco…

'Follow your nose, follow your heart and run, run hard'It was so predictable, wasn't it? This week we welcome the man himself, Winter Spine Race 2024 winner, Jack Scott along for a chat. And it's incredible. Jack, still in recovery phase after the race of his life, is in compelling form as he recounts his astonishing tale. Not only do we get to und…

Season 10? Come on in, make yourself comfy the kettle is just off the boil! We've a magic guest to get the season motoring along. Carla Molinaro, 2023 World 50k Champion, joins us all the way from her base in Cape Town. First up John n Steven have a feature length intro as we peel back the skin on the unpredictable plans for the next 20 episodes! T…

In this episode we talk about what double threshold training is, where it comes from, and who stands to benefit from this type of training methodology. For more information on coaching or the Run Free Camp, visit us at www.runfreetraining.com - Run Free Camp 2024: Flagstaff, AZ, June 19-23Early bird expires on Feb 1 and we would like to help get th…

And here we are, SEASON FINALE, and we're off to Cornwall. Unchartered territory for your dynamic duo! On the eve of the 2024 edition of the Arc of Attrition we were mega chuffed to snare a sit down chat with the uber busy Andrew 'Fergy' Ferguson, one of the race directors. It makes for a fitting close to an epic season. In customary fashion we fir…

Most podcasts don't have 20 episodes in a season. We're not most podcasts! In our penultimate episode of Season 9 we welcome Andy Campbell to the party, and with good reason. John and Stevie Boy have a quick round up of this week'shappenings with Jack Scott's Spine Pennine Way heroics taking centre stage. Pitlochry based Andy then enters the chat! …

Dinnae fret, after our short festive hiatus we're back and we're ready for a tumultuous 2024. We find out just why in this weeks episode. Appetites are whetted, new kicks are ready for action and renewed energy for adventure is abundant. We've hundreds of inspirational guests lined up for ye but this weeks 2024 curtain raiser is the pair of us prev…

Not many words needed. It's our alternative take on awards season, live from YHRF HQ. Video and Audio versions available. All the festive fun, we loved recording this one as you might tell!! Massive thank you to all who took part and submitted a nomination. And a huge huge YHRF Merry Chrimbo to all you listeners, we'll see you all again real soon! …

In this episode we chat with coach Bradley Moon about an underutilized training method for most distance runners, sprinting. Bradley shares his thoughts on how sprint training can not only help increase top end speed but ultimately make you a more efficient distance runner with a higher resiliency to injury. Bradley will be heading up our forthcomi…

It was take two in Spain for Stevie Boy last weekend as he made a return trip to the continent for the 2023 edition of the Malaga Maraton. In this weeks episode we chart not only a weekend on the Costa Del Sol but find out how Steven has managed his training since his endeavours at the Chicago Marathon back in October. A full episode of John and St…

We might've mentioned Season 9 would be different. Our gift this week is a video version of our chat with Nicky Spinks of course you can still access the audio version if you prefer. Nicky has been on our wish list of 'guests' since round about day one, it's well worth the wait! We start off with an intro from Nicky about her running journey, her '…