Sweat Elite

German Silva is a retired Mexican Olympic distance runner, winner of the 1994 and 1995 New York City Marathon and Mexican half marathon record holder (60:28). Silva made a name for himself after his dramatic 1994 New York City Marathon victory. With under a mile remaining, Silva was running stride for stride with co-leader and training partner Benjamin Paredes. As the pair ran through Central Park, the camera car veered right, pulling off the course and Silva followed. Silva calmly turned around when he realised his mistake, mustering the strength to regain the pace he had been setting, and set about reeling in the twelve second handicap he had just given himself. Silva timed his surge perfectly and passed Paredes with only about 100m remaining to claim his first World Major Marathon victory. This win changed a lot of things for German, it also earned him the moniker ‘Wrong Way Silva’. In this episode we share a conversation Sweat Elite's Tait Hearps has with German Silva covering: * German’s journey into ath

Part 2 of our interview with ultrarunning and skyrunning extraordinaire Kilian Jornet. Sweat Elite's Head of Journalism Tait Hearps chats with Kilian Jornet about: * Training – what a week of training looks like for him and how he has been changing training over time* Nutrition – how he fuels his adventures* Self-experimentation and the importance of exploring your own limits, including a few experiments that some might just call crazy* What he has learned from his mentors* Journaling training and following progress* Altitude training and a lot more Continued reading: Kilian Jornet – Exploring The Limits Of Human Potential, Above The Clouds www.sweatelite.co/kilian-jornet-exploring-the-limits-of-human-potential-above-the-clouds/ SUBSCRIBE to Sweat Elite to gain access to all content.

Some people defy what we can conceive to be within the realm of possibility. Some manage to do it again and again. A hero to many, one of the most accomplished and inspiring athletes in the world, a man with a beautiful message. Kilian Jornet has been an enigma since he took the world of mountain sports in the late 2000’s (I can’t just say mountain running because he also was winning world championships in ski mountaineering and taking on FKT expeditions). Having the opportunity to sit down with an idol was such a privilege, and Kilian did not disappoint. From his home in Norway, Kilian generously gave a few hours of his time to discuss his adventures, the training that powers these incredible feats, and what is driving him. Kilian is a long-time subscriber of Sweat Elite and he was happy to delve into the specifics of what his training looks like (more of that in Part 2). He is charming and beautifully expressive, with a humility that belies his jaw-dropping list of achievements. This is Part 1 of the interv

A selection of three of the most popular articles read aloud from the Sweat Elite website focused on the elite Japanese running scene. In the marathon distance, Japan comes in third place behind Kenya and Ethiopia when looking at the number of athletes in the top thousand marathon times in history. Japan has over one-hundred athletes that have run sub-2:10 in the marathon. Compare this to the USA: with a population nearing triple that of Japan – and massive infrastructure surrounding their collegiate athletics system – the States have only twenty athletes that have run sub-2:10 (thirteen if you exclude record-ineligible Boston). Our interest piqued, we decided to plunge headfirst into the Japanese running scene and investigate what was going on. (02:07) The Perplexing Depth Of Talent In Japanese Running Part 1 https://bit.ly/3foKZDN (15:15) The Perplexing Depth Of Talent In Japanese Running Part 2 https://bit.ly/2YK97L4 (24:58) Training With Tokai University – Ekiden Winning Team https://b

Sara Hall became the 6th fastest female American marathoner of all time when she ran 2:22:16 at the Berlin Marathon in September 2019, lowering her best time over the distance by four minutes. Sara has competed at the elite level of distance running for 15+ years, transitioning from the middle distances on the track to the road in 2014-2015 with coaching assistance of her husband and past elite distance runner Ryan Hall. Since the move to the half marathon and marathon Sara has experienced remarkable progress. In this conversation with Sara Hall we discuss her plan to race 3 marathons in 5 months between September 2019 and February 2020 which included the USA Olympic Trials, how and why she prepared differently for these marathons, what it’s like being coached by her husband Ryan Hall, her reflection on the USA Olympic Trials and more. Sara Hall on Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahall3/ — — — Trending articles: Kenenisa Bekele – Training Leading To Berlin Marathon 2019 (2:01:41): http

Jim Walmsley has been named “Ultrarunner Of The Year” for the last four years (2016-2019) by Ultrarunning Magazine and is the course record holder of several of the most competitive Ultrarunning events in the world including Western States 100, Tarawera Ultramarathon and Lake Sonoma 50. Jim has blazed a unique trail over the past few years, reaching the pinnacle of ultrarunning and amassing a cult following in the process. His latest undertaking – turning his attention to the marathon. There was a lot of hype surrounding Jim in the lead-up to the USA Olympic trials in Atlanta, where he made his marathon debut. Tait Hearps of Sweat Elite sat down with Jim over a skype call and discussed the motivations and process behind this transition, among many other aspects of his life in Flagstaff, training, and his path into professional ultrarunning. A summary of the interview with Jim Walmsley including more on his training leading into Atlanta can be found here: Jim Walmsley – The road to Atlanta www.swea

Brett Larner is the man behind Japan Running News - ” the world's window into elite japanese distance running.”In this podcast episode, Brett answers our questions:Where did the Japanese reverence for long distance road racing come from?What is Ekiden all about and how did the road running scene revolve around this eventWhat is it about the running system and infrastructure in Japan that produces so many high level athletes?Why is there a relative lack of talent in the shorter distances?Are the university athletes paid? Are their grades taken into account when selection is occurring? Ie. If their marks aren’t great will they be cut from the team?How do the corporate teams operate? What kind of wages are the corporate athletes on?What are the typical traits Japanese are associated with of discipline, honour etc, how much does this play into their success? Japan Running News: http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/ Read The Perplexing Depth Of Talent In Japanese Running: www.sweatelite.co/the-perplexing-depth-of-

Tom Evans is an elite British ultrarunner. Having only recently devoted himself to running full-time – leaving the military to focus on athletics – as we got started, Tom said, “I’m really excited to share some of my knowledge, some of my wisdom that I’ve built up over my very short running career so far.”  Tom made an incredible debut on the Ultra Trail Running scene when he placed 3rd in the gruelling Marathon des Sables in 2017 – a 251km multi-stage self-supported race across the desert – which was initially a bet with his former military mates in a pub that he could improve upon their position at Marathon des Sables the previous year. Tom stunned the ultra world once again in 2018, when he won the 101km CCC race at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. Tom went on to place 3rd at one of the most competitive Ultra Trail races in the world – the 100 mile Western States Endurance Run in 2019 and followed it up with a win at the Tarawera 102km in February 2020 against a competitive field in New Zea

Danish Marathoner Thijs Nijhuis ran an Olympic Qualifying standard of 2:10:57 at the Seville Marathon on 23rd of February 2020 and he returns to the Sweat Elite podcast this week to share his race recap. Thijs describes each segment of his race at the Seville Marathon in detail, including sharing the short story of requiring a quick pit-stop. In addition to his Seville Marathon race recap, Thijs shares more information about his training leading into the Seville Marathon and discusses topics of interest from podcast listeners such as: – Injury prevention exercises – Strength training for Marathoners – Changes made to general training plan in the build up for Seville – Supplements and Vitamins – Fasting – Beginners advice ** We apologise for the short sections where Thijs’s internet cuts out temporarily. ** — — — Learn more about the training methods of the world’s best distance runners by subscribing to Sweat Elite: www.sweatelite.co/subscribe-

“Coach said: “Do you know why we aren’t doing a tempo run today? When you do a tempo run, guess what you do? You get locked into the same form that I don’t want you to run in right now. You’re training for a 5km and a 1500m. When you’re training for those races, I want you on your toes. I want you feeling good, I want your chest up, I want your arms back. If I give you ten four minute reps, you’re going to rest and you’re going to attack going into each one of those reps. You’re going to get in that stride that I want you to be in today. If I give you a 6-mile tempo run, you’re going to lock into 5 minute (mile) pace, get on your heels and hunch over by the end of it. You’re going to feel great because you did that last mile in 4:55, but it’s not going to be accomplishing what I want you to accomplish today. You’re going to be firing a totally different muscle group that I want you to be firing today.” At that moment, I realis

"Being a great coach is like being a great chef. The food that Gordon Ramsay creates versus an average chef can be significantly different. His tastes better, but he probably uses 95% of the same ingredients. He uses flour, he uses spices - the same as the other trained chef. But he knows how much to put in, when to put it in and at what temperature. That's the difference. As a coach, i'm constantly refining my skills and knowledge. I constantly hold the belief that I don't know enough." Tinman Elite Head Coach - Tom Schwartz - joins the Sweat Elite podcast this week. This is a long episode, but it will not disappoint. Tom has over 30 years of middle/long distance coaching experience. Tom has developed dozens of NCAA DI runners, national champions, and national record holders. Tom coaches runners from youth to masters, across every distance and platform of running from the track, road, and trail. His training philosophy can be distilled into one phrase: "Keep the ball rolling." Consistent, tough, healthy, and

Frank Shorter is known by many to be the father of the modern day running boom. Frank won gold in the Marathon at the 1972 Olympic Games, won silver in the Marathon at the 1976 Olympic Games, was the USA XC Champion 4 times, was the USA 10,000m Champion 6 times and won the Fukuoka Marathon 4 times. He was also the chairman of the USA Anti Doping agency between 2000 and 2003. In this podcast episode recorded from his home in Boulder, Colorado (USA) Frank talks about: – his training philosophy in detail (Frank never trained at slower than 65sec/400m pace during interval sessions). – being spontaneous with threshold/tempo runs, deciding some days to change an easy run to a threshold/tempo run. – racing and training with Steve Prefontaine. – Running with an injured ankle for over a year (and through the Montreal 1976 Olympics where he placed 2nd in the Marathon). – winning the 1972 Olympic Games in the Marathon. – placing second at the 1976 Olympic Games in the Marathon. –

Lee Troop is an Australian distance running legend – with personal best times from the 1990’s and 2000’s of 2:09:49 for the Marathon, 1:01:00 for the Half Marathon, 27:51 for the 10,000m, 13:14 for the 5000m and 7:41 for the 3000m. Lee is now an elite distance running coach (among other things) with a wealth of training and racing knowledge. Lee coaches several elite distance runners, including Jake Riley – who placed second at the USA Olympic Trials for the Marathon just last week, securing his position on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team for USA. This podcast episode was recorded live in Boulder (Colorado, USA) 10 days before the USA Olympic Marathon Trials. In this podcast episode, Lee speaks about: Coaching Jake Riley since 2017 and some of the hurdles Jake has overcome in the last few years. Jake’s 2:10:36 Chicago Marathon 2019 result. Jake’s training stints in Arizona leading into the USA Olympic Trials. Some of Jake’s key training sessions leading into the USA Olympic Trials. Highlights of Lee’

Scott Fauble (Hoka NAZ Elite) is currently one of America’s fastest Marathoners, with a personal best of 2:09:09 set at the 2019 Boston Marathon where he placed 7th. Scott will line up at the USA Olympic Trials for the Marathon this coming weekend (Feb 29 2020) in hopes of finishing top 3 and securing a place on the USA Olympic Team this year. In 2019, Scott was ranked 2nd in the USA for the Marathon on time. We were very fortunate to chat with Scott just a week before the Olympic Trials about his book – Inside A Marathon – where he and his coach at Hoka NAZ Elite, Ben Rosario document the entire four-month journey to Scott’s 7th place finish at the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon. Scott shares his daily training log and recaps each week from an athlete’s perspective–and includes plenty of humour along the way. Ben recaps each week from a coach’s perspective and gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at creating the training outline for a professional marathoner. In our opinion, it’s a

Thijs Nijhuis is a Danish National Champion in every distance from 1500m through to the the Marathon. These days his focus is on the Marathon and he placed 31st at the Doha World Athletics Championships in the Marathon in 2019. He has a current Marathon personal best time 2:14:18 and his short term goal is to run under the 2020 Olympic Games qualifying standard of 2:11:30 at the upcoming Seville Marathon (23 Feb 2020). All of this while studying to become a doctor. Thijs just completed a one month training camp in Iten, Kenya where he logged some gigantic weeks. In this podcast episode, Thijs talks about: – his training leading into Seville Marathon, including mentioning his key workouts with times/splits. – how he prepared for the Doha World Athletics Championships – a training camp in Dubai which included doing sessions such as 4 x 5km at 11pm (Doha World Championships Marathon had a mid night start time) and losing 6.5kg of sweat in a single training run. – training with Sondre Moen

Timo Limo is a professional Kenyan distance runner and coach – specialising in technique, strength work and core stability for runners. He is one of the most well respected Kenyan athletes/coaches in Iten and assists elite athletes such as Mary Kietany and Abel Kirui with strength work, core stability and technique. He’s also run some fast times over 800m through 10km. Sweat Elite Founder Matt Fox is joined by British distance runner Bill Day – interviewing Timo Limo in this podcast episode, live from Iten (Kenya). Timo Limo speaks about: – The benefits of growing up and living in Iten. – The typical diet for a Kenyan athlete. – His running training camps in Italy. – His YouTube channel featuring many of his technique exercises. – His point of view on why Kenyans are so dominant in distance running. – The importance of technique and strength work for runners of all abilities (amateurs through to elites). – The importance of listening to your body in

Betsy Saina is an elite Kenyan distance runner with personal bests of 30:07 for 10,000m, 67:49 for the Half Marathon and 2:22:43 for the Marathon. She placed 5th (not 6th as stated in the Podcast Intro) at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the 10,000m, won the Paris Marathon in 2018 and before these two achievements – attended Iowa State University where she arrived a 9:58 3km runner and departed the NCAA champion over 5000m, 10,000m and Cross Country. She has been coached by world famous coach Renato Canova for the past few years. We recorded this podcast episode live from Iten, Kenya. In the episode, Saina talks about: – Attending Iowa State University. – Arriving at Iowa State University a 9:58 3km runner, almost losing her scholarship in Freshman year and eventually winning NCAA champs over 3 distances. – Winning Paris Marathon. – Pulling out of Chicago Marathon last year due to food poisoning and a week later, running 2:22:43 (her Marathon personal best) at Toronto Marathon. 

At the age of 8, Philipp Pflieger told his parents that he would run at the Olympic Games one day after watching Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat battle it out in the home straight of the 10,000m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. His parents laughed at him. In the following two decades Pflieger endured growth problems in his knees which sidelined him through most of his high school years, multiple stress fractures and surgeries in his early-mid 20’s and was told by several doctors that he wouldn’t run again. Cross training alone at the age of 25, Pflieger considered hanging up the racing shoes. Inspired by his best friend, Pflieger rolled the dice one more time and stepped up to the Marathon distance. Despite not finishing his first attempt at the Marathon, Pflieger managed to clock a 2:12:50 on his second attempt at the 2015 Berlin Marathon and qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the process.  We recorded this podcast episode live from Iten, Kenya. In the episode, Pflieger talks about: – how a

This podcast episode features a conversation with Thomas Potzinger – assistant coach to Renato Canova. Renato Canova is one of the most successful elite distance running coaches in the world. He has coached more sub 2:05 male and sub 2:22 female marathoners than any other coach in the world. Thomas Potzinger (interviewee) has worked closely with Renato Canova in Kenya for many years and has learned the ins and out of his training philosophy. In this podcast episode we discuss Renato Canova’s training philosophy in detail. Potzinger shares the story of how he met Canova, Canvoa’s training princples, the training of Sondre Moen (Norweigan 2:05 Marathoner coached by Canova), how short hill sprints can be beneficial for long distance runners, measuring data and more. Articles mentioned in this podcast episode: Eliud Kipchoge’s Training Diary Eliud Kipchoge’s Training Group: Training Structure and Attitude Renato Canova – Training Philosophy Summarised (Part 1) Renato Canova – T

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States of America is the strongest university sports system in the world. Hundreds of elite junior runners from outside the USA sign contracts with American colleges each year to compete in the NCAA. South African George Kusche recently made the move to the University of Nebraska. George Kusche is a South African 3:58 miler and 1:47 800m runner and is now studying at and competing for the University of Nebraska. In this podcast episode George shares details of his experience at the University of Nebraska, debunks some myths about the experience and shares advice to those interested in joining a University in the NCAA. George can be found on Instagram: @kuschegeorge — — — Learn more about the training methods of the world’s best distance runners by subscribing to Sweat Elite: www.sweatelite.co/subscribe-now –