The Inspirational Runner Podcast

Podcast #89 Lady Mary Peters Pentathlon Olympic Gold 'Passing the Torch'

The year was 1972, it was a troublesome time in Belfast but through all that darkness shone a very bright light in the form of the Olympic Pentathlon winner Mary Peters, not only did she win the event by a mere 10 points out of 4800 but Mary aged 33 smashed all her own pbs to break the world record.

This is a comprehensive journey through Mary’s life from her climb to athletic supremacy to having her life threatened, losing her coach to a car accident 6 months after Olympic gold, to building the Mary Peters track and setting up a stepping stone charity the Mary Peters Trust to help young Irish athletes chase their dreams.

Lady Mary Elizabeth Peters has more letters behind her name than the earl of Kensington, but this year she was very honoured to named as Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter which is the highest order of Knight hood that the Queen can appoint.

I’d just like to give a huge shout out for Mary’s latest book which is an exceptional gift to present to any young person at Christmas, it’s called ‘Passing The Torch’ and it celebrates some of the most successful female athletes (see link below), Sales from the book will raise money for the Mary Peters Trust which supports young athletes. 

Passing the Torch: Mary Peters Sportswomen who Inspire (Great Xmas Present)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Passing-Torch-Peters-Sportswomen-Inspire/dp/1902471164/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NKHEA4ZGNYC7&keywords=passing+the+torch&qid=1576353945&s=books&sprefix=passing+the+to%2Cstripbooks%2C221&sr=1-1

Spirit of Running ‘Best Use of Social Media’
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SORNISocialMedia?fbclid=IwAR20t_n9WlVufHuTbFl1ttuuS_c7W9LmnnaXYzQml8Cs75koyR4I5PH_NsU

Podcast #88 Liz McColgan ‘Determination to Succeed’ Olympic Silver, Worlds Gold, London, New York & Tokyo Marathon Winner

Who could forget the world champs in 1991 where Liz McColgan destroyed the field in Tokyo on a hot and humid night to take gold, one of the greatest 10,000m races of all time.

1991 was an amazing year for Liz giving birth to her daughter Eilish, winning the New York marathon taking 3 min of the world record for fastest marathon debut, and being rewarded bbc sports personality of the year.

One of Scotland’s most successful athletes, Liz McColgan also took silver in the 10,000 metres event at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and went on to win Tokyo marathon and after a career threatening injury she bounced back after being side lined for two years to win the prestigious London Marathon

This episode has it all focus, determination, career threatening injury and one of the biggest come backs of all time!!!

 

Podcast #87 Maggie Guterl Big Dog's Back Yard Ultra Champion 250 miles Last one Standing & Still Not Out

We have another awesome episode for you this week Maggie Guterl from Pennsylvania who was the first female winner of the Big Dog's Back Yard Ultra.

The race consists of a 4.1666 mile loop on the property of Lazarus Lake in Bell Buckle Tennessee, the runners have 60 minutes to complete the loop and get back on the start line ready to go again before they are timed out, sounds easy right, well how do you think you would feel after 60 loops of non-stop racing because that’s what it took Maggie to become the world champion of the Back yard Ultra 2.5 days, 60hrs, 250 miles frame it what ever way you want, it was an outstanding performance and one that has really catapulted Maggie into the lime light in the world of Ultra running, not that she is new to the sport competing in many 100 mile races including two times player of the Barkley marathon (also created by Lazarus Lake) and USA 24hr competitor is it any wonder that she showed the guys how it was done.

Podcast #86 Lazarus Lake The Big Dog's Backyard Ultra & The Barkley Marathon

We have an awesome episode for you this week the world’s most notorious race director Lazarus Lake who is the architect of Big Dog's Back Yard Ultra & the infamous Barkley Marathon which has been named as the most gruel some race on the planet.

A runner himself who has ran a 1:19 half marathon, 74 miles in a 12hr event, and if that isn’t impressive enough last year he walked just over 5100km (3300 miles) across America covering over a marathon a day for 126 days.

I’d just like to give a huge shout to the sponsors of this episode Atlas running their next big event is of course Last one Standing which is being held in Castleward Co.Down N.Ireland on the  15^th Feb 2020.

https://www.atlasrunning.co.uk/last-one-standing

Podcast #85 Jill McCann Resilience at its Best 214 miles Dublin 2 Belfast Return 5200miles in 52 weeks

What an exceptional episode we have for you the this week, Omagh’s Jill McCann has run just over 5000 miles this year and is on course to run an average of over 100 miles a week for the calendar year.

She only started running 4 years ago and since then she has ran 175 marathons with about 40% of those being ultras, this year alone she has ran five 100 mile runs not including the 200 mile Belfast to Dublin return where she was the first runner home, and remarkably the following weekend she won a 24hr event in Wicklow where she ran a staggering 118 miles.

She throws all rule books out of the window getting by with less than 4 hrs sleep a night, she follows no diet plan, loves her vodka and has four beautiful children that she has to manage whilst satisfying her running addiction.

Podcast #84 Repetition, Self Belief, and the Importance of Developing a Strong Mind

A podcast with a bit of difference this week, I pulled a few runners together that had competed in the Garmin Skyline to accommodate Mark Stephens podcast who came third in the race however I had a glitch with the mic and lost his recording.

So instead of having a short chat about the race Barry McCarrol, Choc Murphy and Ryan Carson from Slieve Gullion Runners talk everything about running focusing on the two big races over the last week The Garmin Skyline and Dublin Marathon, it turned into a bit of craic which I enjoyed recording so hope you enjoy listening, have to apologise as we had no facts and got every one's names wrong but it is what it is....hope you enjoy :) 

Podcast #83 Aoife Cooke Irish National Marathon Champion 2019 Dublin 2:32:34

From a 3:15 marathon in 2015 to running the 5th fastest marathon time ever recorded by an Irish female runner in Dublin last week, with an astonishing result 2:32:34.

 

She's worked hard over the last few years to become our 2019 Irish National Marathon Champion, this win makes Aoife one of our best prospect for Tokyo Olympics next year.

 

**The is our first podcast over the phone the sound is good but bare with me as I venture more into this setup over the next few months**

 

National Championship Dublin Marathon 2019

1. Aoife Cooke (Eagle AC) 2:32:34
2. Ann-Marie McGlynn (Letterkenny AC) 2:32:54
3. Gladys Ganiel (North Belfast Harriers) 2:36:42

Podcast #82 Paul Pollock's Dream Run Dublin Project with Adrian Bennett

What a weekend with over 22, 500 people taking to the streets of Dublin for its 40^th Marathon, we have Mourne Runner Adrian Bennett on the show this week who at 52 years of age is the oldest member of Olympian Paul Pollock’s DreamRunDublin team but as we are starting to learn age no longer is a barrier for marathon running and Adrian already graces a sub 3:30 pb and a 1:28 half which he achieved earlier in the year prior to joining the project.

Check out the attached link for more information on the project.

https://www.fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/dreamrun-dublin-race-week/27606

Podcast #81 Michael Regan 'On the Run from the Crum' Escaped from Gaol 103.5 miles in 24hrs

An epic podcast this week from a Belfast runner, original from county Derry Michael Regan who turns out to be a great story teller as well as a great long distance runner, he’s relatively new to the world of ultra running but pulls out an amazing performance to win the inaugural  'On The Run From The Crum' which is a unique running event which starts inside Belfast Gaol, and not unlike the escape from Meridian that featured in an earlier episode with runner Sean Nickell the concept is to run as far away from the prison within 24hours.

The winner is the runner who gets the furthest away with the distance being measured as the crow flies, not only did Michael win the event but he managed to make it past the 100 mile mark in treacherous conditions.

Podcast #80 Gillian Wasson International Mountain Runner Go Where You Feel Most Alive

Back to the mountains this week with International Runner Gillian Wasson who can often be seen on the podium of home races winning the likes of the challenging Seven Sisters Skyline in Donegal, her success has seen her represent both Ireland and N.Ireland in various races across Europe pulling in bronze medals during the masters in consecutive years.

What some people may not know is that Gillian is a late comer to the sport where she started on the roads gracing an amazing marathon time of 3:03, but its the mountains where she feels most alive, quite possible one of the most determined mountain runners I've had the pleasure of meeting.