Discover raw , inspiring stories from runners who've been right where you are . This is the Choose to Endure Ultra Running Podcast With your host he's English , not Australian Richard Gleave . Hello and welcome . If this is your first time with us , thank you so much for stopping by .
You're listening to Choose to Endure , the show dedicated to the back of the pack runners , where we share stories , interviews , gear and training tips specific to the tail end heroes of the ultra universe . If you haven't had a moment to do so yet , please consider heading over to your favorite podcast app , maybe even the one you're listening on right now .
Hit , follow , rate the show and , if you're on Apple , leave a short review too . My name's Rich and Gleave . I've been running ultras since 2017 . I've taken on and finished numerous distances , all the way up through 220 miles , and I'm , unashamedly , a member of the back of the pack , just like you .
So no official episode again this week , since we are between seasons , but I did want to come on and share with you some of the things that are going on behind the scenes as we gear up for season two of the show . So , firstly , it looks like we'll start back up probably the last Friday of May , May 31st . Interviews are already underway .
I have eight or nine lined up so far through May and June , with a few more yet to come , hopefully .
The first season was naturally , I think , more focused around running experiences and stories , and we'll definitely keep that going into season two , but I also wanted to think about some interesting different perspectives and see if I can find a few ultra running adjacent companies or perhaps individuals to talk about things that might shape or have an impact on our
ability to perform as back of the pack runners or really ultra runners of any level . So I'm excited to have a couple of folks come on the show to talk about things such as nutrition training , strength training and even sleep , which should be super interesting .
I mean , how often have you thought of or considered sleep as an active part of your training or race day preparation ? We all know we need it and if you're like me , you probably don't get enough , but there's more to it than that from a strategy standpoint .
So I'm really looking forward to asking some questions related to that particular topic and how to get better sleep or how to use sleep properly to aid athletic performance , or how to use sleep properly to aid athletic performance .
I'm also trying to see if I can convince a few smaller boutique businesses shall we say basically anything that's not a big box brand say that fast . These guys help support ultra runners by providing products or services we might use .
I want them to come tell us about themselves and why we should be looking into what they have to offer , and so I have one such company lined up at the moment , and it's one I really like and wear a lot as a hint , so I'm super pumped to explore their origins and what they have to offer .
There'll still be race and individual stories too , of course , because hearing your tales of struggle , success or failure is always super inspiring and something that connects all of us , and within that , I'd love to see if I can get more UK or international people and events covered this season as well . So if you know of anyone , definitely reach out .
Hearing how races outside the US go down and the nuances and differences between those and what we typically see over here , I think gives a really interesting perspective , and maybe you want to go travel and race . It's a totally unique experience . I can highly recommend it .
I'd also like to find a way to do something live during season two as well , if I can figure out the technology Grabbing folks at the end of races , as you might have recently seen at Cocodona for instance , and sort of cobbling their thoughts together for an episode . Or just do a roundtable with a few folks and a discussion .
Topic on site somewhere , topic on site somewhere . I'm also looking to do at least one mic takeover , if I can . I'm thinking this would be sort of the podcast equivalent of a tap takeover at a pub , if you're familiar with that concept .
I'd look for a trail or ultra group that would be willing to come on for an episode , maybe more , and discuss their own topics or answer listener-submitted questions in their own style , with me only as a facilitator rather than the host .
So if you're a part of a group and you think you've got some energetic , enthusiastic folks that you feel would be awesome to have on a podcast , definitely touch base with me and let me know and we'll see if we can make that happen .
Talking of reaching out and I love all the feedback and interactions I'm starting to get from you guys , really trying hard to think through some content for you that makes sense and that you can continue to find some value in , whether that's educational value or emotional value or just plain fun .
On the cost front , I have , so far at least , avoided any kind of advertising thus far , and I haven't really felt the need to provide any merchandise either , which a lot of others do , but if that's warranted or wanted , let me know .
For the time being , my plan is to stick to trying to provide good content with no advertising through at least this coming season , and let you guys tell me if and when any of that stuff is something you'd like to see .
It isn't cheap to put on a podcast , though , so if anyone feels like they want to buy me a coffee , a beer or maybe even a bourbon which I'm definitely trying to get into at the moment every now and again , if you happen to see me floating about , I certainly wouldn't be turning that down for sure .
So as I wrap up today's second between season short bonus episode , I wanted to definitely take a moment to say thank you for joining me on the Choose to Endure podcast .
I know there are lots of other options out there and some really great ultra running shows , but it means the world to me that you choose to spend a little bit of your time listening to this one , and I hope you're walking away with at least some valuable insights . This is a solo endeavor .
I do everything myself and I genuinely want to make this podcast as helpful and enjoyable for you as possible , so I'd love to hear what you think and , to that end , if you have a moment , please head over to the website at choosetoeenjoycom , under the review section , or directly on Spotify or Apple Podcasts .
Head over there , rate the show , follow and even leave a written review if you choose to do so . Your honest feedback not only helps me improve , but it also helps the show reach more listeners , who can then benefit from the discussions we're having and use the information that guests are giving up their time to share with us . Rating and leaving a review .
It's super quick , but it really makes a difference in helping the show grow and improve . Tell me what you like , what you think could be better or any other thoughts you have about the show .
A new feature was just released , too , where you can now actually text me direct from the show notes on Spotify and Apple Podcast , so it really is super easy just to shoot a message over on a specific episode or topic or whatever else you wanna let me know something about .
It isn't about boosting numbers it doesn't really do anything at all for that but it's about understanding your wants and needs better , so that I can keep doing the things you enjoy and tweak or change the things you don't . So there's your call to action .
Please leave a quick rating , send me a quick text or take a few extra seconds to write a review , which is only available on Apple at the moment . Every bit of feedback is invaluable to me as I learn and I'm excited to hear directly from you .
Thanks in advance for being such a vital part of our small but growing community and helping make Choose to Endure the best it can be , by listening , contributing and engaging . Remember the journey to endurance doesn't end here .
I hope you'll continue to grow and learn together with me as we try to understand more about this amazing hobby we choose to pursue over this coming season . Thanks for listening .
Don't forget to tune in next time for probably the last bonus episode , where I'll share some interesting analytics about you guys , the audience , so you can get an idea of who's listening and also share some answers you guys provided to the what is your why question that I recently posed in the Facebook group .
So if you haven't shared your why and you would like to . You've still got a little bit of time to go ahead and do that . I'll be back next week . Until then , remember , run long , run strong and keep choosing to endure .