Everyday Runners

#21: “Running is the genre I’m working in now” with Lindsey A Freeman”

Hello and welcome to Episode 21 of Everyday Runners. That was a brief excerpt from Lindsey’s book, “Running”, which is part of the Practices series, published by Duke University Press in 2023. Lindsey is a writer and sociologist interested in endurance, hapticality, atomic and nuclear cultures, and poetics. She is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Simon Fraser University. 
Her book, Running, is a deeply personal reflection on her own running practices and on cultures of running. Our conversation picks up on some of the key themes of the book. We talk about ‘running as Practice’, similarities between running and writing; the scholars and athletes that have propelled her thinking on running; the idea of ‘leaving it all out on the track’; what it felt like to be run over by an SUV in New York; her continual enjoyment in the Olympics, despite some misgivings, and the story of the Big Pencil she is holding in the photo accompanying this episode. 
I very much enjoyed speaking with Lindsey and I hope you enjoy listening to the conversation. Of course, I recommend listeners to read her wonderfully readable, 150page handbook on running. 
Finally, as usual, it is greatly appreciated if you share this episode amongst your running cohort and smash out a rating on the Spotify. 
Until next time and tot de volgende keer.
 
Relevant Links: 
Lindsey A Freeman: personal website,  Simon Fraser University & Instagram 
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 
 

#20 - Niels Esmeijer, Part Two - About a Photograph, Functional Overload and Coaching Processes

Hello and welcome to Episode #20 of Everyday Runners. 
This episode is a continuation of my conversation with Niels Esmeijer. In this episode we talk about the photo that accompanies this episode and what the circumstances were when it was taken at the Rotterdam Marathon a few years ago; we talk about his own experiences with his coaches and what he has learnt from them and taken into his own coaching processes. And, Niels also talks about ‘functional overload’, which kinda sounds like jargon, but it actually makes a fair amount of sense. 
The final eight minutes of the conversation is Niels asking me about a 5000m race I did about three or four weeks ago. I found it quite awkward to listen back to this as I am somewhat reluctant to make excuses about not performing to my own expectations during a race. But, here, it sounds like I’m making excuses. I’m glad though that I had went on the record about the race, even though, as I was talking, I planned on deleting it from the episode.
I want to thank everyone for listening and, if you are a new listener, please give the show a rating on Spotify as it helps the show attract new listeners. 
If this show is enjoyable for you, drop me a line via one of the channels in the show notes. 
Until next time en tot de volgende. 
 
Relevant Links:
Niels Esmeijer's coaching platform, MTFU
Interview with Niels and Anne Luijten, NPO Radio 1
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 

#19 - Niels Esmeijer - "A marathon is about more than just the time"

This week’s episode features an interview with Niels Esmeijer, a high level, amateur athlete. Niels is a coach, triathlete and now, well-known, at least in the Netherlands, for being the pacer of Anne Luijten, whom he paced to Olympic qualification. 
Niels is a 2:25 marathoner and has a  sub-9 hour Iron Man under his belt. He recently became Dutch champion, in his age category, for the Half-Triathlon. But, as he emphasises and like this podcast is trying to emphasise, times are only part of the story. Niels shares stories of his relationship with running and how he goes about his own running and how he came to pacing Anne. 
My interview with Niels was a wide-ranging one as I wanted to cover his experiences of training, coaching and pacing. We even sneak in some chit-chat about Aussie Rules football, as a result of his time studying in Melbourne. 
As the interview was a little longer than usual, I have decided to break it into two parts; the second of which will be released in a few days time.
*Photo by Erik van Leeuwen
Relevant Links: 
Niels Esmeijer: MTFU Personal Coaching
As pacer for Anne Luijten (in Dutch)
 
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 

#18: Reem Ali and the Palestine Marathon

Good morning! Good afternoon, good evening or goodnight. This is Episode 18 of the Everyday Runners podcast. Hope your running, training, racing is going well. I’m Andy Fuller, the host of Everyday Runners and a co-founder of Reading Sideways Press. 
 
In this episode, I speak with Reem Ali who is a crisis counselor and the Sweat Elite Academy manager. Reem is based in Chicago and she shares her stories of doing the Palestine Marathon in 2019 and the various logistical difficulties involved. Reem speaks of the barriers (to put it mildly) faced by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in practicing sport, moving through checkpoints and just going about their daily life. 
 
Reem is in the process of starting her preparations for the 2025 Palestine Marathon and has recently started a fundraising campaign to generate funds for those who need it most. If there are listeners out there who would like to contribute, a link can be found in the program notes. 
 
That is enough from me. I hope you find this conversation with Reem Ali insightful and that it helps to give a new perspective on the everyday lives of Palestinians, who might at times, just also want to go for a run. 
 
Relevant Links: 
Reem Ali: Instagram 
Sweat Elite Coaching Academy
Fundraising: Together for Humanity
Palestine Marathon
 
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 

#17 Thursday Bonus - Three Questions Each with Dani O'Sullivan

In this Thursday Bonus episode, Dani O'Sullivan and I talk about running and technology, professionalisation and payment of elite athletes, the curious encounters with other humans while running and also about the science fiction running-based novel Dani has written. 
 
Dani O'Sullivan: Instagram (@dani_osullivan_)
 
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 

#16 - Interview with Cas Kopmels - On College Athletics and US style training

This episode features an interview with Cas Kopmels a Leiden athlete who is just finishing up his time in the States where he has been on an athletics scholarship at Wingate in North Carolina. 
 
That will be my last reading from The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner. I have featured it because I feel it captures so much about running and what this podcast is trying to explore. Part of what Sillitoe does is describe vividly the tensions of running and racing: when does one shift from running to racing and how does one use geographical markers as a means of shaping one’s level of effort. I love how the narrative puts so much emphasis on the surroundings, the smells, the changes in terrain, the temperature, and the sounds the body makes as it moves along the various paths. 
 
Of course this is also the story of a working class teenager who is being disciplined through his running as a means of becoming a ‘decent’ and ‘honest’ citizen. He has no time for this. He rejects the civilizing mission that his act of running will supposedly create in him. Thus, he deliberately loses the race to the chagrin of his school masters. I love how in this long-short-story, it also carries such pearls of running wisdom: ‘don’t be in a hurry’ ; when you are in a hurry, don’t let others know about it and that ‘you can always over take in a long-distance race’. 
 
Anyway, for the moment, that’s all from me. If you’re enjoying these episodes, drop me a line on Strava or elsewhere or of course share the podcast amongst your friends. 
 
I want to give a big shout-out to the Casco Crew in Utrecht for mentioning the podcast in their newsletter: specifically Aline Hernandez and Marianna Takou. 
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Cas Kopmels: World Athletics Profile
Instagram: @caskopmels
 
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 
 
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I recorded the music featured in this episode on 9th June 2024, just near the Albert Heijn on Hooigracht in Leiden. If anyone knows who the band is, please let me know so that I can credit them properly. :) 

#15 "Running makes me feel..." Conversation with Bridgette Desjardins and Jean Ketterling

This episode features a conversation with Bridgette Desjardins of Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia and Jean Ketterling of Mount Allison University in New Brunswick Canada. I got in touch with Bridgette and Jean after reading their article, “Running makes me feel”: the production of emotion through leisure published in April 2023 in Leisure Studies. This was a very enjoyable and enlightening conversation for me. We spoke about running during the Covid 19 Pandemic, how running is often ‘justified’ as a leisure pursuit, how leisure time is gendered, and also how affect and emotion are closely intertwined but can be understood differently. I also particularly enjoyed Bridgette’s discussion of her move to powerlifting as her main sport and Jean’s practice of run-juring: a sport, which I had hitherto not heard of. 
 
So, that’s just about all from me for now. I’ve got numerous episodes on the go which will keep me occupied over the coming weeks. Next week’s episode will feature an interview with a Leiden athlete who has spent the last few years in the State in the college athletics system. If you would like to support the show, I’m hoping that you can share it with your running friends and crews. It’s always nice to see that people are listening to it. Thank you to the 18 folks who have given the show a five star review on the Spotify. If you have comments, perhaps the easiest way to get in touch is either through my Strava or Instagram. 
 
Bedankt voor het luisteren en tot de volgende - 
 
Relevant Links: 
Article: Running makes me feel
Guest Profiles: Bridgette Desjardins  & Jean Ketterling
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 
***I recorded the music featured in this episode on 9th June 2024, just near the Albert Heijn on Hooigracht in Leiden. If anyone knows who the band is, please let me know so that I can credit them properly. :) 

#14 Interview with Noah Schutte - 5 x Dutch National Champion

Hello and welcome to Episode #14 of Everyday Runners. This episode features an interview with five-time national (Dutch) champion Noah Schutte. Noah specialises in the 10,000m (with a PB of 27:58) and has also won the Dutch half-marathon championship in Breda in 2023. 
I talk with Noah about how he came to running, after quite some years of serious table-tennis, where he trains and how he prepares for his important races which are often in quite quick succession. 
Noah is sponsored by Hoka and recently competed in the European Championships held in Rome. Since this recording was made, he came second at the Dutch 5000m championships.
So, those are his elite running credentials. 
But, this podcast is not specifically centred around running or athletes solely based on their high performance. I find ‘high performance’ one aspect of running, indeed, a much desired form of running, but I also don’t find it the be-all-and-end-all of running. A
Part of what I have enjoyed about my conversations with Noah, whenever I’ve caught up with him, is his openness to share his experiences about the pointy-end of the sport, while also keeping his elite performance in perspective. I like how he speaks of running as something with which he can push himself and ‘see how far he can go with it’. 
In fitting with one of the ideals of this podcast, there is no false modesty, but also there is no arrogance. I get the feeling that running is a lot of fun for Noah, which sometimes contrasts with the over-seriousness of some either higher or lower performing athletes. 
Anyway: I appreciate Noah’s time very much in coming on to the podcast. 
Before the interview starts, just a couple of quick shoutouts: Joji in Richmond, Tim in Rotterdam and Learoy, just around the corner here in Leiden. That you all have been listening, means a lot. We’ve now cracked the 1,000 download barrier. So, if you find this podcast interesting, please let others know about it. 
And finally: The music I’ve used in this episode is from a recording I made in Leiden yesterday (Sunday 30th June) during a street-music festival. The name of the band - and I’ll surely butcher it - is Schering en Inslag, which is a Dutch expression for something which is extremely commonplace. 
Okay, that’s enough from me. I hope you find something valuable in this conversation with local Leiden legend, and all-round good guy, Noah Schutte. 
 
Relevant Links: 
Noach Schutte: 
Instagram
World Athletics 
Twitter/X
Music: 
Schering en Inslag
Babs
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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 

#13 - Running and Geography with Simon Cook

What is running? How and when do we run in our everyday lives? What feelings does running give us when we run through different spaces? What is the relationship of running with the city? These are some of the questions I explore with human geographer, Simon Cook, of Birmingham City University. 
This conversation is based around one of Simon's recent articles, Geographies of Running Cultures and Practices, co-authored with Jonas Larsen and published in Geography Compass. 
The episode opens with an excerpt from the work of highly influential sports studies figure and geographer, John Bale, whose work has informed and stimulated aspects of Cook's work. 
Before the interview there is also a conversation with fellow Leiden Atletiek athletes who participated in a 5000m race in Amsterdam Oost on Friday 21st June at Atletiek Vereniging 1923, where a new 55plus age category was set for the 5000m. 
Links: 
Simon Cook: BCU
Blog: Jographies
 
**Music by Cahaya Sofia playing a fragment of My Head, My Heart by Ava Max. 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com 

#12 Anne Luijten - Dutch Olympian, 2:26 marathoner

This episode features an interview with Anne Luijten, one of the representatives for the Netherlands in the upcoming Paris Olympics. 
Anne qualified for the Olympics with a time of 2:26 in the 2023 Amsterdam Marathon. So, naturally, we speak about that race during the conversation. 
I have been in a few races with Anne, and I have admired her racing for her incredibly precise pacing. She doesn’t seem to hit the wall. Since her first marathon, in 2022, she has brought her time down from 2:36 to 2:26 within the space of two years. 
I’m very thankful that Anne was willing to make herself available for this conversation in amongst her other running and work commitments. 
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Before I switch over to the interview, just a few house keeping matters. 
Firstly: a couple of shoutouts: Brad W., Kellie M., Rene W. Thank you for listening and sharing your thoughts with me about the show. 
Secondly: I will soon be starting a Patreon page as a means to cover some of the time-costs. I love producing this podcast, but, as you can imagine, it does take a certain amount of time. 
Finally: the easiest way to support the show and what I’m doing in the meantime is to share the podcast with your friends and running cohorts.
So, that’s enough from me. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Anne Luijten. 
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**Music by Cahaya Sofia playing a fragment of My Head, My Heart by Ava Max. 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Twitter/X: @readingsideways
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com