The Natural Running Network Live

Anyone who has participated in a BattleFrog event has had the opportunity to get a dose of Coach Pain’s inspirational saber rattling words. Some will not soon forget how he moved them. It was by mere coincidence that our interview was scheduled on the day that BattleFrog announced that they are suspending all future events effective immediately; clearly, a shock to those who loved to compete in these events, more of a shock to those who were employed by the organization. All the same, Coach Pain and I held true to our words; we answered questions that people posed and were offered a seemingly final bit of inspiration from the man who touched so many in the sport of Obstacle Racing. Be sure to provide a positive review on Itunes!

OCR Athletes Have Questions, We have Answers… Our show fans love it when we take questions and try to provide answers.  Some questions are tough, most in respect to training tips, running form, heart rate etc.  Miguel Medina, elite OCR Pro and Elite Coach Richard Diaz put it out to the community and the questions asked will be fielded during this podcast episode. Here are just a few: Do shoes matter, and if so how? What are your thoughts on the MAF (180 - your age) method? Have you found a way to balance strength and running in your training? Any tips on how to maintain form over long grueling distances? I saved some of the best ones; you’ll have to tune in to hear our answers!

Nearly all Obstacle Course Events include a heavy carry component and even those that don’t require hill climbing ability. These training challenges are best approached outdoors and typically best conducted by mimicking the actual challenge.  Where am I going with this you might ask? In this episode I have the pleasure of sharing some of my training tips with Crystal Seaver, Master Trainer for Wreck Bag, a product produced by Lindonfitness.com. If you participate in Spartan Races, Battlefrog events or even World’s Toughest Mudder, you will benefit greatly by employing the workouts I share in this episode. If you don’t own a Wreck Bag and having been trying to build a make-shift carry tool, you’re being penny thrift and a pound foolish. If you’ve been thinking about a purchase, listen to this episode and take notes! I’ll tell you how to develop explosive hill climbing/bag carry power. www.naturalrunningcoach.net 

Peter Kostelnick is on a mission. Having already won The Bad Water Ultra Marathon in 2015 and setting a record in 2016. He has now set his sights on setting a Guinness World Book of Record for the fastest Transcontinental run. We’re talking 3100 miles of running in hopefully 44 days. For those of you who are like me and mathematically challenged, that’s an average of 72 miles of running each day for 44 consecutive days! Along with Peter, we’ll be talking to Charlie Engle of “Running the Sahara” fame. Also a veteran of this continental crossing and hopeful to attempt breaking Peters record if he succeeds. This episode is all about running long.  Please join me Richard Diaz and Peter Kostelnick and Charlie Engle as we share this event as it is in its planning stages.

Ryan Atkins is the winningest athlete in the sport of Obstacle Racing today. It seems as if no course or competitor thus far has been able to undue his success. Ryan and Richard Diaz fields some questions from friends on social media and wrap up by discussing what it might take for someone like Hunter McIntyre to beat him at the Spartan World Championship and his team plans for Worlds Toughest Mudder. If you are a fan of Ryan Atkins, you don’t want to miss this episode. Want more? Visit www.naturalrunningnetwork.com

Anyone who knows me (Richard Diaz), knows I am hard-nosed when it comes to supplementation and gimmicks. I have always believed that a good feeding strategy and plenty of rest will be all you need to perform optimally. I get plenty of opportunities to test all sorts of products in the world of Sports Performance and have been known to slam the door on a lot of snake oil salesman. I am also fortunate in that I have great connections among elite professionals in sports science and in the athletic community and keep my ear to the ground to learn as much as I can, whenever I can. Enter Beet Juice, an all-natural food recognized in small circles since Roman days as potion of life giving qualities. Listen as I interview Dr. John Ivy as he reveals the science behind this natural performance enhancing potion. This particular product has become a staple of most all of the elite athletes in the Obstacle Racing community, from the entire Spartan Pro team and across the board to cyclists and runners who hope to shave precious seconds from their performances.

An interview with Jim Vance elite triathlon coach and a true pioneer in the uncharted waters of training with a Power meter for runners. Jim has recently released his revolutionary book “Running with Power”The Complete Guide to Running to Power Meters for Running. Last October, we had Jim on before he had released his book to discuss the various aspects and benefits of power running. Now, fresh off his research Jim shares what one could expect from training with power. Jim had suggested long ago that once the benefits of training with power were better understood and made available, all records would quickly fall, from the mile to the marathon. They say; Power meters for running are the future and the future is now.  Listen in to learn how this technology may help you to become a better athlete.

Dr Noah Kaufman is the leader of the famed “Wolf Pack”, stars of American Ninja Warrior. Noah was gracious enough to come on our podcast to share some amazing tips on how to train like a Ninja, how to improve grip strength and how to improve your ability to successfully navigate obstacles in OCR events.  He also shares some powerful tips on how best to deal with blisters and avoiding the down time. Noah is a wealth of great information in regards to obstacle training and Parkour. Clearly this is a show you don’t want to miss! www.naturalrunningnetwork.com

I guess Richards name has been tossed around the OCR circuit quite a bit these days, so much so that other podcasters have sought him out for interviews. I guess the shoe is on the other foot so to speak. This episode is a copy of an interview done this week with Elijah and Phil host of The Obstacle Order Podcast. They wanted to hear firsthand what the buzz was about regarding the clinics Richard puts on and what people might expect for having attended. If this is something you are interested in, you might want to give this show a listen. (This recording was copied with the express permission of Elijah Markstrom.)

As they say; “The Devil is in the details”. Coach Richard Diaz and guest, Elite OCR athlete Beni Gifford discuss the details that can set you apart from the pack as a much faster runner. Beating yourself up, packing on the miles, hard track workouts won’t make you faster unless you learn to master the details as prescribed by the coach in this podcast. Unlock your strength and potential as a runner in Spartan Racing, Trail Running or your next Marathon by following the advice offered in this podcast.

As athletes, we are no strangers to post workout aches and pains. When these signals begin to impede our ability to perform and result in missed training days, it’s time to pay attention. We’ve invited Dr. Steve Capobianco, Medical Director for Rock Tape back on to discuss what’s new in the way of self-treatment, prevention and “how to” that Rock Tape has become famous for. Are you familiar with myofascial release? Do you know what you can expect from these practices that are known to improve functional range of motion? If you are a Spartan or Obstacle Racer, you don’t want to miss this show.

Because I see so much of this malady among the athletes I meed I decided to revisit this interview done with Dr Brian Abelson, author or a great book on understanding and the treatment of Plantar issues. In order to resolve this pesky injury you first need to understand the culprit that is responsible. If you are an Obstacle Racing athlete, planning to participate in a Spartan Race or BattleFrog and have been plagued with Plantar Fasciitis, you really need to hear this!

We all want to win the races we enter; some have a reasonable chance and others feel winning is out of reach. Why not improve your chances and your Obstacle Racing finish times by following some solid advice that you can put to work immediately.  Some of this advice you may have heard before but I promise, there are a few tips you had never heard before that will get you those precious seconds you need to beat your competition.  We’ve brought on Amber Headrick, a seasoned elite OCR athlete on to help us share these pearls of wisdom with you. We’ll discuss the importance of energy management, running mechanics, finding an online coach and a few tips that will really help you in your next Spartan race.  You’ll need to listen to the entire episode to reap all of the benefits! More of this atwww.naturalrunningnetwork.com

This episode is a rerun. It was posted late in 2015 but I felt the information was important enough to bring it back to our listeners. The discussion revolves around making the best out of the training metrics we gather from our Heart Rate Monitors.  There is a wealth of great information that is made available with the advent of GPS, heart rate, cadence etc., but it can become overwhelming at times.  In this episode we take a real world scenario of data collected by an OCR athlete and help him to make sense of the data so he can take charge of his training.  This is a great episode for any runners, triathletes and Obstacle Racing Athletes who want to better understand the data from their heart rate monitors.

Obstacle Racing has grown to be the most popular recreational sport around the world by leaps and bounds over running, cycling and triathlon. There are now “Pro” athletes, who earn a living racing and through sponsorships. These “Pros” are clearly vested in the legitimacy of the sport.  Brakken Kraker is one of those athletes.  Listen as Brakken and Richard Diaz discuss the potential for an OCR/ Spartan Olympic event, the need for drug testing, clarification of the distinction of Pro status vs. Elite and the importance of speed and running form to win races.  We will also visit some podium predictions for the upcoming Spartan Monterey Race and NBC Spartan Series; who we like and why. www.naturalrunningnetwork.com