The Running Public
The Running Public is hosted by endurance athletes and coaches Kirk Dewindt and Brakken Kraker. They discuss all aspects of running and endurance training, presenting high-level knowledge in a practical way. Episodes cover training methods, racing, coaching, and performance. The show is aimed at runners who want to improve.
Episodes
Episode 648: Our Current Training Blocks
Life is uncaring and unpredictable. We’re in two very different places with our training right now, both of which took us by surprise.
Episode 647: Trackbeast
College track & field recruiting is noisy, expensive, and stacked against families who don’t already know how the system works. Most high school athletes apply blind — no real sense of where their marks make them competitive, what a program actually needs, or how NIL works in their state.
Trackbeast replaces that guesswork with data. Former professional runners Eric Avila and Adam Dailey pair
Training Tuesday: Listener Questions
Our most dreaded workouts, hill running for Easy Days, “super trainers”, and how much should you expect to improve?
Training Tuesday: Running Economy
What exactly is Running Economy and how do we improve it?
Episode 644: There Are Holes in Your Training Plan
We all have blind spots with our training. Here’s how to find yours and remedy them!
Training Tuesday: Mailbag!
You keep sending in questions so we’re going to keep answering them!
Episode 642: 6 Hours or Less of Training Per Week
If you are limited to lower volume training due to time constraints, this is what we would prioritize when preparing for longer races!
Training Tuesday: Train Low, Race High or Train High, Race High?
There was a big movement towards under fueling and under recovering during your race build and then resting up and peaking like crazy. Now, the in vogue route is to fuel for every workout and recover to the max on a daily basis. Which is superior? Is there room for both approaches?
Training Tuesday: Make a Decision For Life!
You have to make a choice and stick with it for the rest of your running life: Plated or Unplated, Tights or Shorts, Music or Silence, High Rep or Low Rep lifting, Roads or Trails, High or Low mileage, and more!
Episode 639: Our Favorite Race Prep Workouts
You’re already in good shape and you decide to sign up for a race that is just a few weeks away. What should you do for your final few quality sessions? We give you our two best “get ready to race” workouts for the Mile/1500m, 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon, and Ultra distance races.
Training Tuesday: Answering Your Questions
Highlights include balancing strength training with running, fueling for a 90 minute race, barefoot & zero drop shoes, at what age can you determine whether or not you’re able to be a high level runner.
Episode 637: Croix Sather
As a teen, Croix spent four days in a coma after being struck by a drunk driver. His family was told he would be a vegetable; if he survived. 40 years later, he is an ultra runner, speaker, and author.
Training Tuesday: A Line in the Sand
We kick off with a Backyard Ultra chat, briefly talk about adjusting to time zones when traveling for races, and then Brakken gives himself a race ultimatum!
Episode 635: Our Running Education
We spent a combined 20 years dedicating ourselves to the track. Then, we spent 15 years training for Obstacle Course Racing, which in turn led us to the trails and mountains. Along the way, each version of running taught us some things we wouldn’t have learned anywhere else!
Training Tuesday: Strength Training for Recovery
Can you use lifting in a way that maximizes hormone production yet minimizes the interference effect on your running? Yup!
Episode 634: Listener Submitted Q&A
Highlights include: How much did altitude training help us? What type of form work should runners do? Are recovery shoes/slides legit? How to strengthen core, and how to run and lift simultaneously.
Episode 633: Maj. Tim Gribble
Tim is a firefighter, Air National Guard officer, and endurance athlete. After surviving a near death medical emergency, and the subsequent year long recovery, he rebuilt himself and was named the 2023 Air National Guard Athlete of the Year.
Training Tuesday: Speed Maintenance for Ultras - Part 2
This week’s Training Tuesday episode raised some questions from listeners regarding how to actually implement speed work while prepping for a long race, so we’re answering those questions today.
Training Tuesday: Can Footspeed & Ultra Endurance Coexist?
Can you prep for an Ultra with total confidence that your top end speed will still be waiting for you after the race?
Episode 630: Dr Sariya Saaybe
Dr. Sariya Saabye is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, bestselling author, and minimalist strategist known for her work helping high performers eliminate overwhelm. She is also a barefoot ultramarathoner and keynote speaker.
Episode 629: Brooke & Andrew Vigorito
The Vigorito family built a lifestyle based upon chasing their fitness goals and pushing their limits. Along the way, they started a race that allows others to do the same.
Training Tuesday: Q&A!
Plantar fasciitis, how to develop high schoolers, post-Ultra brain fog, trail shoes, prepping for a race with constant right turns, and more!
Training Tuesday: Kirk’s 50k + Listener Questions
Kirk recaps his recent 50k with a full race report, then the boys jump into answering your questions!
Episode 626: Brett Petersen
At fifty fours years old, Brett has never stopped chasing goals and new pursuits. Since COVID, he has competed in road running, park run, track, cross country, Hyrox, and has recently taken up throwing discus and javelin.
Episode 625: Sue Reynolds
Sue Reynolds transformed from a morbidly obese person at 335 pounds to sixth in the world (and first American) at the World Triathlon Championship, competing on behalf of the United States. Along the way, she lost 200 pounds and discovered what it takes to transform from a lifelong fitness lackie to a high performing triathlete.
Episode 624: Dani Moreno
Four years ago, we chatted with Dani about her recent breakout as a trail runner. Today she joins us as a full time professional runner for Adidas!
Episode 623: Race Anxiety
Everyone deals with this! Some runners simply get excited by race nerves while others are crippled by them. Either way, this IS something you can improve!
Training Tuesday: Trail Supershoes & Hyrox State of Sport
Kirk has been testing out shoes in preparation for his upcoming 50k and Brakken has been blown away by the rapid improvement of Hyrox athletes.
Episode 621: Summer Running
When should you suck it up and run in the heat? When should you avoid running in the heat? Do your race goals impact your decision? What if you run for fun / mental health?
Training Tuesday: How to Execute an “X Day” Workout
With threshold training all the rage, there is a lot of discussion about “X Days”. Should this always be a fast, speed based session or is there more to it than that?
Episode 619: Listener Questions
Today we answer fourteen of your best questions about running, training, shoes, heat, drugs, and racing!
Episode 618: How Soon is Too Soon (between long races)?
What is the minimum turn around time needed between long races to have any chance at success? For a reasonable shot at success? For maximum chance at success?
Training Tuesday: Our Coaching Journey
Brakken recorded an episode on Rich Ryan’s RMR Podcast this week (go check it out!) and it prompted him to ask Kirk some questions about how his coaching started and evolved over time.
Episode 616: DJ Fox
DJ joined us 300 episodes ago after winning World’s Toughest Mudder. Fast forward 3 years and he just crossed the finish line of the Cocodona 250 in third place. From OCR athlete to big time Ultra runner, he has embodied the idea of staying the course.
Episode 615: Drug Use Among Amateurs
With the rise of hormone therapy and anti-aging medical practices, how should amateur athletes be thinking about drug use?
Training Tuesday: Superior Trail 50k Recap & Learnings
Fresh off his win at the Superior Trail 50k, Kirk gives us his recap, takeaways, and learnings from the race.
Episode 613: Superior 50k Preview!
It’s race week! Time to break down gear choice, fueling strategy, and pacing plan. Plus a few bonus listener questions thrown in there!
Training Tuesday: Hyrox with Lizzie May
Lizzie May has transformed her fitness and performance over recent years and now helps others do the same. Lizzie shares her learnings through personal experience & we also collab on a mini Hyrox Q & A! Topics covered:
- What works (and doesn't) for physical transformation
- Hyrox training and the lessons learned along the way
- Going from a beginner herself to a coach in the Hyrox spac
Episode 611: Q&A Session
How useful is RPE for runners?
Heat Training for hot races
Hyrox training vs Ultra training
Super shoes for downhill work?
Running robots
Training Tuesday: Should You Ignore Heart Rate During Trail Races?
Should you let your HR spike during trail ultras or should you double down on a set HR limit? The boys can’t agree on this one!
Episode 609: Natalie Hatch
Natalie is the ultimate Beginner Runner. She found running as a way to cope with her anxiety and is currently training towards her first half marathon. Along the way, her personality and outlook on running and life have been captivating for others to witness.
Training Tuesday: Why Has Running Become So Dang Fast??
National and World Records are being set left and right and we just witnessed the fastest marathon in history. What is happening?!?
Episode 607: Hans Troyer
We first spoke to Hans in January 2024, days after his Ultra debut. Two years later, he’s arguably the fastest rising star in the sport. He recently won the JFK 50, won the Black Canyon 100k and signed a multi year deal with Hoka.
Training Tuesday: Overuse Injuries & Lower Body Strengthening with Dr Patrick
Dr Patrick Bottenfield stops by to discuss when it’s time to address an overuse injury as well as his top lower body strengthening movements for runners.
Training Tuesday: Fueling for Ultras
What exactly is considered “high carb fueling”? How much water do you need? Should you use liquid or solid calories? Where and how do you even begin to formulate a fueling plan for long races?
Episode 604: Talkin’ Shop!
The boys are reunited so it’s time to catch up with some training talk!
Training Tuesday: Kirk’s Q&A Session
Brakken is on vacation so Kirk is doing what he loves most: cleaning out the listener questions from his inbox!
Episode 602: Jake Prusha
A Coast Guard veteran, medic, and hybrid athlete, Jake is running 10 miles per day for the next 50 days while raising funds for mental health.
Episode 601: Answering AI Questions
We send Brakken off on his trip to Poland with a light hearted episode: answering questions from a random generator but doing so with a running twist.
Training Tuesday: Race Prep Workouts
While we’re not always big fans of Race Simulator or Race Predictor workouts, we are definitely big fans of Race Prep workouts. Here’s how and when to implement this type of session!
Our 600th Episode!
We are celebrating our 600th episode the best way we know: doing a Q&A, taking way too long with each answer and thus failing to get through the entire queue!
Training Tuesday: “X Factor” Workouts
These aren’t workouts you could build your entire training around. These are the workouts that round out your mental and physical fitness.
Episode 598: Our Best & Worst Race Decisions
Today we discuss the best and worst race choices we’ve ever made when it comes to fuel, shoes, gear, and mid-race decisions
Training Tuesday: Talking Training!
Today is a good ole fashioned training chat! We cover what we’re doing in our own training, some trends with the athletes we work with, some race updates, and plenty of miscellaneous rabbit holes.
Episode 596: Aaron Telitz
A professional driver for Lexus, Aaron joins us to talk fitness, training, mental toughness, and doing whatever it takes to pursue your goal.
Episode 595: Zach Cygan
Zach recently won the Phoenix Hyrox Open division, running an impressive 56:39. And he did it weighing in at 110 lbs. In a sport where frame, mass, and long levers truly matter, how has he been able to achieve this level of success?
Episode 594: Take2Trail (Jes Parker)
Take2Trail is built by and for runners who believe gear should keep moving long after we’re done with it. They give your like-new and gently used trail running gear a chance to see another mile. No flaky buyers. No sketchy meetups. Just a smarter, smoother way to keep quality gear in circulation — and out of the landfill.
Used doesn't mean useless.
Training Tuesday: How to Properly Use Your GPS Watch
We are joined by Sam Konowitch, a software engineer contracting for Space Force, to learn every single detail we could ever need to know about fully utilizing the capabilities of our GPS watches. From extending battery life to maximizing route accuracy in every location imaginable, this is the episode to nerd out on all things run tracking!
Episode 592: Wrapping Up the Listener Questions
We fully intended to just rapid fire the remaining questions and then hit our real topic. An hour later we were still deep diving into the Q&A topics!
Training Tuesday: Q&A Part 2
We pick up with your remaining questions from last week! Highlights include Heat Training, Hamstring Strengthening, Super Shoes for “Slow” Runners, and Compromised Running.
Episode 590: Cody Taylor
When COVID effectively ended his music career, Cody reinvented himself as a an endurance athlete. From running across the Atacama Desert to setting an FKT on the Bruce Trail in the wilderness of Canada, he’s been searching for his limit and hasn’t found it yet.
Training Tuesday: Q&A!
You’ve sent some great questions this month! Highlights include:
What’s holding you back, efficiency or engine?
What supplements should you be trying?
Uphill efficiency vs flat speed efficiency.
What should you do if your HR is too high even when jogging slow?
Episode 588: Soft Tissue Rehab with Dr Jared
Jared Francisca PT, DPT, joins us to talk specific processes for rehabbing common running related soft tissue injuries (tendinitis, tendinopathy, strains, tears).
Training Tuesday: How Important is Strength Training?
Kirk takes one side and Brakken takes the other while they debate the overall importance of Strength Training for a distance runner.
Episode 586: Brakken v Kirk Lifetime Race Results
With both boys scheduled to toe the same start line in May, this marks their first time racing each other since 2021! Today they break down their lifetime head to head match ups and predict how this one will go.
Training Tuesday: How Important Are Long Runs?
Kirk takes one side and Brakken takes the other while they debate the overall importance of Long Runs in a training plan.
Episode 584: Betsy Mueller Ran Across the USA
Exactly one hundred episodes ago, we spoke with Betsy about her plan to ran across the US despite living with MS. Here we are, one year later, to discuss her experience!
Training Tuesday: The Superior Spring 50k Lottery!
Both Brakken and Kirk entered the lottery and this week they both found out they got in! With sixteen weeks until race day, what is their plan for being ready to attack 31 miles of technical, hilly terrain??
Episode 582: Q&A!
Our take on orthotics. One shoe to “do it all”. Should we worry about kids’ running form? If we had to add in one extra hour of non-aerobic training per day, what would it be? How long to adjust to carbon plated shoes. How cold is too cold to run? And more!
Training Tuesday: Efficiency with Felicia Pasadyn
Training for the Olympic Marathon Trials on top of full time med school means that Felicia has to be hyper efficient with her training and her daily schedule. We discuss her daily practices, tips, and recommendations for living a more efficient life.
Episode 580: Ryan Kules
Last month, double amputee Ryan Kules set three Guinness World Records for adaptive rowing: fastest marathon, fastest ultramarathon, and longest distance in one hour.
Training Tuesday: Our Ultra Off Season
With both of us having an “Ultra Focus” this off season, but starting with totally different fitness levels, this is what it will look like from a training perspective.
Episode 578: The Final Q&A of 2025
We close out our podcast year the best way we know how: Q&A sesh!
Episode 577: All We Really Want for Christmas
When we look back a year from now, these are the race results and training blocks that will make us happy men in 2026!
Episode 576: Speedgoat & Clifton Alternatives
A few episodes ago, we mentioned how the Hoka Speedgoat and Clifton just aren’t working for us like they used to and so many of you reached out to confirm your same experience. So, today we’re giving you eighteen alternative shoe options to consider!
Training Tuesday: 2025 Year In Review
We, but mostly Brakken, talk about our year of training, racing, and also what next year might look like!
Episode 574: You Only Get Three!
We pick three shoes, three training locations, and three pieces of gear/clothing for each major race type: 5k/10k, Half Marathon/Marathon, and Ultramarathons.
Training Tuesday: Why Ultras are the Best Race Distance(s)
The training, the current Pro scene, the race itself, and what Ultramarathon fitness allows you to do makes these the best race distances!
Episode 572: Mary Martin - Race Director
Mary Martin is the race director of the Standhope Ultra Challenge in Idaho: a race built for women, parents, and the next generation of mountain athletes.
Training Tuesday: Why the Half Marathon/Marathon is the Best Distance!
The training, the current Pro scene, the race itself, and what HM / Marathon fitness allows you to do makes these the best race distances!
