Run With It

20: Jess Stenson, on mum strength, the Paris Olympics, and running from the heart

From returning to running post pregnancy (x2), to infinite pros and cons lists, yoghurt explosions and orangutan drawings, we get personal with three-time Olympian, Jess Stenson. This episode is part of a mini-series featuring some of our mighty marathon mums. Jess and I chat about the many challenges women runners overcome after having kids, including navigating changes to the body, toddler meltdowns (always timed to perfection when you’re trying to leave for training) and a never-ending lack of sleep.
We cover her lead up to the Paris Olympics, including some tough moments during the Australian team selection, and how despite all that, she was able to nail 13th place in the Olympic marathon with her family right there alongside her.
Jess is one of the most positive people you’ll ever meet, and what comes though so strongly is that she runs from the heart. Keep an eye out for her next big race: Tokyo Marathon!
Jess Stenson has represented Australia in the marathon at three Olympics, and has won multiple Commonwealth Games medals in the marathon, including gold at Birmingham in 2022. Jess is also a qualified physiotherapist and keynote speaker.--Jess Stenson's Instagram: @jess_tren
Run With It Instagram: @runwithit.pod
Elise Beacom's Instagram: @elisebeacom
Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Sole Sisters - 6: New year, new me, etc.

Alice and Elise are back from their summer holidays, which involved plenty of family time, beach dips and Australian wildlife. The pair recount highlights from their time off, before breaking down their running and life goals for the year ahead. Elise talks about getting stuck into some 5k track races and Alice reveals her big plans to race the Cape Paterson Aquathon and win another coveted gin glass for her mum. (Editor’s note: Alice won overall female in the swim/run event the day after recording!) They also go into some exciting race announcements for London and Boston marathons, before ending with a few podcast recommendations. Happy to be back!-
Run With It: @runwithit.pod
Alice’s Instagram: @alicebaquie
Elise’s Instagram:  @elisebeacom
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

19: How to set your 2025 running goals with Professor of Psychology, Christian Swann

If you’re thinking about New Year’s resolutions or setting new running goals for 2025, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for!
In this final edition of Run With It for 2024, we’re talking about goal-setting with Christian Swann, Professor of Psychology at Southern Cross University. Christian offers so many great pointers on how we can set flexible running goals that account for life’s curve balls.
We discuss the importance of reflecting on your running year, how to set goals that are uplifting to pursue, even when things don’t go as planned, and why focusing on enjoyment is key to staying motivated long-term. Christian also encourages us to set three different types of running goals for 2025: listen out for those at the end of the episode!
Christian Swann’s research focuses on the psychology of sport, exercise and physical activity. His specific expertise is on improving quality of experience (e.g., flow, enjoyment), promoting mental health, and understanding how to best use goal-setting. 
Wishing you all a wonderful start to 2025!  

Sole Sisters - 5: Christmas special & 2024 reflections

In this episode of Soul Sisters, hosts Elise and Alice discuss their highlights, challenges, and key learnings from the year, covering personal anecdotes and reflections on running and life. It gets bit deep, reflective and vulnerable, actually! But the conversation is still never too far from a ridiculous detour about sporks, etc.
The team also discuss holiday plans, including the Grinch’s (Alice’s) strong opinions on snowy Christmas decorations that don’t make sense for the southern hemisphere. They review the recent On Track Nights: Zatopek 10k meet and finish answering a few listener questions and proffering a couple of Christmas gifts to you (recommendations).
Finally, thanks to all the listeners for your support this year! You’ve been an absolute dream! We’ll see you in 2025. xox

Sole Sisters - 4: Cross-training, creepy crawlies & Valencia Marathon

This episode of Sole Sisters kicks off with some misguided Black Friday purchases from Alice; and Elise battling lack of sleep thanks to her kelpie’s bout of doggy gastro. Elise recaps her recent 10k race, while Alice has been shopping around the run club scene.
For the main topic, Alice and Elise dive into the importance of cross-training to complement any running program. With fewer road running events on the calendar this time of year in Australia, it’s all about building the base you need for the next training block. That means focusing on making your body stronger and more resilient for the training ahead through non-running activities like cycling, swimming, but above all – strength training.
The duo dissect Valencia Marathon which happened on Sunday, throwing a spotlight on Andy Buchanan’s new Australian Record of 2:06:22 and Izzi Batt-Doyle running 2:22:59 to become the 3rd fastest Aussie woman all time.
The episode closes with the usual recommendations, and we’ve added a bonus one here of Sara Hall hammering for 2nd place at London Marathon during covid.
Alice’s Instagram: @alicebaquie
Elise’s Instagram:  @elisebeacom
Run With It: @runwithit.pod
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

18: Marcus Brown, the founder of One Percent Running Club, pushing for greater diversity at the top end

London is one of the most diverse and vibrant cities in the world, but only about 5% of the championship or “good for age” places for London Marathon are filled by runners from ethnic minorities.
Marcus Brown is making strides to change that. He is the founder of One percent Running Club, which aims to bridge the gap between traditional athletics clubs and run crews, creating a space where runners from diverse backgrounds feel comfortable chasing performance goals. Marcus is also the host of A Runner’s Life podcast and a six-star finisher of the Abbott World Marathon Majors.
We chat about accessibility and diversity in running, what he thinks of Sydney being added to the Abbott World Marathon Majors and how he’s progressed from being a 4:55 marathoner to breaking 3 hours a total of nine times.
Marcus’ recommendation: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
Marcus’ Instagram: @marcus1rc
A Runner’s Life podcast: Spotify
Run With It Instagram: @runwithit.pod
Elise’s Instagram: @elisebeacom
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Sole Sisters - 3: How to choose your next race

In this episode of Sole Sisters, Alice and Elise start off with some “pits and peaks” of the last two weeks, including an ill-fated train journey and Alice’s aqua aerobics debut. The topic of the day is how to choose your next race. The duo go through all the key considerations including, bucket list marathons, weather conditions, and how to incorporate a holiday into a marathon trip without pissing off your partner (actually, they don’t solve that one). There’s also a preview of Valencia Marathon, including some insights into Izzi Batt-Doyle’s exquisite preparation, plus the usual listener questions and recommendations. Saddle up. 

17: Matt Fox, the Sweat Elite founder who FINALLY broke 2:20

Matt Fox has been chasing a sub-2:20 marathon for the past few years, and after about eight attempts, he finally did it this year in Chicago, running 2:19:31. And after toiling so long to hit that mark, he managed to do it again four weeks later in Indianapolis where he ran another PB of 2:18:41!
In this conversation, we talk about some of the factors that led to these results, including speed work, nutrition, weight training and improved sleep. We also cover the recent women’s marathon world record which went down in Chicago, as well as doping and changes to the running media landscape since he started Sweat Elite. TW: We talk about diet and weight loss between 40-45 minutes so skip that part if that’s triggering for you.
Matt Fox founded media company Sweat Elite in late 2016 and has since interviewed and filmed training sessions of more than 250 professional athletes. You can check out those videos on the Sweat Elite YouTube channel.  
Matt has a background in middle-distance running, having competed at an international level in the 800m and 1500m in 2006-2013 before transitioning to the half marathon and marathon. He placed 5th in the Australian National Championships in the 800m on two occasions and 2nd at the Australian National Junior Championships. Matt debuted in the half marathon and marathon in late 2017- running 1:22 and 2:59 before gradually lowering his personal bests over the following years to 1:06 and 2:18. Matt continues has raced in 20+ marathons and has a goal of breaking 2:16 in the coming years.
Matt’s Instagram: @mattinglisfox
Sweat Elite Instagram: @sweatelite
Sweat Elite videos: YouTube
Matt’s gift for the listeners: Make it count video by Casey Neistat
Run With It Instagram: @runwithit.pod
Elise Beacom Instagram: @elisebeacom
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Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Sole Sisters - 2: Post-marathon reset strategies & offseason adventures

Alice and Elise are back for another edition of Sole Sisters. This week the focus is the “offseason”, which is the wedge of time for recovery, relaxation and fun (non-running) activities after a key race.
Not going to lie, this episode is slightly manic – the duo go from talking about Alice’s experience with ritualistic burnings under a full Costa Rican moon, to that time Elise ended up in Costa Rica after being deported from a neighbouring country.
In other words, it’s flush with travel stories and off-piste anecdotes, with some good running-focused chats in between, including why it’s so important mentally and physically to give your body a break after a marathon (even if the super shoes trick you into thinking you’re fully recovered).  
Alice’s Instagram: @alicebaquie
Elise’s Instagram:  @elisebeacom
Run With It: @runwithit.pod
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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

16: Vanessa Wilson, the PE teacher from the outer burbs who just ran 2:28 at Berlin Marathon

Vanessa Wilson describes herself as a mum and PE teacher from the outer burbs of Melbourne who likes to run. But Vanessa is seriously downplaying her ability – perhaps because she’s genuinely shocked by how far her running has come.
She’s almost unwittingly just become the 13th fastest Australian woman marathoner of all time, running 2:28:34 at Berlin Marathon this year, which she achieved after breaking her wrist at the 2km mark of the race! This is such an inspiring conversation for anyone chasing big goals while juggling family, work and life. Vanessa's advice: 1. Be consistent; 2. Don't do too much; and 3. Listen to your body.
With a background as a Body Pump instructor and an AFL boundary umpire, Vanessa, 42, had little exposure to the running world until 2017. After the birth of her daughter Anja, she started jogging to regain fitness, encouraged by her husband (and coach) who was a former elite athlete. Her first running goal was to break 25 minutes at Parkrun, which she did sooner than expected. She joined Glenhuntly Athletics Club and had natural speed, finding love for the 1500m and breaking the 5-minute barrier that year. Her Parkrun times continued to come down and by the end of 2018 she had broken 20 minutes.  
The foundations for marathon training were built during Covid when Vanessa had time to add more running load, including a long run. She made her marathon debut in 2021, running 2:40:20 at Melbourne Marathon. In 2022, she ran 2:39:52 at Melbourne and set a new Victorian Masters W40 record in the 1500m. In 2023, she made a big breakthrough, running 2:34:36 in Berlin, before bettering her PB with a 2:31:45 in Hannover earlier this year. Watch this space! 
--Vanessa's instagram: @vanessateacherrunner
Run With It instagram: @runwithit.pod
Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer