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The Running Explained Podcast

The Running Explained Podcast

Running Explained 223 Episodes Oct 15, 2026

Hosted by multi-certified run coaches Amanda Katz and Nick Klastava, this podcast offers science-backed advice for runners of all levels. Topics include injury prevention, fueling strategies, race day tactics, and expert interviews. It aims to help listeners improve their running performance through practical, evidence-based insights.

Episodes

Olympian Carrie Tollefson Chicago Marathon From the Broadcast Booth, Running Identity, and Finding Joy
Olympian Carrie Tollefson Chicago Marathon From the Broadcast Booth, Running Identity, and Finding Joy Oct 15, 2026 00:49:38 Olympian Carrie Tollefson joins Coach Amanda and Coach Nick days after broadcasting the 2026 Chicago Marathon. Carrie made the 2004 Olympic team in the 1500m, won five NCAA titles at Villanova, and now runs her mouth more than her legs (her words) as a marathon broadcaster and host of the C Tolle Run podcast.In this episode, we cover:• What the Chicago Marathon looks like from the finish line broa
Marathon Recovery and Why Recovery Starts Before Race Day
Marathon Recovery and Why Recovery Starts Before Race Day Oct 8, 2026 00:53:51 How long should you rest after a marathon? Coach Amanda (fresh off her fall marathon) and Coach Nick cover marathon recovery from taper week to your first run back.Pre-race recovery: why sleep across your whole training block matters more than the night before, packing a carb-load cooler for race travel, compression socks vs. calf sleeves on flights, protecting your social battery, and how long a
Runner Q&A with Sports Dietitian Stevie Lyn Smith: Carbs Per Hour, Ferritin, Burnout, and First Marathons
Runner Q&A with Sports Dietitian Stevie Lyn Smith: Carbs Per Hour, Ferritin, Burnout, and First Marathons Sep 24, 2026 01:01:45 We did an old fashioned listener Q&A, and because you all sent in a stack of nutrition questions, we called in the big guns: sports dietitian Stevie Lyn Smith, RD, CSSD, back for round two.Coach Amanda and I cover the coaching side while Stevie brings the fueling science. We get into how many carbs per hour you actually need on long runs (and why the answer is a range, not a flex), how to jugg
Bone Density, Menopause & Marathon Training
Bone Density, Menopause & Marathon Training Sep 17, 2026 00:58:17 Coach Amanda and Coach Nick talk masters running with coach Kim Nedeau (Training Inclined) about how mileage, recovery, and strength work should change after 40, plus what the research really says about bone density, menopause, and weighted vests.Kim built her coaching practice, Training Inclined, and her women's community, Train Like a Master, after her own injury-prone running years. In this
Ferritin, Iron & Anemia and What the Labs Really Mean
Ferritin, Iron & Anemia and What the Labs Really Mean Sep 10, 2026 01:03:06 A single ferritin test isn't the whole story. Coach Nick and Coach Amanda talk with sports dietitian Callie Roseland about the difference between low ferritin, iron deficiency, and anemia, why runners are especially prone to running low, and the ferritin number that actually supports performance versus the number that just clears a lab's "normal" range.We also cover when to (and
Strength Training for Runners: The 5-Move Formula You Need (w/ Natalie LaMendola, DPT)
Strength Training for Runners: The 5-Move Formula You Need (w/ Natalie LaMendola, DPT) Sep 3, 2026 00:46:45 Strength training gets thrown around as a cure-all for runners: fix your injury, run faster, never break down. Coach Nick and Coach Amanda sit down with Natalie LaMendola, DPT, a running-specific physical therapist and Running Explained coach, to separate what strength training actually does for runners from what the internet claims it does.We cover the exact framework Natalie uses with runners (s
The Carb Ceiling Myth and What Actually Fuels a Long Run
The Carb Ceiling Myth and What Actually Fuels a Long Run Aug 27, 2026 00:54:03 The 60g-an-hour carb ceiling isn't real, it was just the limit of one transporter. Sports dietitians Emma Harvie and Jaclyn Sklaver, CNS, LDN, join Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to explain the glucose plus fructose fueling strategy pushing runners past 90 to 120 grams of carbs an hour, why underfueling wrecks your hormones (yours included, men), and how to build a fueling plan months before race
Bone Health for Runners and the Injury Warning Signs You're Ignoring w/ Dr. Hoyt
Bone Health for Runners and the Injury Warning Signs You're Ignoring w/ Dr. Hoyt Aug 20, 2026 00:51:57 Runners are great at ignoring pain. That is exactly the problem. In this episode, physical therapist Dr. Lisbeth Hoyt joins Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to break down bone health, the injury continuum, and how to actually catch a bone stress injury before it becomes a 12-week stress fracture.We get into why women are not small men, how hormonal shifts across your life (adolescence, postpartum, peri
How Many Marathons Is Too Many? w/ Coach Corky
How Many Marathons Is Too Many? w/ Coach Corky Aug 13, 2026 00:51:10 Running one marathon used to be the whole goal. Now it’s normal to stack two or three in a single fall, chase every world major, and call the easy one “party pace.” This week Coach Nick and Coach Amanda sit down with New York marathon coach Corky (@CoachCorkyRuns) to ask how many marathons is actually too many. We get into what the research says about performance and mental health, why party pacin
Run Clubs Get a Bad Rap. Here's What's Actually True
Run Clubs Get a Bad Rap. Here's What's Actually True Aug 6, 2026 01:06:50 Run clubs get called dating apps with cadence, influencer marketing for the warm-up, and content farms in matching kits. Some of that is fair. Most of it misses what these groups actually do every week.Coach Nick sits down with two founders running clubs on the ground: Sydney Hara of Slow Girls Run Club in Vancouver, BC, and Will Walker of A Tribe Called Run in Baltimore, MD. They get honest about
REDs Explained, Why Underfueling Doesn't Have a Look w/ Dr. Melissa Lodge
REDs Explained, Why Underfueling Doesn't Have a Look w/ Dr. Melissa Lodge Jul 2, 2026 00:56:02 You can run well on too little fuel for a long time. Right up until you can't.This week, Coach Amanda and Coach Nick sit down with Dr. Melissa Lodge (PhD in exercise science and sports nutrition, RD-in-progress, and the mind behind @fed_collaborative) to unpack REDs: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. It's one of the most misunderstood, under-screened issues in endurance running, and it
More Salt Isn't the Answer: Summer Fueling and Hydration w/ Stevie Lyn Smith
More Salt Isn't the Answer: Summer Fueling and Hydration w/ Stevie Lyn Smith Jun 25, 2026 01:08:57 It's getting hot out there, and your fueling and hydration plan needs to keep up. Registered dietitian and board-certified sports nutritionist Stevie Lyn Smith (fresh off running 460-ish miles from Buffalo to Brooklyn, as one does) joins Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to break down what actually changes when the temperature climbs.We get into why more electrolytes isn't automatically better,

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