Run With It

28: Calli Hauger-Thackery, on shifting mindsets, romance and racing like crazy

This episode is sponsored by Mikro Coffee Roasters. Head to Mikro.coffee and use code RUNWITHIT10 for 10% off.
Calli Hauger-Thackery is a born racer. She ran a debut marathon that most athletes would fantasise about – 2:22:17 – which earnt her the title of 2nd fastest British woman ever (shared with Charlotte Purdue at the time).
But Calli describes her 2023 debut as both a blessing and a curse. Her time qualified her for the Paris Olympics, which would be her second marathon ever – talk about baptism by fire!  After a disappointing DNF at Paris, Calli bounced back in a BIG way! She came 7th at Berlin in 2024, running a PB of 2:21:24, solidifying her place as the 2nd best Brit all-time. And earlier this year, she put herself right in the mix at Boston, coming home with 6th place.
We talk about Calli’s time training with Melbourne Track Club a few years back, and the mindset shift she made after some frustrating years of not making teams. Calli now has plenty of opportunities in front of her. She’s been selected to run the marathon for Great Britain at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this year, but is likely to have another option in the 10,000m (maybe even the 5,000m – let’s see)!
And most importantly, we also get the love story between Calli and now husband/coach Nick Hauger – and it’s a real goodie!  
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Sole Sisters - 14: Rawdogging a 24-hour ultra relay

In this episode of Sole Sisters, Alice recaps the Red Bull Race the Sun relay where she and her teammates ran 345km with 6,000m+ elevation gain. Give the girl a space blanket and a barley sugar!  
The objective was to get from the Gold Coast at sunrise to Tenterfield in New South Wales before the sun rose again. And guess what, they beat the sun! They also came third overall.
But it was far from glamourous. It was six sweaty bodies bundled in two vans with crushed Nutri-Grain on the floor, a lack of music, no sleep and plenty of stomach aches.
Meanwhile, Elise is a different shade of broken, experiencing her first baby stressie.
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

27: Quick Take - Jaryd Clifford shatters own World Record & speaks out about rival Yassine Ouhdadi’s doping ban

It’s been a massive month for Paralympian Jaryd Clifford.
Fresh off breaking his own World Record in the T12 1500m, Jaryd joins Elise Beacom to talk about his race in Nice, France, where he ran 3:40.34 in a return to career-best form.
Jaryd also speaks out about his competitor, Spanish athlete Yassine Ouhdadi who’s recently been handed a three-year suspension after testing positive for banned anabolic steroid, Clostebol.
Ouhdadi won gold in the T13 5000m at the Paris Paralympics and will forfeit his medal because the test sample was taken before the games. Ouhdadi beat Jaryd (who won silver) at both T13 5000m events at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 and the World Championships in Paris 2023.
Listen to Run With It - Episode 15 with Jaryd Clifford
Jaryd’s statement on Instagram
International Paralympic Committee statement
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Music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

26: Haftu Strintzos, on resilience, and big transitions in life and running

Haftu Strintzos spent the first years of his life as a shepherd in mountainous Tigray in northern Ethiopia. He cared for sheep and cows and played hopscotch (the Tigrayan version) with the other shepherds.
Now an Asics-sponsored athlete, with his sights on representing Australia in the marathon, Haftu has the most incredible story brimming with resilience and perspective. But to understand how he got from A to B, you’ll just have to listen to this episode.
Haftu talks about some defining moments of his athletic career so far, including running for Villanova University in the US, finishing first Australian across the line at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Serbia, winning the 10,000m at the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships and achieving silver in the 5,000m. After his half marathon debut in Melbourne last year (62:24), Haftu followed up with a blinder in Marugame in Japan, where he ran 60:36 and asserted himself as a real contender on the roads.
Unfortunately, Haftu’s marathon debut was foiled by an injury that popped up just before Hamburg Marathon earlier this year. We discuss how he’s dealing with that injury setback, how training has changed since he transitioned to Adam Didyk’s Team Tempo and what Haftu’s big goals for the future look like.
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Sole Sisters - 13: If you were President of the World Marathon Majors, what would you change?

In this episode of Sole Sisters, Alice and Elise share the latest happenings, laden with innuendo and a few existential musings. The conversation kicks off with Alice’s new bangs (fringe) and some brutally honest family reactions to her new hairdo. EB and AB engage in some tattoo “show and tell” (terrible radio), and Alice announces signing up for an ultra-marathon, which is the final piece of the puzzle in her early onset mid-life crisis (tattoo, fringe & ultra as the telling triad).
For their main topic, Alice shares some deeper insights into Boston and London as World Marathon Majors. Alice has developed a traffic light rating system for each event – green for good, amber for average and red for could be improved. They touch on everything from the pre-race activations, to logistics, excellent homemade signage, and portaloos. The ep rounds out with news and some recommendations as usual.
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer
 

25: Kate Mason, on winning Ballarat Marathon, and not taking running too seriously

Kate Mason was found dancing with tambourines and maracas in a Ballarat carpark just hours after she won the marathon there. And with a win, a course record and a PB of 2:33:55, why wouldn’t you?!
In this episode of Run With It, Kate recaps her race, including some critical changes she made to her fuelling this time around, and the post marathon carpark DJ set with her training mates. The full-time secondary school teacher (Outdoor and Environmental Studies & PE) trains with her beloved Ninch Track Club (NTC), based on the Mornington Peninsula, just outside of Melbourne.
Kate takes us through her transition from an enthusiastic and passionate “jogger” who debuted at Melbourne Marathon in 3:06 in 2014, to winning Ballarat a decade later. She also shares some terrifying experiences of getting the “wobbles” and collapsing during marathons, recounting a particularly scary instance on the Gold Coast.
Despite not yet seeing herself as “elite”, Kate continues to improve. She thinks some of her success comes from not taking the sport too seriously. Kate is self-coached, with guidance from her partner Ben and her training crew. The ep closes out with some pencilled in plans for the rest of the year and what motivates her to keep rocking up every day in the dark at 5am for a run.
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Run With It: @runwithit.pod
Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer
 

Sole Sisters - 12: BBL (Ballarat recap, Boston & London lowdowns)

In this BIG episode of Sole Sisters, marathons are front and centre! 
Elise Beacom recaps her Ballarat Marathon experience two weeks ago where she ran a PB of 2:49:15. She takes us through the race week nerves, the highs and lows, epic crowd support, new friends she made on course and how deep she had to dig in the back half. Marathons are HARD! 
Meanwhile, Alice Baquie has returned from her worldwide marathon tour, sharing her hot takes on the Boston and London. Alice details the logistical challenges of spectating at major marathons, the pre-game and post-game events, and the vibes out on course. The pair dive into the results of both races and hint towards a couple of forthcoming episodes that delve into the Abbott World Marathon Majors, and the culture surrounding them. Stay tuned for that!
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

24: Andy Buchanan, on London Marathon goals, rivalries and letting go of what people think

Before Andy Buchanan’s iconic 2:06:22 at Valencia last year, he often found himself lost in daydreams of breaking the Australian record while running in the bush. But as soon as the run was over, the thoughts would dissipate like a mirage.
In this episode of Run With It, Andy shares the feeling of actually crossing the blue carpet at Valencia and experiencing time slow down in that moment. He talks about how mental training has transformed his running, adding that his breakthroughs have come when he’s let go of what other people think and truly backed himself.
We discuss his progression in the marathon, his big build up to London, including a juicy time goal and his thoughts on the healthy rivalry with former Australian marathon record holder Brett Robinson. Andy weighs up running the marathon World Championships this year against Sydney Marathon, which is offering a huge prize purse, and how athletes often have to choose between making a living or representing Australia.
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Andy Buchanan is an Australian marathon runner based in Bendigo. Initially making his mark as an exceptional cross-country talent, Andy transitioned to marathon running, marking his debut with a time of 2:12:23 in 2022, before running 2:10:20 in 2023 and 2:08:58 in 2024 (all at Hamburg Marathon). He represented Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and got a late call up to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics after Brett Robinson pulled out due to injury. Later in 2024, Andy broke the Australian record in the marathon by more than a minute at Valencia (2:06:22). Next week he’ll line up for his first Abbott World Marathon Major, London Marathon. Outside of running for Asics, Andy works as a high school teacher, an online coach with Run2PB and has a store in Bendigo, called Verve Running.
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Andy Buchanan's Instagram: @andy_buchanan
Run With It: @runwithit.pod
Elise Beacom: @elisebeacom
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer
 

Sole Sisters - 11: Boston, taper crazies & hot-cross buns

On the show this week, we recap an epic nighttime race in Sydney, reflect on the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth and preview Boston Marathon (where Alice is now on-the-ground).
Alice and Elise were in Sydney on the weekend for the Nike After Dark Tour, a 21.1k race celebrating 7,000+ women taking over the streets. Elise talks through the experience as a runner on the course, which felt like traversing through an urban art installation, with flashing lights, smoke machines and DJs. Alice was there supporting as #1 hype girl and carrying cinnamon scrolls. The event marked Elise’s last big session before Ballarat Marathon. Now firmly in the taper, the pair talk about all the niggles and neuroses that come to the fore at this time.
There are plenty of results to highlight from Nationals in Perth – including impressive performances by Jess Hull, Cam Myers and Seth O’Donnell to name a few. Alice explains what her Boston trip will entail before the duo go through some elite names they're excited to see on the historic course this Monday.
We close out with recommendations and Alice’s top four banned behaviours at the gym. Are you guilty of any of these? Listen to find out!
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

23: Gen Gregson, on training while pregnant, overcoming adversity and always celebrating achievements

If Gen Gregson and husband Ryan could take turns being pregnant, Gen would happily have five kids. But in the absence of this sci-fi parallel universe, the four-time Olympian is extremely excited to be expecting baby number two – a new brother for Archer!
This episode is part of a mini-series featuring some of our mighty marathon mums. In this wonderful conversation, Gen opens up about training while pregnant – a lot of what she does is based on feel (and notes in Jess Stenson’s training diary). She talks about mum strength allowing her to appreciate what she’s already achieved and take the pressure off to do every single one percenter, which helps her run freer and perform at a higher level. We also talk about how she’s learnt to be flexible and adapt to adversity. Gen goes into the learnings from her marathons to-date (Gold Coast, Valencia, Paris, Melbourne), what it’s like to have two elite athletes chasing big goals under one roof, and how even elite athletes aren’t immune from mum guilt.
This episode is also dedicated to Jess Stenson, who wins the best supporting actress role in the conversation. (That’s what happens when you get two key members of the Jess Stenson appreciation society together on a Zoom call.)
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Gen Gregson is a four-time Olympian (Paris, Tokyo, Rio, London), and has ambitions to go to two more Olympics in her career. Gen started out on the track, earning herself an Australian Record in the 3000m steeplechase (9:14.28). After sustaining a horrific achilles injury clearing the final water jump in the Tokyo Olympics final, Gen had her first child, Archer while rehabbing double achilles surgery. She has since transitioned to the roads, taking to the marathon like a natural, running 2:28 on debut in her hometown of the Gold Coast, before being the fastest Australian across the line in a big head-to-head battle for an Olympic qualifier at Valencia (2:23:08). In 2024, she ran the Olympic Marathon at Paris and won Melbourne Marathon later that year. 
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Gen Gregson's Instagram: @gengen_lacaze
Run With It Instagram: @runwithit.pod
Elise Beacom's Instagram: @elisebeacom
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer