Any Given Runday

For our 200th episode of the Any Given Runday Podcast, the lads bring on one of the best running coaches in the country, Emmett Dunleavy (@emmettdunleavy on Instagram)

Emmett Dunleavy is the owner/running coach at Perfect Pacing as well as a distance coach at UCD AC, Senior Club Coach with Kilcoole AC, Run Coach with Belpark Triathlon, Coach Educator with Athletics Ireland and Part of Irish Team Management for Senior International Championships.

With that resume, needless to say Emmett has A LOT of coaching experience, and he brings it all to this week's episode with tips on how to build your own race season, intervals, altitude training, working with Olympian David Gillick, thoughts on how slow is too slow/junk miles and much more.

To see more about Emmett's coaching plans, go to his website linked below:
PerfectPacing.com

You can also follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/anygivenrundaypodcast/

This week on the Any Given Runday Podcast, the lads are joined by Ger Redmond (@GerRedmond5 on Instagram). Ger is an Irish Professional Athlete as well as a coach at Coolock Running Club and Oberstown Children Detention Campus.

From signing up for an Ironman 6 months in advance with no swimming ability to dealing with his childhood trauma, doing Hell Week, coming back from breaking his neck in a Triathlon, setting up Coolock Running Club along with Another Way 5k and much, much more this is an episode you don't want to miss

We also get a little bit into his coaching philosophies as well. Having trained athletes to run a sub-3-hour marathon, Ger certainly has the credentials to back up his no-nonsense approach. You can find out more about hiring Ger as your coach through his website:

GerRedmond.com

We have had a lot of inspirational guests on the podcast over the last few years, and Ger is right up there at the top. So much so that after Ger talks about his next goal, it pushes Seán over the tipping point to sign up for his next big event... but we promised not to say on the podcast, so you're just going to have to listen for that one!

You can follow us on Instagram: @AnyGivenRundayPodcast

This week on the Any Given Runday Podcast, we chat with Caroline Hassett (@ahousebythetrees on Instagram), who takes us through her running journey that went from a 3:54 Dublin Marathon in 2017 to multiple sub 3-hour marathons in 2023, all while juggling busy family life as a mother of 4.

If you've ever had the goal of running a sub-3 hour marathon, this is definitely the podcast episode for you as Caroline talks about how she was patient with her running, starting with just easy runs for her first marathon and then how she progressed her training over the last few years to achieve a sub 3 hour marathon in Berlin and to follow that up with another sub 3 hour marathon the next month in Dublin

You can follow us on Instagram: @anygivenrundaypodcast

The lads review Seán's first 50k, the Donadea 50k, over the weekend and how it lived up to its hype as one of the best ultra marathons in the country!

This week on the Any Given Runday, we welcome long-distance and Irish International runner Ian Fitzgerald (@ian_is_running_1 on Instagram) to the show

Having finished 2nd in the National 50k Championships last year in Donadea, what better time to have Ian on the podcast with that race coming up again this Saturday... at least that's Seán's opinion anyway as he picks Ian's brain for all the help he can get come Saturday!

We also talk to Ian about:
- Going from a 3:46 marathon to aiming for a sub-2:30
- Running gear/runners
- Running a 100k for Ireland in 2023 and how hot water helped save his race
- The Dublin Endurance Project, a sub-elite training group
- His thoughts on the Berlin Marathon and how it compares to Dublin
- How to avoid burnout in running
- Running for speed vs running for speed endurance
- His approach to training, tempo runs and pacing for the long run
- Running with Inner City Running
- Running with his local club, Donore Harriers

And so much more

You can follow us on Instagram @anygivenrundaypodcast

This week on the Any Given Runday Podcast, we welcome Alicia from @She.Summits.TrailRunning on to the podcast.

Alicia set up She Summits in 2019 to help support women and people from different backgrounds in trail running.

They have done over 200 events with over 1,500 women and people from different backgrounds attending. Events have included providing trail runs in the Dublin & Wicklow Mountains, race recces for events such as the Art O'Neill Challenge and the Wicklow Round as well as navigation for Mountain Runners with 1.Step.More and Adventure.ie.

Alicia also talks about her own running, competing in events such as the Limone Skyrace in 2022 as well as the Seven Sisters Skyline.

We also talk about the 100km Wicklow Round event that covers 26 peaks and other trailing running events, especially those ran through IMRA, that people may be interested in doing

You can find more details about their events, including the Summit Supports programme, on their website: shesummits.net

On a special Thursday episode of the Any Given Runday Podcast, the lads chat to ultra runners Keith Russell and PJ Meehan about the upcoming Hellevation Backyard Ultra in Tipperary in April.

A Backyard Ultra (6.7km loop every hour on the hour) is a great way to get a new PB distance on the legs, whether that's your first half marathon, full marathon, 50 s or even 100 miles inside 24 hours.

The lads talk about what to expect from the race, including a nearby Coffee Coop, camping, crewing, tips for the course and more

If endurance running is a goal for you and you want to take part in an up-and-coming sport in this country, then Hellevation is a great starting point!

To sign up, go to:

www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=12115

There is a discount code for signing up: keith1

And for more on the event, follow Hellevation and Keith Russell on Instagram at @hellevationrunning and @Keith___Russell

On this week's episode of the Any Given Runday Podcast, the lads talk to high performance junior coach, Joe Ryan 


Joe, from Mullingar Harriers, has worked with some of Ireland's leading Junior and U23 endurance athletes, including John Fitzsimons, Cian McPhillips and Cormac Dalton

On this week's episode of the podcast, Seán talks about his Half Marathon over the weekend in Donadea and how he feels it sets him up for the 50k next month.

Eric talks about feeling uneasy putting himself out there for reels on his 'Fatman to Ironman' journey before we introduce our guest for this week's episode, whose journey is similar to Eric's in that he moved away and set up his own business along with having, and completing, Ironman aspirations, David McAllister

David, originally from Belfast, completed the Belfast marathon and his first Ironman in Mallorca before making a big change in his life.

He, along with his wife, packed up and headed for the sunshine. He set up a Burrito business in Spain and talks about his journey back into Ironmans to get fit while trying to run a successful business and learn a new language.

He completed 3 Ironman events in 2023, including going sub 11 hours in one of them and credits his success to his coaching through Rideland Endurance Training

On this week's episode of the Any Given Runday Podcast, we are previewing the Art O'Neill event coming up this Friday. While we could just look back at everything Seán did wrong at his first crack at the event last year, we decided to record this episode with someone who has not only completed the Art O'Neill but also completed it THREE times, finishing in the top 10 for females last year and is doing it again this year! 

That person is endurance runner Ciara Smullen.

In this episode, we break down the training for the event, the gear you should have for it, tips and tricks along the way to help you navigate, as well as breaking down each segment of the race itself.

If you're doing the Art O'Neill Challenge this Friday or have ever been interested in knowing more about it, this is the episode for you! 

In our first episode of 2024, Eric talks about hitting the reset button, while adjusting to life in Dubai., and building up his goals for 2024.

Seán talks about the mistakes he made in 2023 and how he is trying to rectify them in '24. 

This week on the Podcast, we throw the topics out to you. We put a couple of questions to you on our @anygivenrundaypodcast Instagram page and were overwhelmed with the responses.

So in this episode, we talk about what lessons you have said you have learned over the year to advise others as well as any questions you had for the lads (fitness or non-fitness related)

We welcome Michael Fox (@runningfox26.2 on Instagram) to the Any Given Runday Podcast to talk all things Marathon Running as well as balancing family life with running his own business and accumulating over 110 miles a week towards his running goals, which include a 15:01 5k and achieving a PB in the Dublin Marathon this year with an incredible time of 2:24

On this episode, we also discuss:
- How he went from being a cross country champion growing up to emigrating, putting on weight and losing it all again through marathon training and changing his lifestyle
- What motivates him to get out early in the morning and run
- Being self-coached
- Thoughts on 'burnout' and different types of training runs
- Changing routine when having kids to get the training runs in and the importance of having a good support network
- Why Mick prefers running the Dublin Marathon over the Berlin Marathon (and he has the PB numbers to back it up)
- Thoughts on other marathon races Mick has done, including London, Manchester and Cork
- His favourite half marathon in the world
- Finding what works for Mick for nutrition during a marathon and where he went wrong before
- How he breaks down his training week
- Michael's 'why' for running and how running can be good for your mental well-being
- What's next for Michael in 2024

You can follow us on Instagram @anygivenrundaypodcast

Unfortunately, we couldn't get a new episode of the Any Given Runday Podcast recorded for this week. However, we did want to put something out and keep the consistency going for the year. And Spotify Wrapped gave us an idea. 

Our listenership, though Spotify alone, has jump +255% with a +357% increase in streams. A lot of that came in the second half of the year. So with a huge increase in new listeners, we wanted to use this week as an opportunity to throw the spotlight back to those we had on earlier in the year

[3:18] With the announcement this week that there won't be an Ironman in 2024, we look back on our conversation with Anthony Fennelly, who went from professional football to running his own gym and competing in Triathlons, specifically how he got on doing Ironman Cork in 2019 and 2022

[23:14] Ice baths have seemed to become even more popular since our conversation with Karen from Sealieve.ie back in April this year. In this clip, you will learn why you don't need the water to be too cold to get the benefits of an ice bath, how long you should be in one and why it is important to keep moving to remain cold

[34:44] The week before doing his first ever Backyard Ultra, Seán wanted to talk with someone who had experience running a BYU to pick up any last-minute tips. Enter Dara O'Brien. Dara, a previous guest on the podcast, and having done the backyard ultra twice before, as well as other ultra marathon events such as the Wicklow Way and setting a FKT along the Barrow Way, Dara is no stranger to long-distance events

[56:00] In our final clip, we are talking with BYU and ultra marathon runner Keith Russell who at the time of recording was number 6 in the world in Backyard Ultras and was preparing for the world championships in Tennessee. We had a lot of options for clips on this one but we chose when he talked about pushing his body to the absolute limit, getting badly injured and returning from injury to get back into running. Whether it's burnout from the marathon, no events until 2024 or just a lot on with the Christmas season approaching, it can be hard to stay with running over these few months (especially with the cold). Our episode with Keith will motivate you to throw back on the running shoes again! 

Thanks for listening throughout the year. We hope to have a few guests back on to close out 2023

Anthony O'Brien (@anthonyobrien1991 on Instagram) is a Smart Endurance Triathlon Coach as well as the 2023 Irish Duathlon Champion, and 2023 Irish Sprint Champion joins the lads on this week's episode of the Any Given Runday Podcast

Anthony discusses how he transitioned from boxing to triathlons as well as:

- Pushing himself by running with some elite athletes in Ireland and running a half marathon in 70 minutes
- Going from his first Ironman in Dun Laoghaire to achieving a 9 hour 19 min PB Ironman
- His approach to training
- Handling social media along with training
- How he fared in Hell Week
- His lofty standards for the Seville marathon next February and what 2024 holds for him
- And so much more...

Including how he got that black eye to start the podcast!

This week on the Any Given Runday Podcast we have trail runner Ricki Wynne (@rickiwynne10 on Instagram)

Ricki set a World Record in 2022 for ascending the most metres and descending the most metres (24,000 total) in 24 hours by running up and down Croagh Patrick 15 times and raising over €37,000 for Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association Ireland

The YouTube video we discuss on the podcast can be found here: https://youtu.be/WiGmlcr81e8?si=b7wO5Vyir1yKrC4b

He has also competed and gained podium positions in numerous races throughout the country, including a second-place finish in the 80k EcoTrail Wicklow and winning both the Seven Sisters Skyline 50k in 2022 and the Maurice Mullins 80k in 2023. 

In this podcast, Ricki talks about his approach to running, nutrition, races and much more. 

Eric's yearly trip to Westport for Sea to Summit 2023 as the lads compare experiences in different adventure races the country has to offer 

With Seán recovering from the Dublin Marathon and Eric still recovering from his Ironman while trying to set up life in Dubai, it's a hangover episode of the Dublin Marathon.

The lads discuss talk of the Dublin Marathon changing route, issues with transport in the area on marathon day, transfers, training and more in the intro of the podcast before talking about future goals and the importance of involving yourself in a club/tribe

The lads review the 2023 Dublin Marathon through all its rain and glory as Seán attempts his 5th Dublin Marathon while Eric experiences it as a supporter.

After being our most downloaded guest ever a few short weeks ago, we welcome Kevin English (@kevin_english29) back to the Any Given Runday Podcast to discuss all the tips you need for the Dublin Marathon this Sunday.