Like blogs in the early 2000s it seems like half of everyone has a running podcast. I’m only scratching the surface, but here are the ones I have been listening to the past couple of years. Listed alphabetically.
Citius Magazine with Chris Chavez. Chavez is only in his mid-20s, but as a writer for Sports Illustrated he is a pro. Don’t let the haters on Letsrun.com dissuade you from listening to Chavez’s interviews because he hasn’t broken 3 hours in the marathon. With his connections from SI and living in New York City Chavez has a slew of top guests (this fall alone, he had Shalane Flanagan, Scott Fauble, Gold medal shotputter Joe Kovacs, and a panel with Mo Ahmed, Olympic medalist Evan Jager, and Ryan Hill). Chavez asks good questions and gets the inside scoop. His Berlin Takeover series with a couple friends was a bit much, but those were also fun.
Clean Sport Collective is fairly new, having just started up about a half a year ago. The podcast is hosted by Olympic runner Kara Goucher, Shanna Burnette, and Chris McClung. Kara has led most of the interviews and discussion, and Shanna provides good insight. McClung of Running Rogue (see below), usually just does the introductions. They have put together a string of very compelling interviews this fall, following all the Nike Oregon Project (NOP) revelations and similar stories. They have interviewed Mary Cain, had a fantastic two part interview with Olympic Gold medalist Frank Shorter who helped create the sport drug testing bodies USADA and WADA in the early 2000s, as well as Tyler Hamilton a cyclist who doped for years but has admitted it. These interviews are in the must-listen category, and I’m looking forward to more from Clean Sport.
Inside Running from Australia with Brady, Brad, and Julian and these guys, accomplished runners all, are a hoot. They are very knowledgeable about running both inside and outside of Australia. They have great guests, mostly Australian elites and sub elites, and they cover a broad range of topics along the way. Their weekly intro runs a little long, with up to an hour of their activities, but that’s some of the best stuff as they bust on each other. And their guests get into it as well!
I have a theory, we used to be more that way here in the States (think the 90s with Seinfeld), but now everyone is so polite, you don’t hear as much banter in the American podcasts. I think our bitter political divisions over the past 25 or 30 years, plus happenings on the world and domestic scene have tempered the good-natured ribbing. But the Aussies still have it! I love this show as I get versed in the Australian running scene.
Running Rogue. Even though I’m going alphabetic on this review, I’m going a slight bit out of line here with Running Rogue and Running on Purpose, because the former co-hosts Chris McClung and Steve Sisson used to work together on Rogue. At the beginning of 2019 they went their separate ways. I really liked them together, as they played well of each other, with Chris being an articulate steady and methodical everyman while Steve, a former elite runner and coach, who also speaks very well, was mercurical, passionate, and somewhat of a visionary.
Nevertheless, Chris has carried the torch quite well in 2019, and has had a string of really good guests from some of his local friends and colleagues in the Austin area as well as some national level stars and pundits. Chris covers elite-level running and my favorite Rogue podcasts are when he teams up with Johanna (Jojo) Gretschel to discuss elite performance at the US and world level. Running Rogue still covers current events and insights it now appeals most to the recreational road and trail runner. However, if you haven’t listened in yet, go back to the first 100 episodes and you’ll pick up a lot of great training podcasts with Steve and Chris.
Running On Purpose After Steve left Rogue he started up with a few podcasts on Telos Running and then came back this fall with Running on Purpose, a podcast dedicated to delving into the body, mind, and soul. Although the output has not been consistent with fewer than a dozen shows out, Sisson and his co-host Kirsten are working well together, peeling the layers of what makes us tick as runners and getting into things that really make you think. Check out the episode on Unreasonable Expectations for how to deal with setbacks and goal setting. The frequency of shows has been sporadic but I look forward to hearing a lot more from Running on Purpose.
The 1609 Podcast is co-hosted by running friends Evan and Alex. And while they are not a couple, the podcast is like a visit to a mom and pop shop, where the talk is about running. Sometimes food. The co-hosts are friendly and knowledgeable and they cover a lot of ground every week, from their weekly training to elite discussion and anything that’s in the news. Evan an Olympic Trials marathon qualifier is lifetime runner from a running family, and Alex is an adult onset runner preparing for her first marathon. They speak well and have had a good list of guest over the past couple of years from elites like Luke Puskedra and Neely Spence, to an array of friends who have done some amazing ultras, qualified for the Olympic Trials, or just qualified for their first Boston Marathon. Their weekly updates on the news carries the bulk of the program and they do a good job of summarizing what’s happening, including rants from old timers, Lord Fucking Coe and all.
I know there are a ton more out there including House of Run, Letsrun, or Magnus and Marcus coaching, or the Science of Running. I’ve only dabbled into bits of these.
The other ones I reviewed above all have their strengths and are worth a listen.
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