Everyday Runners

EDR: #86 /Athlete Profiles/ Gianluca Assorgia & Lucas Nieuweboer: Amsterdam, altitude training, racing strategies, coaching relationships.

This episode features a conversation with two top athletes of the Netherlands, Gianluca Assorgia and Lucas Nieuweboer. Gianluca, with a time of 2:12 came second in the recent Amsterdam Marathon and Lucas had a slightly more difficult day, with a time of just under the 2:16 mark. Gianluca finished second in the Dutch championship and Lucas was eighth. Gianluca had initially planned the Berlin Marathon to be his main goal but owing to the heat, he switched his priority to competing for a medal in Amsterdam. Lucas, a former winner of the Halve van Egmond, had an interrupted preparation and perhaps has put this marathon away as a good preparation for another marathon where he can perform at his best. 
The interview was recorded the day after the Amsterdam marathon, so, although it has been a little while since that day, I find it too difficult to produce more than one episode per week. I think this interview still holds its relevance though for the way they speak of their training programs, relationships with their coaches and of course their tactics going into races. 
I enjoyed being at the marathon that day because I got to watch the Dutch athletes competing for their national marathon title. The Amsterdam marathon is the one marathon per year that I always plan on watching live, rather than participating in. 
This makes me think of the weekend’s incredible New York Marathon. I normally wouldn’t have watched it, but owing to the race being on HBO, I was able to watch a replay. This race again confirmed my thoughts: to make marathons more exciting as a spectacle, the courses need to be hilly and there needs to be no pacers. Both the women’s and men’s races were tense and exciting owing to the tactics that played out. While pacers don’t necessarily preclude interesting race strategies, their absence does enable a greater opportunity for games of cat and mouse between the athletes. I’m hoping that the time-trial mode of marathon racing can somehow slowly whither away. This mode of racing may have come from the advent of carbon fibre plated shoes and the awesomeness of Kipchoge and Kiptum. But with Kiptum’s death and Kipchoge no being at the pointy end of races, the sport can be attractive for its racing spectacularity. And, to be honest, there have been some great races: Sifan Hassan’s performances in her debut marathon and the Paris Olympics, the Tokyo world championship marathons; Lokedi versus Obiri in the Boston Marathon and then of course, both races on the weekend. So yeah, I’m not the only person to be saying this about marathons, but yeah, give me a tight race over a fast time any time. 
Anyway, if you are new to this podcast, please consider giving it a rating on Spotify. It does help the podcast to do better on Spotify. 
If you feel the podcast to be something of value, please consider supporting my efforts through the Buy Me A Coffee Platform: the link is in the show notes. Thank you to supporters of the podcast: Jochem, Bob, Dominic, Nesrine, Levi, Joao, Gianluca and the original Bob. 
Relevant Links
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee
Music by Jeroen Rondeel of Cymbaline 

EDR #85 /Amsterdam Review/Anne Luijten and Frank Futselaar on their tense race moments, being a citizen as well as an athlete, and minimal preparation

Hello and welcome back to Everyday Runners podcast. In this episode Frank Futselaar (first time on EDR) and Anne Luijten (regular) share their experiences of the Amsterdam Marathon. Frank had some annoying calf-troubles and couldn't quite get what he wanted out of the race. Anne won the Dutch championship despite having a very short and interrupted recovery period after the World Championships. 
Frank also spoke about his time working as a cultural anthropologist where he worked with Kenyan athletes and explored what it means to be both an athlete and citizen. He also shared some hilarious anecdotes about those tense moments leading up the race and how he seeks to stay focused on the race. 

EDR #84.1. /Racing/ Andy vs Joao: Executing and Creativity

Yo!
This episode is a conversation between Joao Seixas and myself, Andy Fuller. 
I ask him about his upcoming marathon in Amsterdam. He asks me about how things went in my half-marathon in Eindhoven. 
We talk about 'executing a plan' and 'being creative during a race'. 
I talk about my coaching practice. 
And that's about it. Friday bonus episode. Enjoy!
***
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee
Music by Jeroen Rondeel of Cymbaline 

EDR #84 /Coaching/ Honore Hoedt: “I don’t coach athletes. I coach people.”

In this episode, I speak with Honore Hoedt who is the former national distance coach of the Netherlands and Norway. 
He has coached athletes to national records in Iceland, Sweden, Norway and of course here in the Netherlands. 
Honore is well-known for his work with Sifan Hassan and for guiding her to victory in the indoor World Championships in 2016 in the 1500m. He has also coached Bram Som and Gert Jan Liefers. 
Honore has worked with national athletics federations throughout Europe and also in Australia. One of his areas of expertise is working with athletes who are strong at the 400m to being able to compete in the 800m event. He gives them shorter intervals and they do their volume on the bike. So simple isn’t it! 
Honore works for Loopland Gelderland in Papendal where he discovers and develops young and talented athletes. He also coaches runners and athletes remotely in order for them to reach their desired level. 
Honore also works with Nike Team Pace and Tomasz Lewandowski. 
He gives lectures, seminars and coaches other coaches. If you would like to contact Honore, his email address is: honorehoedt@gmail.com
In this interview, we discuss Honore’s journey as a coach and how he has learned, what he has learned. I want to thank Honore very much for his generosity with his time and sharing his stories. 
I hope you enjoy this conversation. 
***
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee
Music by Jeroen Rondeel of Cymbaline 

EDR #83.1 /Friday Bonus/Joao vs Andy: Doing a Marathon on Heart Rate and Phantom Marathons

Hello Bonus Episode! This podcast started as a conversation between Joao and myself. So, with the Amsterdam Marathon approaching - and the fact that Joao is doing it - I thought we’d have another chat. Joao speaks about doing this marathon largely according to his heart rate and I talk about whether or not I’m likely to do a large scale event any time soon. We also discuss whether doing a phantom marathon really counts as doing a marathon and to what extent it is important to gain outside recognition for running well. "If one runs 42.2km by oneself, does it count as a doing a marathon?"
Links
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee

EDR #83 /Leidse trots/Amina Maatoug - "You can be one of the best performers in the world and still have a lot of fun."

Amina Maatoug is one of Leiden Atletiek's most popular, cherished and cheerful athletes. She has recently returned from the World Championships where she made her senior international debut in the 1500m. 
We discuss her relationship with her University of Washington coach, Maurica Powell, Amina's qualification for Tokyo, and what she finds most important in an athlete-coach relationship. (It's not the program.)
Other matters: I also share my plans for writing a book related to Everyday Runners; my race agenda for the next two or so months and how I'm likely to be back on Strava soon. 
Until next time. Doei doei! 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee
Music by Jeroen Rondeel of Cymbaline 

EDR #82: /The Art of Coaching/ Joseph Mills: “Instead of having my running spikes, I just have my theories and a keyboard”

This episode features a conversation with Joseph Mills, who is an International Adjunct Professor in the Master of Sports Coaching program at the University of Denver. That is his formal title. According to his profile, “his research and teaching interests are in the application of social-cultural theories to bridge science (real-world) practice divides in coaching, sport and exercise.” 
My interest in Joe’s work stems from my coaching practice. I have started coaching at Leiden Atletiek and privately over the last 12 months and while I’m looking to learn from more established figures in the running-coaching game, I’m also looking to put my own spin on how I do things. That involves thinking critically about some of the foundational presumptions we have about athletics training and what makes a good coach. 
I got in touch with Joe after seeing his work referenced in that of Zoe Avner’s who was featured in episode 78. I also saw that they had co-authored some articles together. Joe’s work is very much informed by Michel Foucault, whose work created such a great intervention in thinking about power and knowledge structures. 
So, in this conversation we talk about Joe’s relationships with his running coaches; Foucault and discipline; the disciplined athlete; his work as a post-structuralist scholar; running as play; training for racing; the rise of sports science as a discipline. 
I want to thank Joe very much for the sincere and open manner in which he shared his thinking and experiences with me during this interview. It’s moments like this that really make me glad that I started this podcast. I’m trying to build a substantial resource of conversations which can be of use to runners and non-runners alike. Apologies to those who are looking for quick answers, tips and gear endorsements. That’s not what my podcast is about. So, if you are liking what you are listening to, please feel to support via the Buy Me a Coffee platform. You’ll be even more of a legend than you already are. 
So, dat was hem voor nu. It’s a beautiful, still, calm autumn day in the best city in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. Doei doei! 
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Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee

EDR #81 /WK Review/ “Het is veel meer een spelletje”: Met Anne Luijten, Marcella Herzog en Niels Esmeijer

Hallo en welkom bij aflevering #81 van de podcast Everyday Runners. Ik ben Andy Fuller, de host van deze show en ook mede-oprichter van Reading Sideways Press. Deze podcast duikt in de praktijk, methodes en culturen van het hardlopen door interviews met alledaagse lopers, topatleten en onderzoekers met een achtergrond in de sociale of geesteswetenschappen.
Deze aflevering is een gesprek met vaste gasten, atleten Anne Luijten, Marcella Herzog en trainer Niels Esmeijer. Anne en Marcella zijn net terug uit Japan waar ze in Tokio meededen aan de marathon op het WK. Het is overbodig om te zeggen, maar ze hebben allebei heel goed gepresteerd. We bespreken een aantal interessante onderwerpen: wat een toernooimarathon speciaal maakt; strategieën voor de voorbereiding op een marathon in de hitte; de nieuwe atleet-coach-samenwerking van Marcella en Niels; training en AI en, het leven van een atleet.
Links: 
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
 

EDR #80 /Running Studies/Neil Baxter: “We make our choices on what we think something says about us”

Hello and welcome to Episode #80 of Everyday Runners podcast: I’m Andy Fuller, the host of this show and also a co-founder of Reading Sideways Press. This podcast explores the practices, methods and cultures of running by interviewing everyday runners, high performing athletes and researchers with a social science or humanities background. 
This episode features an interview with independent researcher, Neil Baxter, whose work can be found here, Running Studies. In this episode we explore the origins of modern running, what running looked like in the distant (and near) past, how the marathon came to be and why doing long-distance running is often conflated with having a strong, moral character. 
Finally, if you feel like this podcast is valuable, please consider giving it a rating on Spotify or supporting it through the Buy Me a Coffee platform.
I hope you enjoy this episode and until next time - doi doi 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee

EDR #79 /Athlete/ Too Fast to be Serious: The Life and Times of John Heymans, Olympic 5000m finalist

This episode features an interview with John Heymans - a finalist in the 5000m at last year’s Olympics. But of course, that wasn’t really what attracted me to him and to become curious about interviewing him. After all, there’s always going to be fast athletes. My YouTube feed started popping up videos of John a couple of months ago and to be honest when I first saw them I didn’t know what to make of him. But after a few videos I think I started to get what he is on about. John takes his high performance ‘lightly’ and with a sense of humour. This contrasts greatly with so many of us everyday runners who get burdened by our levels of performance. And yes, I’m guilty as charged of taking my own running too seriously. I love the image of seeing John at the Olympic final, flexing his biceps which have the words, ‘Hey Mom, made it’ written across them. John is also open and transparent about the risks and costs of being a high-performing athlete. It is an idealised position, but athletes, even of his level, live precarious lives through which he must come up with specific and flexible strategies to survive. 
John is in Tokyo preparing for the 5000m in the world championships. So, smash it John. Thank you for being such an open and sincere guest on this podcast. 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy me a Coffee