Sam, Katie, and Mitch are joined by Chloe Pateman. Chloe is a Wollongong local who has recently moved to the Gold Coast. She boasts an impressive list of personal bests from 2024, including 4:37 for 1500m and 36:37 for 10k. Chloe started running in Year 10 and has been part of several squads, including Vicki McPhillips' group running around Blackbutt and the HIRT Squad. She has now joined GC Run Co, a group she connected with during a training camp in Perisher. Chloe enjoys running as it helps her break up her routine and stay focused on the task at hand.

Mitch kicks off the week with an impressive 20 x 400m session on Tuesday but slightly overreaches during his Friday tempo. His Strava blue bars are looking strong, though! Katie hangs on for 16 of Mitch’s 20 reps, clocks another 121km week, and decides to give up mowing due to the physical demands. Chloe has a stellar week, indicating she’s in shape for more PBs, with three quality sessions, including thresholds in the 3:30–3:40 range and solid 2km reps. Meanwhile, Sam fits in nicely with the JT Running Group, finding a great bunch of people to execute solid track and threshold sessions with.

Café Kit of the Week:

• Wollongong Track Club Singlets and Shirts: Pre-order through Oasis via DM on Instagram – @wollongongtrackclub
• TFTV Singlets: Pre-order through Perene – TFTV Podcast Collection
• Nike Vaporfly 3
• Matt Fitzgerald’s Running Cookbooks

Round the Club Shoutouts:

• Mark Pateman
• Jared “from MAFS” Pescud – Your Local Run Club
• Benn Walker – Wollongong Track Club
• Bill Dykstra – Sapphire Coast Runners

Sam, Katie, and Mitch chat with Amy O’Halloran. Amy has delivered some big performances, winning the Sydney Harbour 5k in 2019 and placing 2nd at the Newcastle Marathon in 2022 with a time of 2:53. Despite her fast road times, Amy also boasts impressive track performances, having run 4:22 for 1500m during her college years in the US. Amy is extremely passionate about running but has recently faced injury struggles and opened up about their impact. Her goal is to reach the start line in sub-2:50 shape within the next four years.

Sam kicks off training this week, hitting the track and getting dropped by Katie. Despite this, he’s happy to be logging some normal weeks and is keeping things conservative. Katie logs 124 km this week, including two very strong sessions. Amy has an impressive week of training with lots of intensity but ends up with a potential Achilles tear. Mitch stacks his ninth consecutive 100+ km week, coming off the back of a bout with Covid.

Café Kit of the Week:

• Dr. Squatch – Natural Deodorant
• Heel Cups
• Adidas Supernova
• ASICS Novablast 5 (purple/red colourway)

Round the Club Shoutouts:

• Hamish Simpson – Team Keem Coaching
• Rebecca Croak – JT Running
• Chase Grant – Mel’s Angels
• Emma Collier – DELTA

Nathaniel Brisbane joins Sam, Katie, and the infamous Russ Dessaix-Chin on the podcast this week. Nathaniel has achieved remarkable progress in a short period of time—he set a goal to break 25 minutes in the 5k late in 2022 and brought his time down to under 17 minutes within a few months.

This year, Nathaniel has run several impressive personal bests, including 4:07 for 1500m, 8:47 for 3k, 15:14 for 5k, 32:47 for 10k, 72:10 for the half marathon, and capped it off with a 2:36 marathon at the Gold Coast. Nathaniel credits consistent training for his success and has recently joined Brendan Hince’s training group. Despite a heavy study load at UOW, Nathaniel stays committed to high mileage and smart training.

Sam completes his first full training week since rehabbing his shin, including a grass track session in the Bega Valley, though his Parkrun in Pambula was less successful. Russ is returning from a heel injury, pushing hard to finish his week with 1:40 at 4-minute kilometers. Nathaniel continues to build solid training, completing a Mona Fartlek at North Gong Parkrun, running fast despite the challenging mixed terrain. Katie stays on top of her workouts, finishing a strong 20k progression during her long run.

• Hoodie Towel (Robe Optional)
• Adidas SL 2
• ASICS Metaspeed Sky
• ASICS Magic Speed 4

• Harm Schaap – Wollongong Track Club
• Cameron Faricy – Run Crew
• Jack Ratz – De Agony of De Feet
• Claire Gilbert – Sapphire Coast Runners

Sam, Katie, and Mitch catch up with James ‘Tunnaz’ Tunbridge, whose impressive personal bests include 8:26 for 3000m and a recent 2:32 marathon in Sydney. James, who played high-level tennis in his teenage years, naturally ran 5Ks in the low 16-minute range without structured training.

In 2011, after a chance encounter with Russ Dessaix-Chin at parkrun, James joined Russ for training sessions to elevate his performance.

Recently, James launched his own running business, ‘JT Running,’ which has been buzzing with activity. The business offers Tuesday track sessions, Friday tempo runs, dedicated programming, and strength training.

Sam is back at the track with the crew, hitting 800m reps on Tuesdays and logging 62km over five days. Katie slows her long-run pace this week, completing an impressive 26km at 4:09 per km, totaling 120km for the week. Mitch continues his steady progress with 108km and a strong progressive run.

James (Tunnaz) stays involved, jumping into reps during JT Running sessions. Over the holidays, he heads to Tasmania, enjoying cooler weather for his long runs.

Café Kit of the Week

• Traak Running Hat
• Ryze Smart Ring
• Mohawk Haircut
• Creatine

Round the Club Shoutouts

• Chloe Tighe (Kembla Joggers)
• Zoe Rayment (Coast to Mountain)
• Luke & Jett Warmer (Kiama Running Club)
• Carl Ernst (JT Running)

References

• JT Running
• Creatine - Runner’s World
• TFTV Podcast - Perene – Custom Race Singlets – pre-order by Jan 31

Sam, Mitch, and Katie catch up with Karyn Hamilton, an avid runner who has completed 42 half marathons—and counting! Interestingly, Karyn wasn’t always passionate about running. She discovered her love for it after the birth of her daughter, initially running with a pram. After completing the Gold Coast Half Marathon, Karyn was hooked and participated in numerous events within the following 12 months.

Karyn shares her balanced approach to "Gym to Run" programming, explaining how she aligns her strength training with race schedules. She also provides insight into her weekly routine, which includes a mix of running and strength training. Her typical week consists of 50 km of running, highlighted by a 23 km long run incorporating Parkrun.

Sam gives a quick update on his shorter week of running as he recovers from COVID, while Katie focuses on building her fitness and speed, logging an impressive 115 km at the track. Meanwhile, Mitch continues to deliver strong sessions with the JT Running Crew, clocking 110 km for the week.

• Vivobarefoot walking/gym shoes
• Saucony Endorphin Pro 4s (white/black colorway)
• Birkenstocks
• Dynamic Runner Strength Series: Dynamic Runner Club

• Rede Carney – WTC
• Amanda Jones – Kiama Running Club
• Sari-Elle – Team Keem Coaching
• Rosie – Shellharbour Parkrun

• Fly Studios
• iFly Studios on Facebook
• JT Running Crew

Sam, Mitch & Katie chat with Ralph Mathiessen. Ralph has run 50 marathons since he started running 11 years ago, having recently run the Berlin Marathon as his 50th, which was also the 50 year anniversary for Berlin. Ralph got into running to simplify his commutes to Tafe, though had a knack for cross country with his mates throughout high school. Since his dad had dragged him into doing marathons at the time. Ralph shares some funny marathon experiences with us including some stomach issues with the Gu Salted Caramels at the M7, getting caught for 3rd place just 100s of metres from the finish line. Ralph ran an impressive 2:50:53 at Melbourne Marathon in 2022 however. Ralph trains to Power recommendations set by his STRYD foot pods and he gives us a summary of how that works and why he finds that conducive to his training. Ralph is gearing up for Newcastle Marathon next year to secure a qualifier (sub 2:55) for Chicago 2025 and New York 2026.

Ralph runs us through a maintenance week before things ramp up in his marathon prep running around 65km for the week with some 1-minute harder efforts on session days. Mitch has another very impressive week progressing his 800 reps to as fast as 2:28 and running his threshold at 3:28s on Friday. Katie puts more bricks together and nails both of her sessions capping a 20 minute threshold at 3:46 mostly into the headwind. Sam runs 44km pain free but suffers another set back picking up Covid on Friday evening.

Katie and Sam catch up to share some gift ideas for runners.

Tune in if you're struggling to come up with your own wish list or are looking for some inspiration to buy for your loved ones!

Sam, Katie & Mitch speak with local physio and runner Pete Naseby. Pete has some handy PB’s ranging from 17:53 for the 5k and 3:06 for the Marathon at Sydney this year. Pete has been a long-time member of WTC training with Tunners and Frosty throughout Uni. Due to family demands Pete took some time off consistent running training and programming but is back in the thick of things now having recently run some solid PB’s. Pete explains how he uses his physio knowledge to compliment his own running, and also runs us through the recent treatment approach of Sam’s Shin.

Sam kicks off his training week with more of a back to running program, but he finally gets down to Kiama Run Club for his first ‘no stops’ run of the rehab program which goes to plan. Pete runs us through his week as prescribed by newly announced coach James Tunbridge, which includes a mix of hill strides, 400s, cross-training and capped off with a solid sub 19 run at the GONG5000. Mitch has a hectic week organizing the GONG5000 event, but this didn’t stop him from running 16:29 and finishing strong in the 5k race at the Unanderra Crit Track. Katie also runs the GONG5000 coming 2nd in the Female field running 17:47, a great first run back post injury but knows there’s more in the tank for next time.