The Natural Running Network Live

Ryan Atkins, coming off an exceptional race season, finishing 2nd in The Spartan World Championships behind a fearless and relatively unknown Robert Killian, now sets his sites on World’s Toughest Mudder. Ryan won this event last year but this year with the stakes up to $100,000 for the first team to complete 100 miles in 24 hours, he has opted to create what many feel is a dream team.  Learn who these team mates are, and as a bonus, get a heads up on the all new Online Obstacle Race Training program created by Ryan, Matt Murphy and Jon Albon.

Lesley Paterson is arguably the fiercest competitor in the XTERRA RACE SERIES.  She has won 2 consecutive world championship titles, was then plagued with injuries which caused her to fall out of the sport almost entirely last year. In 2015 she seems reborn with aspirations of competing in Obstacle Races. So far this year she has placed 1st, Pro Women, XTERRA Costa Rica, 1st, Pro Women, XTERRA West Championships (Las Vegas, NV), 1st, Pro Women, XTERRA East Championships (Pelham, AL), 1st, Pro Women (and 1st overall – men and women), XTERRA Laguna Beach (Laguna Beach, CA) 1st, Pro Women, 6 hours of Temecula (MTB race).  She now sets her sights on regaining her crown at the XTERRA World Championships on Maui, this November.  Our host Richard Diaz caught up with her to gain some insights on her outlook past, future and present.

Running 100 miles has become common place among the growing community of Ultra Runners. Few can say they have run over 4600 miles across the Sahara Desert, to raise awareness of the need for fresh water in Africa for an HBO documentary titled “Running the Sahara”. Charlie can.  He can also talk about his run across the United States or his most recent 7 day stage race in Ecuador that began at an altitude 12,000 ft. and continued with over 155 miles at altitude for the duration of the event.  Yes, Charlie Engle is an extremely unique runner and is always fun to chat with.  Listen as we catch up with one of the most colorful ultra-runners of our time.

In all recreational and competitive running events from your first 5K to a marathon or Spartan Ultra Beast, athletes tend to get injured.  Generally injuries come about when the weekly mileage increases along with the intensity. Our host Richard Diaz, founder of diaz human performance and The Natural Running Network, has a long history of training runners to perform optimally with his unique approach to what he refers to as “Motor Skill Drills”.  Diaz feels that the key to running fast and avoiding injuries is directly tied to the way you run not how much or how hard you run.  Before you blame your running shoes for your last injury, you should listen to this episode.

Running for 205 miles in 76 hours through the Alps with a collective elevation gain of over 80,000 ft., is no simple task.  Being the only American to podium in this death defying race, for now, is reserved for only one man, Nickademus Hollon.  Join Nick and Richard Diaz as they discuss the upcoming Spartan World Championships, the World’s Toughest Mudder and other adventures reserved for only those with the endurance, grit and strength to consider such undertakings.

Dotsie, aside from winning a Silver medal in the 2012 Olympics in Women’s Cycling Team Pursuit (the first medal won by an American team in this event in over 20 years) has also won 2 gold medals in the Pan Am games and 7 time National champion in cycling.  We discuss her training practices in preparation for the Olympics, the benefits of training with a power meter and the future of monitoring power as it relates to running.  Many experts believe that once power measurement reaches the running community, all records will fall.

Are you are a fan of Obstacle Racing?  Maybe you follow the heroes of the sport and want a chance to ask the reigning World’s Toughest Mudder Champion Ryan Atkins a few questions… well here is your chance! This Friday 9/4/15 8:30 am PST.  Richard Diaz has asked Ryan to come onto “The Natural Running Network Live” to discuss his training, his awesome race season, and his prep for The Spartan World Championship and his decision to go team vs. solo and defend his title as World’s Toughest Mudder Champion.  This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

With all the new data collecting devices on the market today, many athletes are still reluctant to employ heart rate as a principal guide in their training, this is really unfortunate. Of all the feedback one could obtain heart rate training, remains the most important ally regarding how or if the body is adapting to training.  Our host Richard Diaz and his guest Maggie Legan, Elite OCR athlete, discuss VO2max testing, how to put a good training prescription to work that will improve endurance; help you resist fatigue when the going gets tough and how running skill fits into the picture.

In case you have not heard, World OCR Championship Season is upon us. Sure, maybe you don’t follow Spartan Racing or give a hoot about the fastest growing sport in the world. However if you do… there is a lot of excitement afoot. Reigning Spartan World and OCR World Champion Jonathan Albon is looking to double up and defend both of his titles.  Who has the nuts to beat him?  Ryan Atkins, maybe a dark horse in Hunter McIntyre?  I made the call to check up on Jonathan to see how his preparations are coming, asked what his game plan is and why he poses such a threat. Here is a guy with little state side exposure, holds two of the three titles and his been training and racing abroad. Aside from his humble disposition he has the tools and the grit to take it all find out why.

Cyclists have long understood the value of being able to monitor power as a precise training modality. Many experts believe that if runners were able to effectively employ power measurement while training and racing, all of the current world records would fall. Join us as our host Richard Diaz and his featured guest Hunter Allen discuss the potential of power measurement for runners, the benefits and the approach.  Hunter Allen is founder of Peaks Coaching Group and coauthor of Cutting Edge Cycling and Training and Racing with a Power Meter, two of the most respected books on training with power meters.  Learn why training with power differs from training with traditionalheart rate and how tracking these two powerful complementary metrics can help you achieve peak performance.

I am not a Barefoot Running advocate where unnatural surfaces are concerned; however, training unshod holds a wealth of benefits that translate into your running with shoes on.  We’ve brought back Dr. Emily Splichal, podiatrist and world renowned human movement specialist to share her insights on running related injuries, shoe selection and her pre-run barefoot movement prep training which all runners should add to their training racing practices.  If you find yourself chronically suffering from running related injuries such as plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, shin, knee or back problems you really need to hear this episode. You can thank me later-

They fondly refer to her as “The Queen of Pain” Amelia Boone, 2 time World’s Toughest Mudder Champion, 2013 Spartan World Champion and current OCR elite point leader for 2015.  Amelia is respected as the fiercest female competitor in OCR today and we have her on to discuss the championship season.  An attorney by trade, holding a professional career on top of a heavy racing schedule, Amelia competed in 14 events in 2014 having won 8 and placed 2nd for the balance, she is a freak of nature and a very interesting ambassador to the sport. Listen as Amelia share some training tips, trail running and her favorites leading into the Spartan, OCR and Worlds Toughest Mudder Championships this fall.

How to train to run your best race from a 10K, half marathon to eventually a Marathon, from beginner to advanced, free from knee pain and an exclusive interview with Coach Richard Diaz, Author of The All New My Best Race, a training guide for runners. The number one cause of running injury is improper training and taking on too much running to soon.  Over 70% of runners in America have been injured and bulk of these injuries, mostly knee pain could have been avoided by simply taking the time to learn to run properly and following a well thought out training program.  In this episode, Richard Diaz and Jimmy Reed share tips on how to avoid injury and creation of a successful training program.

It is difficult to attend a Cross Fit competition, Spartan Race, Triathlon, Marathon or really pretty much any sporting even without seeing an athlete with some colorful tape affixed to their body.  You may have heard that it’s helpful with abating injuries but you may not know as much as you should about how, when and why to apply it.  Richard Diaz our host, Brings longtime friend and expert on Fascial Movement Taping, Dr. Steve Capobianco, Medical Director for Rock Tape and author of the Fascial Movement Taping Manual  on to demystify the application and provide an excellent overview of the benefits of taping for performance and injury treatments.

Pip Taylor is an accredited sports dietitian and professional triathlete who has written an interesting “How to” book titled, The Athlete Fix.  Nutrition is the cornerstone of good health and critical for sports performance.  Diets are typically confusing fraught with opinion and erroneous gimmickry  Pip explains how avoid foods that cause inflammation and how to identify food intolerance's by adopting a base functional diet, a process of refining your feeding strategies so that your nutrition is optimal for YOU. She also shares time and money saving tips. There are few people in the world who have not been on some fashion of diet or, have been influenced by some type of fad that promises to help shed fat or increase performance.  Richard Diaz our host invited Pip Taylor on to share her logical process of identifying foods that are simply making it difficult to maintain our health and fitness.  You can’t continue to eliminate foods without compromising your health, there is a better way.