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Anna's back from Europe, Tom's lining up for Auckland and Queenstown, and Oska's out of retirement. We recap Race the Pro 5, run through the weekend's marathon results, give first impressions of the Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2, and preview Timaru Ten. Full show notes The Run Down is our weekly running specialty podcast from Frontrunner, taking you behind the scenes of our stores around New Zealand, the shoes we're testing, the training we're doing and the races coming up. This week: Anna's back from six weeks in Europe: Edinburgh, Spain and Rome, and how European crowds compare to NZ events Tom's Auckland Half and Queenstown plans, and his pro triathlon licence paperwork Oska's comeback from injury, and a possible Spectacle 5K Race the Pro 5 recap: 120 runners, teams of five, 800m laps, chasing a team of the country's best Kipchoge, Chicago and the weekend's big marathon results Shoe talk, then Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2 first impressions Kona's surprise winner and retirement Test Run: book demo shoes online, keep them for two days, with a refundable deposit Timaru Ten preview Community competition: design a Christchurch run culture tee to be heat-pressed in store. Email your designs to us. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:30 Anna's back from Europe 05:00 European crowds vs NZ events 07:30 Auckland Half and Queenstown 12:00 Tom's pro licence and the ECG scare 17:00 Oska's comeback 21:00 Spectacle 5K and the hangar night race idea 23:00 Race the Pro 5 recap 27:30 Kipchoge, Chicago and Melbourne 35:30 Shoe talk 39:30 Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2 48:00 Run Club and Kona 53:30 Test Run demo shoes 55:30 Timaru Ten 59:30 Community heat-press competition

Off Track is back — a week late thanks to dogs and airport logistics, and with plenty to catch up on. Andy and Logan start with training: school-holiday survival mode and a busy race-season build for Andy, a post-Tekapo reset (plus a mountaineering course and a taped-up ankle), and Logan's return to running, where each new session type feels like unlocking a character in a video game, alongside big bike miles ahead of La Petite Brevet, a 300K mountain bike loop of Banks Peninsula. We launch a new segment, Tales from the Trails, inspired by the stories that land in Training Peaks comments. The first comes from a friend's early-morning tempo run up Captain Thomas / Godley Head. Send us yours! We also read out a very good reply to last episode's chat about weeing on the run. Then it's three weeks of Kiwi results: Annabel Bramwell and David Hammersmith (course record) at the Rakiura Challenge on Stewart Island, Clinton Manderson and Megan Craig at Marina to Marina, the dog-and-runner 4 Paws Marathon in Bottle Lake Forest (including a 39:55 10K), Dan Jones winning the masters at road relays, a record 1,300 entrants at Cave Kidnappers (a course record for Amber Morrison and a 3:02 from Calum McPherson in the 34K), and Simon Cochran's record 205K "Claw" at the Blue Lake 24-hour. A look at Masters records leads to the story of Jack Foster, who started running at 32, finished eighth at the Olympics, and still holds the NZ M40 marathon record of 2:11:18 from 1973. Athlete to Watch is Chester Holt-Quick, who's building to the Spectacle 100K in Nelson and has an enormous 2027 calendar. Overseas, we cover Lucy Bartholomew's Melbourne Marathon PB, Salomon becoming Ironman's sponsor (and what that might mean for UTMB), Des Linden's road-to-Western-States plan, and Ruth Croft lining up at Diagonale des Fous. Finally, a preview of Taupo Ultra and Crater Rim (Andy is racing the 22K), gear choices for the weekend, a No Free Ads shout-out, and a Coach's Corner on when to start carrying fuel and fluids and how best to carry them. This episode covers: Training catch-up and the new Tales from the Trails segment Results: Rakiura Challenge, Marina to Marina, 4 Paws Marathon, road relays, Cave Kidnappers, Blue Lake 24-hour Jack Foster and the NZ Masters records Athlete to Watch: Chester Holt-Quick Overseas: Lucy Bartholomew, Salomon x Ironman x UTMB, Des Linden, Ruth Croft Preview: Taupo Ultra and Crater Rim Gear: Norda 005 and the singlet No Free Ads: hotel reception lollies Coach's Corner: fuel and hydration Got a trail story or a coaching question? Send it to Frontrunner Colombo or @andygood on Instagram, or comment on Spotify. Anonymous is fine.

Tom's back after more than seven weeks away — most of it spent training in Andorra with Hayden Wilde and Kyle ahead of the 70.3 Age Group World Championships in Nice, followed by a genuinely brutal travel saga getting home. He's joined this episode by Theo, who gets his own spotlight after a trip to Melbourne meeting the On Running crew and helping launch the Cloudsurfer 3 in New Zealand.   The centrepiece of this episode is Oska's full Berlin Marathon trip with adidas — sitting down with the AdiZero design team to understand every decision behind the new Adizero Adios Pro 5, visiting the House of Fast, getting a photo with Gebrselassie, and watching Tigist Assefa win the women's race while running the final two kilometres on a ruptured Achilles. We get a full technical breakdown of the Pro 5 itself, a listener question on finding a daily workhorse trainer, and the full rundown on **Race the Pro 5 After Dark**, the Sydenham Underpass event held on 8 October with a live DJ, smoke machine, laser lights and the works.   **This episode covers:** - Tom's seven weeks training with Hayden Wilde and Kyle in Andorra - 70.3 Age Group World Championships, Nice - Tom's travel nightmare getting home, and whether he's going pro next year - Theo's Melbourne trip and the On Cloudsurfer 3 - Oska's full Berlin Marathon trip with adidas - Tigist Assefa's remarkable Berlin win - Deep dive: the adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5 - Listener Q: finding a workhorse daily trainer - Race the Pro 5 After Dark — Sydenham Underpass, 8 October   Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs or the Shopify chat.

Episode 3, and we've got our first-ever guest on the show — Sawyer, who contributed zero words but excellent company throughout. The centrepiece of this episode is Andy's full, honest recap of the Tekapo 50K — a genuinely rough day that included stomach issues from early on, cramping from the 28K mark, and a mid-race can of Coke from his crew that may have single-handedly saved the result. We also cover Ruth Croft's return to racing at Diagonale des Fous on Reunion Island, a genuinely wild prize money announcement out of Colorado's Run Rabbit Run (now offering $100,000 USD to the winner — the largest single prize in trail running history), a full review of the Tekapo Trail Weekend as an event, and a proper Athlete to Watch spotlight on Frances Redmond, who ran a patient, calculated 50K to come from third to first. From there it's a rapid-fire listener Q&A covering shoe choice, fibre intake before a race, hill training specificity for a climb like Mount John, and recovering from a DNF, plus gear notes on the Norda 005 and the On running vest. We close out with a couple of lighter segments — Shokz headphones and a genuinely excellent stout recommendation — before a candid, good-humoured conversation about one of ultra running's less-discussed realities. Fair warning is given before that section if it's not for you. This episode covers: Training updates and two new races on the calendar Ruth Croft's return at Diagonale des Fous Run Rabbit Run's $100,000 prize announcement Tekapo Trail Weekend: full event review and results Athlete to Watch: Frances Redmond Andy's full Tekapo 50K race recap Rapid-fire Q&A: shoes, fuelling, hill training, injury recovery Gear notes: Norda 005, Mountain to Coast, the On vest No Free Ads: Shokz headphones, a stout recommendation Got a question for the show? Send it through on Spotify or to the Frontrunner Instagram.

The tables are turned this week. Last time, Oska interviewed Alex from Don Greig Racing Stables — this time, Alex has spent weeks sourcing anonymous questions from runners all over Christchurch, and Oska has no idea what's coming. It makes for a genuinely honest hour. We cover childhood — including the four teachers who changed the direction of his life at a point when things weren't easy at home — his approach to brutal honesty (and where it actually comes from), and why having a coach, a psychologist, and a trusted small circle matters as much as any training plan. He's candid about where he's at right now: working through an injury, and for the first time in his life, genuinely not enjoying running. We also get into his half marathon record (eight national titles, undefeated in Christchurch), what's realistic for him in the marathon, and a properly interesting section on the business side of running shoes — how he ranks the major brands as a retailer, what he thinks about the wave of new Chinese running shoe brands, and the four-pillar framework (chemistry, geometry, aesthetics, accessibility) he wrote about for Tempo Journal on what actually makes a "perfect" shoe. We close with his real shoe rotation philosophy and a run of genuinely ridiculous rapid-fire questions. This episode covers: Hayden Wilde's 70.3 World Championship win Childhood, and the four teachers who changed everything Honesty, coaching, and mental health Currently not enjoying running, and working through injury Half marathon record, and marathon ambitions Ranking shoe brands as a retailer Chinese running shoe brands and the "perfect shoe" framework Shoe rotation philosophy and barefoot running Rapid-fire round

This week Oska sits down with Connor Melton and Will Little — training partners, close friends, and the two Kiwis heading to Copenhagen to race the half marathon at the World Road Running Championships. Both come from very different starting points: Will battled undiagnosed gluten intolerance and low iron for years before finding real consistency, while Connor spent a decade in Maria Hesson's development squad before moving to coach Sam McLean when he outgrew it heading into the senior ranks. We get into some genuinely big topics — why New Zealand's national titles have lost some of their shine as the global marathon calendar pulls athletes elsewhere, and why there's no incentive (or funding) to bring New Zealand's overseas-based stars home to race domestically the way Australia does. Connor tells the full story of his 2023 World Cross Country race in Tallahassee — brutal heat and humidity, a genuine hands-and-knees crawl through the final stretch, and being pulled by medical staff 200m from the finish. We also get into his PhD in mechanical engineering, which is genuinely relevant to this podcast: his thesis was on an accessible way to 3D-print custom, graded-stiffness heel pad cushioning for plantar heel pain. From there it's training structure, balancing full-time work and postgrad study with elite mileage, a fun rapid-fire round, and a proper, heartfelt tribute to their 82-year-old coach Sam McLean — who coaches for free, turns up on his bike in all weather, and can still recall race splits from over 50 years ago. Sam even wrote in his own tribute to both athletes, which gets read out in full. This episode covers: Will and Connor's very different paths into running Why NZ's national titles don't carry the weight they used to Connor's brutal World Cross Country collapse in Tallahassee Connor's PhD: 3D-printed heel pad cushioning Balancing full-time work and postgrad study with elite training Training structure and how the pair work together Racing shoes: both in the ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tribute to coach Sam McLean What success looks like in Copenhagen

Episode 2 of Off Track, and a genuinely huge one. We open with training updates — Logan's finding his rhythm again as he builds back from a stress fracture, and Andy's fresh off a massive confidence-boosting long run ahead of his Tekapo 50K in a couple of weeks. The bulk of this episode is a full recap of the UTMB World Finals, the biggest weekend on the global trail calendar. We cover OCC (course-cutting penalties, a stacked field, and a women's race with more live viewers than the men's for the first time in UTMB history), CCC (a first-ever two-time champion, and a huge run from Kiwi Caitlin Fielder marred by a random spectator jumping into her finish chute), and the big one itself — Ben Damon's dominant solo run (stopped for a total of nine minutes across 18 hours of racing) and an emotional, grand-slam-completing win in the women's race. Closer to home, we cover the brutal conditions at Naseby's 200-miler, a strong showing at the Dunstan Trail Marathon, and introduce a new recurring segment — Athlete to Watch — starting with multi-discipline talent Michael "Fossy" Voss. Andy gives a full breakdown of his Tekapo 50K prep (course, gear, nutrition, shoes), we get the confirmed dates for the NZ Mountain Running Championships (Nelson, May 2027), and a first look at the Kea Series' full season two calendar. We close with a listener question on Zone 5 training and finding your max heart rate, and a new "No Free Ads" segment with Logan's running headphone recommendation. This episode covers: Training check-ins UTMB World Finals: OCC, CCC, and the main event NZ results: Naseby, Dunstan Trail Marathon Athlete to Watch: Michael Voss Tekapo 50K full prep breakdown NZ Mountain Running Champs — Nelson, May 2027 Kea Series season 2 calendar Listener Q&A: Zone 5 training, max heart rate No Free Ads: running headphones Got a question for the show? Send it through to our Instagram, or drop a comment on Spotify.

A different kind of episode this week. Oska sits down with his good mate Macca from Tempo — recorded in two halves, the first at the ASICS house in Sydney on Saturday night before the race, the second a few days later once both were home — to properly debrief the Sydney Marathon. Neither of them raced it. Oska's still working back from injury and ran a relaxed, deeply enjoyable 2:50-something with a genuine negative split; Oska stepped out of his usual elite-adjacent world to run as one of "the masses" for the first time in his career, and came away with a completely different appreciation for what a major marathon actually is. Between them they cover the Harbour Bridge, a 100-plus person choir that stopped Macca in his tracks around the 11K mark, the noise of Oxford Street's Pride corner, and a chance elevator conversation with a man running his 101st career marathon — his 25th Boston. There's a genuinely good discussion in here about what separates a "major" from every other marathon: not the course, but the fact that for one weekend, an entire city's worth of strangers are speaking the same language. We also get an update on what's next for Oska — chasing a 5000m PB on the track, working the hamstring and Achilles back to full health, and eyeing a crack at his own Christchurch Marathon course record next April — plus a first tease of Race the Pro 5 After Dark, easily the biggest event Frontrunner's put together. This episode covers: Sydney Marathon race day, run relaxed rather than raced Course highlights: the Harbour Bridge, the choir, Oxford Street Meeting a 101-marathon veteran in a hotel elevator Local names who had big days: Tommy Richards and Jared both breaking 2:30 What actually makes a "major" marathon different What's next for Oska: a 5000m PB attempt, then a Christchurch Marathon course record tilt in April First look at Race the Pro 5 After Dark

A genuinely huge eight days packed into one episode. Oska's fighting off being sick and Anna's just days from six-plus weeks in Europe with Henry, but between them they cover a lot: a Melbourne trip getting an early look at upcoming Hoka and Saucony product, three national-level events happening the same weekend (NZ Road & Race Walk Champs in New Plymouth, Governors Bay to Lyttelton, and Sydney Marathon), and a half marathon world record from Yomif Kejelcha that puts their own Tuesday club session into brutal perspective. The big one this episode: the full reveal of Race the Pro 5, The Chasedown — Frontrunner's biggest event yet, teaming up with Adidas to launch the Adizero Adios Pro 5 with a mixed-relay race against an elite pro team, taking over the entire Sydenham Underpass on 8 October. We also get a great World Masters Championships update (Sally Gibbs' double gold including a sub-20 5000m at 60 years old deserves way more attention than it's getting), a listener question on burning forefoot pain, a full technical deep dive on the New Balance SuperComp Elite v6, and a Sydney Marathon preview with both reigning World Champions on the same start line for the first time in the race's history. We close with a recap of three community events in eight days (500 people total!) and a look at the genuinely hectic few weeks ahead. This episode covers: Melbourne trip recap: Hoka and Saucony NZ Road & Race Walk Championships preview World Masters Championships results Yomif Kejelcha's half marathon world record Race the Pro 5, The Chasedown — full event reveal Listener Q: burning forefoot Deep dive: New Balance SuperComp Elite v6 Sydney Marathon preview Christchurch Marathon course update Recap: 500 people, 3 events, 8 days Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs.

Introducing Off Track — The Run Down's new trail-running spinoff, hosted by Andy and Logan Griffin. Making sure no trail goes unrun. Episode zero starts with both hosts telling their own stories: Andy's path from a decade in the Army (with a Palmerston North trail network as an unlikely training ground) into coaching and multiple NZ Mountain Running titles, and Logan's from a decade of competitive road cycling into becoming the current NZ Short Trail Champion, via a 2020 bet with a mate that was supposed to be a marathon and turned into a running habit that stuck. Both are chasing the same goal: a spot on New Zealand's team for the 2027 Trail World Championships in South Africa, and this show will follow that journey alongside the athletes and races around them. We get into local trail racing — a recap of the Muka Muka Munter in Wellington (Hannah Fletcher's dominant win, a genuine blanket finish in the men's race), previews of the Great Naseby Water Race and the Lake Dunstan Marathon, and news that the NZ Short Trail Championships have shifted dates and venue, now running alongside the Xterra Trail Festival in Wellington on 27 February. From there it's a full UTMB World Finals preview — the men's race, the women's race, CCC, and OCC — with a close eye on the Kiwis racing at the sport's biggest weekend. We close with a coaching Q&A on blending road running into trail training and training through illness, a quick take on what Garmin's purchase of TrainingPeaks might mean for AI coaching, and a genuinely ongoing gear debate about the best way to carry compulsory kit on trail. This episode covers: Meet the hosts: Andy and Logan The shared goal — 2027 Trail World Champs, South Africa Training check-in: "Have you been off track this week?" NZ Short Trail Champs relocates to Xterra Trail Festival, Wellington Race recap: Muka Muka Munter Upcoming: Great Naseby Water Race, Lake Dunstan Marathon UTMB World Finals preview: men's, women's, CCC, OCC Coaching Q&A: road running for trail prep, training while sick Garmin's TrainingPeaks purchase and AI coaching Gear chat: the running belt hunt Got a question for the show? Flick it through — coaching questions especially welcome.

Big one this week. We open with Run Club's return (12-week Queenstown Marathon programme starts 25 August), then get into a genuinely packed episode: our biggest-ever Run Club turnout — 260+ people — at the ASICS Novablast 6 / GT-2000 15 wear test at Hagley Park, a proper breakdown of why ASICS built the GT-2000 15 as a "stable Novablast" (same foam, completely different geometry), and the full inside story on Run Unknown now that it's actually happened — checkpoints, demo shoes, and a finish line with 220 beers on tap. We've also got three new shoes in store causing genuine office debate: the RAD UFO (a striking new London brand that's split opinion right down the middle), the NORDA 005 (arguably the nicest trail shoe we've had in the shop all year), and the Mizuno Wave Rider 30. From there it's two listener questions — the best daily trainer for a marathon build, and why Superblasts scuff more than Megablasts even with the same rubber compound — before Oska gets properly honest about his own long history of cramping in marathons, tested against some genuinely interesting new research. We wrap with the World U20 Championships results (which deserved way more mainstream coverage than they got) and a full technical deep dive on the Brooks Hyperion Elite 6. This episode covers: Run Club's return New shoes in: RAD UFO, NORDA 005, Mizuno Wave Rider 30 ASICS Hagley Park wear test recap Novablast 6 vs. GT-2000 15 — the full technical breakdown Run Unknown — the complete story Listener Q&A: daily trainer recommendations, Superblast vs. Megablast wear Does dehydration actually cause cramping? World U20 Championships results Deep dive: Brooks Hyperion Elite 6 New Balance Community Run details Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs — we read every one.

This week Anna and Oska sit down with Henry McMecking — one of New Zealand's fastest-rising short course triathletes and the reigning NZ Under-23 Triathlete of the Year. Ranked inside the world's top 75 and New Zealand's third-highest ranked male behind only Hayden Wilde and Saxon Morgan, Henry's had a genuine breakout stretch: an all-Kiwi podium sweep at Oceania Sprint Champs in Napier, the U23 continental title, and his World Triathlon Championship Series debut in Hamburg this year. We talk through his Christchurch roots — cross country at primary school, watching his mum race at two age-group world championships — and how he balances 21 to 22 hours of training a week with a full geology job and a relationship (with our own Anna, as it happens). Henry's honest about the tough stretch too: pulling out of his planned World Series debut in Quiberon with a bout of tonsillitis, then backing up to actually debut in Hamburg a few weeks later, finishing 41st after coming in ranked 48th. He also tells us about lining up at the NZ Cross Country Championships just for fun — and running his way to 5th in a stacked senior men's field. We get into how he and coach Tess plan a season, what "making it" in triathlon actually looks like day to day, and the story behind Triathlon Trouble, the YouTube channel he runs with mate Gus Marfell. We close out with a round of quick-fire questions before he heads back to Europe for the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra. This episode covers: Growing up in Christchurch and his mum's triathlon career Balancing elite training with a geology job and a relationship The all-Kiwi podium at Oceania Sprint Champs Withdrawing from Quiberon with tonsillitis, then debuting in Hamburg Racing NZ Cross Country Champs for fun and finishing 5th How races get chosen, and what "making it" looks like Triathlon Trouble, his YouTube channel with Gus Marfell What's next: Pontevedra and Rome Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs.

Tom's mid-trip to Andorra and Anna's home recovering from having her wisdom teeth out, so this week Oska's joined by Andy for a big one. We open with training updates — including Oska's steady comeback from hamstring injury — before a full recap of the NZ Cross Country Championships, headlined by Ronan Lee's title-winning run (with David Lee closing like a freight train for silver) and a genuinely gutsy run from Maia in her last local race before leaving the team. From there it's a big Commonwealth Games wrap: Josh Kerr backed up his mile world record with gold at the Games, Sam Tanner ran a season's best, Eliza McCartney completed a real comeback story with pole vault gold, Tom Walsh took silver, and Tori Mowbray picked up a javelin silver that deserves more attention than it's had. We run through everything coming up on the community calendar — the ASICS Community Run, Run Unknown, the New Balance New Brighton run, and Run Club's return — plus a genuinely wild double course record at Badwater 135 in Death Valley. We're also excited to announce Off Track, a new trail-running spinoff of the podcast hosted by Andy, launching soon. From there it's a listener question on the best carbon race shoe for a heavier runner, a discussion of Izzi Batt-Doyle's honest piece on racing with her period, and we close with a full deep dive on the New Balance SuperComp Rebel v1. This episode covers: What we're testing / wearing this week Training weeks: Oska's hamstring comeback NZ Cross Country Championships recap Commonwealth Games wrap: Kerr, Tanner, McCartney, Walsh, Mowbray Community events: ASICS Community Run, Run Unknown, New Balance run, Run Club's return Badwater 135 double course record Announcing Off Track, our new trail spinoff Listener Q: carbon race shoe for a heavier runner Izzi Batt-Doyle: racing with your period Deep dive: New Balance SuperComp Rebel v1 Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs. ✅ Store website: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrunnercolombo/ ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontrunnerthecolombo/ ✅ Run Club page: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz/pages/frontrunner-run-club-frrc ✅ ASICS Community Run RSVP: https://luma.com/71ml6j34 ✅ New Balance Community Run RSVP: https://luma.com/xk7g6ilb ✅ Izzi Batt-Doyle article: https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/houseofwellness/my-legs-were-achy-i-felt-sick-and-i-wanted-to-stay-in-bed-izzi-battdoyles-hidden-raceday-struggles/news-story/6c513d812aa27648b457c4d536c42fd6 Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro (Andy filling in for Anna & Tom) 03:00 – What we're testing / wearing this week 10:00 – Training weeks: Oska's comeback 17:00 – NZ Cross Country Championships recap 32:00 – Commonwealth Games wrap 42:00 – Community events: ASICS run, Run Unknown, New Balance run, Run Club returns 45:00 – Badwater 135 double course record 50:00 – Announcing Off Track 53:00 – Listener Q: carbon race shoe for a heavier runner 60:00 – Izzi Batt-Doyle: racing with your period 65:00 – Deep dive: New Balance SuperComp Rebel v1

Just Oska and Anna in the studio this week — Tom's mid-way through a 44-hour trip to Andorra, and Maia's home sick days before her final episode with the crew. Still plenty to get through: we open with training updates and what's currently on our feet, run through the week's big shoe releases (Novablast 6, On Cloudboom Strike 2), then get into it — the frankly rubbish online backlash aimed at Hamish Kerr for withdrawing from the Commonwealth Games, and why we think people need to do better. From there it's a big Commonwealth Games wrap led by Zoe Hobbs' stunning 100m gold (NZ's first-ever Commonwealth sprint gold), plus Geordie Beamish, Lauren Bruce, and a strong showing in the pool. We preview this Saturday's NZ Cross Country Championships at Hagley Park, work through a stack of listener questions — including a proper debate on supershoes vs. uptempo trainers for workouts, our picks for NZ's marathon "Mount Rushmore," and a Reddit question on whether some runners are doomed to stability shoes forever. We close with a full deep dive on the ASICS MetaFuji Trail 2, plus all the key dates coming up: Run Club's return, Run Unknown, and the New Balance New Brighton event. This episode covers: Training weeks and what we're running in Shoe releases: ASICS Novablast 6, On Cloudboom Strike 2 Hamish Kerr's Commonwealth Games withdrawal and the online reaction Commonwealth Games wrap: Zoe Hobbs' gold, Beamish, Lauren Bruce, swimming medals NZ Cross Country Championships preview Listener Q&A: supershoes vs. uptempo trainers, NZ's marathon greats, local "Majors" equivalents Reddit Q: stability shoes Deep dive: ASICS MetaFuji Trail 2 Key dates: Run Club, Run Unknown, New Balance New Brighton event A farewell to Maia Got a question for the show? Email [email protected] or drop it in our Instagram DMs.

"Wear a kilt. The hill just kept on going. I stopped and got some whisky." One finisher's take on the Mackenzie Half Marathon — which pulled over 1,150 entrants the same weekend Kennett Cup's senior men's race had just five starters. We get into why cross country numbers are shrinking, and what might actually fix it. Also this week: a full breakdown of Josh Kerr's mile world record, including the wild eight-years-of-data story behind his custom Brooks spike. Anna walks us through new EBU camera-angle guidelines aimed at reducing the sexualisation of women's athletics coverage. Maia Flint — in her second-to-last week with the Frontrunner crew — won the Kennett Cup women's senior race, and Tom's athlete Corbin Harding took silver at the Mackenzie Half. We round up cross country results from around the country, catch up on Kiwis racing well overseas, and give you the first real details on Run Unknown's return. We close out with a proper tech deep dive on the Saucony Endorphin Elite 3 — what's actually been fixed since the divisive version 2, and who it's built for. This episode covers: What we're testing / wearing this week Josh Kerr's mile world record and the tech behind it New broadcasting guidelines for filming women's athletics Kennett Cup results and a real conversation about cross country's participation problem Corbin Harding's silver medal at the Mackenzie Half Marathon NZ cross country round-up and Kiwis racing overseas Run Unknown returns — mystery riddle race with On Deep dive: Saucony Endorphin Elite 3 Winter Grind party, Run Club's return, and the New Balance store takeover Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs or in the Run Club Facebook group.