For episode 36 we are joined by two legends of the local running scene. First up is Vincent Bradley who is a local at the Queen's Parkrun alongside his daughter Meabh. Meabh and Vincent have been turning out every Saturday to Parkrun, rain, hail or shine and have now ticked over the 200 Parkrun milestone. Meabh and Vincent are fantastic ambassadors for running and are loved dearly by all they meet! Vincent talks to us about Meabh's deep love of Parkrun and being involved in the local running community. Meabh truely personifies the inclusivity and accessibility of running, she is a force to be reckoned with! Eamonn returns to the Back Straight for a second time to talk to us about this year's Belfast Irish Milers Meet. There are some big names on the start lists for 2025 and we can't wait to see it all go down in May! Thanks to both of them for joining us and we hope you enjoyed this episode. Hooroo!

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We are joined by none other than Ciara Mageean for our first episode of 2025! Ciara is a true local legend and international running superstar. She is a 5-time Irish record holder and has won multiple medals at a number of championship events such as gold in the 2024 European Champs 1500m. Ciara gives us the full low-down on her move back to Belfast, training set-up, reflections on 2024 and what is to come in the future. This is not an episode to be missed and we hope you enjoy! Hooroo!

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Short snippet of commentary from Rome 2024 world champs was taken from RTE2 and is not property of the Back Straight Podcast.

East Down and now one of Providence's finest athletes, Anna Gardiner, joins us for episode 34 of the Back Straight! Anna is fresh off a bronze medal team result at the prestigious NCAA Cross Country and a stellar performance in Turkey at the Euopean Cross. Anna talks us through the ins-and-outs of American college running, from the cafeteria all the way to private jets! We think Anna is a true icon of the running scene in Northern Ireland with so many great results ahead of her, we can't wait to see what comes next! This is not an episode you want to miss. Merry Christmas y'all! See you in 2025, hooroo.

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Big recap episode this one! We brought in well-known running nerd, Conor Curran, to help us properly analyse an assortment of recent races. We get chatting on the Seeley 10k, European Cross. Country, Valencia Marathon and the NCAAs. Thanks for listening, you will hear from us soon! Hooroo.

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The title says it all! For this week's episode we are joined by a legend of Northern Irish running, and the Seeley especially, Ben Branagh! Ben has won the event 3 times during his prestigious running career and gives us the inside line on what it takes to run well through Ormeau Park. We chat about the main players for the 2024 event and how we think it is all going to go down. Send us your predictions for who you think is going to win on Saturday, it's gonna be epic!

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It was a brilliant day in Irvinestown for the National Cross Country Championships, and who better to help us recap the races than the winners themselves! We are delighted to be joined by the 2024 champions Keelan Kilrehill and Anne-Marie McGlynn for this very special episode. We hope you enjoy it! Hooroo.

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Big interview this week as we are joined by the current king of Parkrun, Nick Griggs! In part 1 of the episode we chat about the results of the Novice Cross Country in Finn Valley. From there we transition to a preview of the British and Irish Masters Cross Country and National Cross Country which are both happening this coming weekend! Stacked weekend of racing in the muck, lots to look forward to! Part 2 of the episode we catch-up with Nick after his stunning 13:44 at Victoria Park Parkrun. We recap Nick's impressive year where he set a number of PBs across a range of distances. Nick gives us the lowdown on the Puma running line up and how he is going to approach the National Cross as well as the coming 12 months. Plenty to wrap your earbuds around in this episode, we hope you enjoy! Hooroo!

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It is marathon season y'all! In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Caitlyn Harvey of Roadrunners AC. First up, Michael and Dan recap the Dublin Marathon and Valencia Half and then in part 2 we have a special interview with Caitlyn after she once again rewrote her marathon PB in Dublin by posting a brilliant 2:42. Caitlyn talks to us about how she trained for it, what it was like to experience the race as an elite entry and how it all unfolded on the day! Not an episode to be missed! Thanks Caitlyn for joining us and congratulations to everyone that ran in a marathon or half over the weekend. Hooroo!

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Instagram: @thebackstraightpodcast

Email: thebackstraightpod@gmail.com

Twitter: @thebackstraight