The Natural Running Network

In every Spartan Race, Tough Mudder or any obstacle course race, there are always a few guys who I would consider “the rabbits”. They bring blinding speed to the competition.  Sometimes it’s just the ticket, other times the carries and strength work can toss a wrench into best laid plan. Mark Batres is a threat at any race he appears, with a 5K PR of 14:27 and he has been working hard to even the score when it comes to the bag and bucket carries. Will it be enough to win the NBC Series Monterey Spartan Super? Well… I asked him just that question, along with his opinion on the women’s field, going pro and the state of the sport at large.  Tune in to hear what he had to say!

Cole Schwartz has a message for Spartan Elite Athletes… “Watch your 6, I’m coming”. Truth be told, Cole never said this but he’s been saying it with his actions. Recent winner of both the Montana Spartan Beast and Sprint race, he’s bent on winning and is implementing a plan that’s working for him. Cole Schwartz and I (Coach Richard Diaz) spent some quality time together in “The Secret Lab” recently and decided a follow up interview was a good idea.  Here it is for your inquiring OCR athletic minds.

The veterans of Spartan Race are well familiar with the notorious race course designer Norm Koch who was the mastermind behind the torturous event obstacles. What some may not know is that Norm is no longer with Spartan Race Inc. He’s moved on to another event producer known as “Bone Frog”.  It was a bitter sweet move and curiosity as to the politics and behind the scenes rationale overcame us, so we had to ask: Why did he leave? We also touch on the future of the sport, his thoughts on the Olympic potential and much more.  Norm Koch is a pioneer in this fledging sport of obstacle racing and his unvarnished view from the inside is worth a listen.

Alyssa Hawley member of The Spartan Pro Team has become a serious threat to the old guard in Elite Spartan Racing. She brings a unique blend of stamina along with the ability to out carry most in the field due to her strength. I caught up with Alyssa to get her take on the competition, find out who she is gunning for and her strategy moving forward to the NBC Spartan Super at Monterey. Guess who’s on her hit list and why?

The NBC Spartan Race Series is just starting to heat up, there are the familiar faces and some not so familiar. Nicole Mericle has yet to become a household name in the sport but many believe that is subject to change. Her background as a collegiate Track and Field Steeple Chaser has provided her with the running pedigree to pose a threat to the pro field and thus far she’s had some pretty impressive outings given she’s only raced a little less than a dozen times in her career to date. I asked Nicole to be a featured guest so we can discuss her strategy, strengths and weaknesses leading into the Monterey NBC Spartan Super and she was open to sharing.  Give a listen!

It’s hard to keep a handle on Hunter McIntyre. He’s either one of the fiercest competitors in Obstacle Racing, reigning champion on The Broken Skull Challenge or gone missing. Yep, I coach him and sometimes that’s not easy! I thought it would be fun to bring him back and have him share his thoughts on future competition, who he feels is a threat, his feelings on the women’s pro field and his plans for the upcoming NBC Series Spartan Monterey Super.

As a runner, there is nothing worse than a nagging running related injury that just does not want to heal. Plantar Fasciitis is one of these injuries that left unchecked can easily ruin an entire race season. Listen as Dr. Brian Abelson, author of “Release Your Body- Resolving Plantar Fasciitis” and Richard Diaz discuss this injury, how to self-diagnose and self-treat this problem. You will also learn what the reasons the problem arises are and what type of exercises are best suited to defend against re-occurrence. If you have ever felt that nagging pulling sensation at the base of your heel as you are training for your next Marathon, Triathlon or OCR you owe to yourself to tune into this episode!

In this episode Richard Diaz and his featured guest Elijah Markstrom of The Obstacle Order discuss a variety of topics that can get foggy in respect to running performance, be it in an Obstacle Race or any endurance running event. Topics such as how to effectively assemble intervals, how heart rate plays into these sessions and finally an analysis of superb running mechanics as illustrated by Galen Rupp the American record holder for both the 5 and 10k events. https://indd.adobe.com/view/36b1d72a-4580-430c-b6cd-f19cec22ef78

I decided to bring this show out of the archive because it really is destined to be a historical record of an interview with one of the greatest American runners of our time. 3 time Olympian and 2 time World Cross Country Champion Craig Virgin. This is what I would like to refer to as “Old School”, the way training and racing was before the advent of the running shoe industry. Craig held the American 10k record for over 22 years until Meb Keflezighi finally broke it in 2001. Craig Virgin shares his insights on training now vs. back in the day, running shoes, running form and his hopes dashed due to the boycott of the 1980 Olympics. If you’ve not heard this episode you really need to give it listen!

Stefanie Bishop literally came out of nowhere to clinch the win at The World’s Toughest Mudder in 2016. Few people knew who she was but in quick time, all learned she was a force to reckon with. Putting in 85 miles with time to walk a lap which could easily have resulted in 90 miles, she handily disassembled the field of competitors. An adventure racer at heart, Steff is one tough mudder when it comes to any event that takes you up to and beyond 24 hours. Richard Diaz caught up with her at the Toughest Mudder season opener in LA and in this interview Steff shares her story.

It’s time to dump your old bike shorts and running singlets if you plan to be competitive in Spartan Race, Tough Mudder or any other Obstacle Course Race. Up until now, what you raced in on your glorious day was a makeshift after thought. Join as we take a look at Human Octane OCR Apparel, a new startup company run by an aspiring OCR athlete just like you, who understands the demands these races pose and has developed a line of racing apparel designed exclusively for the sport.  If you like what you hear, stay tuned until the end of the show because there is an opportunity to gain some free kit and entry into a dhp OCR Run Clinic but you’ll need the details to qualify.

OCR athletes have an insatiable thirst for information on training and racing. We’ve found that many of our listeners appreciate it when we filed questions. This episode does exactly that. We have chosen from a long list of questions presented to us, many we were unable to get to in the time we had. This episode features a handful of those questions and our opinions relative to the topics presented.

This episode aired a few months ago but I have had a lot of requests to bring it back. Yes, its in the archive, Its funny how it takes a few times around to get people to absorb the information. So, here it is again, a redo of my explanation of how to turn lactate production into a friend vs. foe.  Those that may have more specific questions on the topic are welcome to message me on FaceBook and I’ll do what I can to field those questions in a future episode. Obstacle Course Racing, Spartan Races, Tough Mudder Races and the like cause athletes to dig deep, sometimes too deep and energy demand can dampen your performance. In this episode I explain what you should be doing in your training to combat the insidious overload of lactic acid.

Most athletes that compete in obstacle races no full well what they’ll get from participating… muddy, beat down and a great sense of accomplishment. They can’t get enough! Investing in the education and training to make an athlete stronger runners, have the ability to put in more work injury free, is a hard sell. We believe it’s because most people simply don’t know what to expect. It’s hard to compare the bang for their buck until… they have experienced the benefits first hand as so many other athletes have. This episode features Chris Schapman an elite OCR athlete who understands the value and asked that we do this Q&A in hopes that those who are curious can hopefully see the forest for the trees and wrap their heads around what exactly they can expect. If you are one of those people who are just not sold, this episode is for you! #spartan racing #worldstoughestmudder #diazhumanperformance  

You’ve heard it said: “You are what you eat”, I would suggest more to the point, “your race results reflect how you eat”.  The sport of obstacle racing is growing like a weed. Unfortunately good training advice for the sport is spotty at best. It will take time for us geeks to figure out how best to prepare a champion for this ever changing sport. Suffice to say; how you feed plays an important role in your success.  I’ve invited Josh Stryde (Nutritionist/ Faye Stennings confidant/boyfriend) on to discuss his newly released book: Nutrition for the OCR Athlete, aptly put. Josh has put together a very well organized approach to feeding for those who compete in Spartan Racing, Tough Mudder etc., he also includes an overview of Austin Azar’s feeding strategy that gained him 100 miles in The World’s Toughest Mudder in 2016. Be sure to listen to this one if you plan to race this season.