Matt James went from The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars to one of TV's most legitimate marathon runners, and he says the best part of marathon season is the training, not the race.

This week, Anya sits down with Matt to talk about why running used to feel like punishment, a month training in Kenya, and the pacing mistake that ended in a walk up First Avenue. He explains why he'd rather enjoy the process than chase a time, shares his five race day tips with the marathon in New York around the corner, and gives us an exclusive on his pasta gel.

In this episode:

🏃 From Punishment to Joy: how he retrained his brain to enjoy running

🌍 A Month Training in Kenya: running alongside champions, and what it taught him

📈 Training Over Race Day: why he calls the race "the cookie"

🚫 The Pacing Mistake: going out too fast, and why he swears by negative splits

🍝 5 Race Day Tips: fuelling, pacing, smiling and a straw

🍩 Dream Race: the Krispy Kreme Challenge

🎧 New episodes every Friday with Olympians, World Record holders, and inspiring voices from the running community.

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📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

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If you’ve ever looked at your plan and wondered why it has both tempo runs and intervals, this episode was made for you.

This week, Coach Anya sits down with Runna athlete and Olympian Colleen Quigley for a Coach on Call episode all about training for speed vs training for endurance.

Colleen raced the steeplechase and the 1500m, where it’s all over in minutes. Anya trains to run for hours. So who’s right about what matters more? Turns out, both of them. They get into what each session actually does, how it should feel, and why it’s so easy to run your tempos too fast.

In this episode:

🏃 Tempo vs intervals: What each one looks like on your plan

🔬 The science: Aerobic vs anaerobic and why lactate threshold matters

🐢 Tempo tip: Why starting slower helps you get more from the session

🎯 Your goal: How to match your training to a 5k, a half or a marathon

🚫 Myth busters: Fact or fiction, rapid fire

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📺 You can watch our episodes too! → @therunnapodcast

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Training's going well, so why do you feel so flat? Three weeks out from marathon day, peak week can make getting fitter feel exactly like getting worse.

In the second episode of our mini-series building to New York, Coach Anya sits down with Savannah Sachdev (@savannahsachdev) for a peak week check-in. They talk about what the biggest weeks of marathon training actually feel like, and why feeling exhausted doesn't mean your fitness is slipping.

Savannah is known for her relatable, hilarious running content and her daily run streak. She's lining up in New York, where she ran her very first marathon, and she gets honest about dreading the 28K, going in probably the least fit she's been, and why her progress right now isn't about speed.

With Anya deep in her own biggest weeks, they unpack how to tell if peak week is working and why you're suddenly so hungry. It's a good listen if you're in your own toughest block right now, or just curious what the hardest part of marathon training really feels like.

In this episode:

🧠 Peak Week Reality: why getting fitter can feel like getting worse

😬 The Long Run Dread: why the biggest weeks feel scary

🍞 Fuelling Peak Weeks: food as motivation, and malt loaf over gels

🎮 Gamify It: how three 7Ks got her through a treadmill long run

🎁 Try Runna FREE for 2 weeks with code PODCAST26: https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=PODCAST26

📺 Watch the full episode → youtube.com/@therunnapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.