#29 "Sometimes running is simply a matter of taste", conversation with science writer and runner, Mariska van Sprundel

Welcome to Episode 29 of Everyday Runners, I’m Andy Fuller. It’s still raining. I’m in the final stages for my Eindhoven marathon preparation. Some of you may have done Berlin. Others may be doing Amsterdam or Melbourne. Autumn is well and truly here. 

Everyday Runners reached a minor milestone last week with the 3000th download. Just as in running, numbers don’t tell the whole story. I’ve had some very nice feedback from friends and fellow-runners who have told me that they have listened to and enjoyed a particular episode. 

Also, on Saturday 28th, we held a running and drawing workshop at Garage art gallery in Rotterdam. This was a Reading Sideways Press event and it was a lot of fun to do some loopscholing, run technique exercises in an art gallery space. We then followed up with talking about running, bodies, movements. And of course, we then turned to drawing and talking about pens and pencils. The two activities melded into each other. 

This episode features an interview with Mariska van Sprundel, a runner and science writer based in Utrecht. Mariska is the author of “Running Smart: How Science Can Improve Your Endurance and Performance”, or in Dutch, “Alles wat je wilt weten over hardlopen”. The book was translated by Danny Guinan, with funding from the Dutch Foundation for Literature. How cool that money was available for this. I first read the book way back in 2022 and I found it unusual as a running book for it was written in a cool-headed, unhyped manner. Mariska not only encourages us to be skeptical about many running hypes, but also to maintain our critical lens when engaging with science: there is always more to explore and one piece of research won’t provide, a single, all-time, forever-true answer. 

I asked Mariska about: running shoes, running bodies, fatigue, injuries, therapy and strategies on how not to quit a race, when you feel like doing so. We also discussed her upcoming book on mental strategies in running, to be published by Volt next year. 

Finally, if you are new to this podcast, please smash the review button on Spotify; share it with your friends and multiply it via your social media - if you like. 

That’s all from me. 

Until next time, doi doi-

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Episode Overview

• MvS as Science Writer;  Runner; Bunny keeper
• Motivation for Running
• Festival vibe of running in NL
• Shoes: how they matter
• don’t believe the hype
• Bodies and running
• “but that doesn’t mean that you can’t run if you have another body type”
• Are East African athletes ‘naturally’ good at running? 
• Gender and running
• “you have to find a balance between finding a decent sports bra and being able to breathe”
• taboo breaking
• Do runners live longer? 
• But the thing is, is it running, or are there are other sports which could make us so healthy?
• Where injuries happen
• The virtues of beetroot juice
• Running therapy
• The rhythm of running
• Being addicted to running? 
• How the book came to be translated into English
• What are you writing about now? 
• forthcoming book/mental challenges of running and racing
• performance vs joy
• Positive or instructional self-talk 
• On not quitting

Relevant Links: 

Mariska van Sprundel, website & Instagram 

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KWF fundraising for Eindhoven Marathon: KWF

Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press

Strava: Andy Fuller

Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden

Twitter/X: @readingsideways

Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com