Beyond the splits

This week on Beyond the Splits, we’re riding the highs and lows of training. Russel is cruising through big mileage and brunch‑fuelled long runs, while Elle nails two huge sessions… before disaster strikes with a surprise Achilles niggle. We talk shoe rotations, injuries, and why running friendships are basically built on talking about running.We also get hyped for the European Championships which run this week. We break down Jakob’s much anticipated return, and lock in our podium picks for the distance events.

This week on Beyond the Splits, Elle and Russel catch up on a packed seven days of running — from double‑days to mile relays and getting competitive at parkrun. Then it’s onto the Commonwealth Games athletics, where we unpack the standout performances of the Commonwealth Games (from a British perpective) - including Josh Kerr's statement win, Elise Thorner's surprise silver and Georgia Hunter-Bell's tactical brilliance. We also reflect on British highs, lows, injuries, and what the results mean heading into the European Championships (full preview to come next week!).

We sit down with 800m runner Lucy Armitage, who just achieved a bronze medal behind Georgia Hunter-Bell at the UK Championships. We chat about her background, development over the last few years and breakthrough in the last 12 months. We also discuss her comeback from injury, mindset and her goals in the sport.

Elle and Russel preview the Commonwealth Games ahead of the athletics kicking off on Monday 27th. Highlights include the men's mile, where we expect Josh Kerr, Jake Wightman and Cameron Myers' to be the main contenders, and the women's 800m battle between Georgia Hunter Bell and Lilian Odera. We also cover the growing list of withdrawals (Eilish McColgan, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Matt Hudson-Smith and more) and why the Euros seem to be the priority for most people this year.Away from the track, we have some thoughts on the Boston Marathon's questionable new lottery-style entry system for athletes who hit the qualifying time but missed the cut-off, plus a look at innovations coming to September's World Ultimate Championships.Before all that, the usual check in on our own marathon builds 12 weeks out from Amsterdam, including how not to fuel a long run session, and the "rule of thirds" for making peace with a bad session.

Welcome to the second episode of the Beyond the Splits podcast, in conjunction with the Positive Split media platform.This week we react to Josh Kerr's mile world record at the Diamond League — including the pacing strategy, the spike technology, and other standout performances such as those from Brits Jake Heyward and Arlo Ludewick. We also get into some controversial results from short 10kms and downhill 5kms, and what should or shouldn't count. Later, we get into our own upcoming marathon block: how we structure long runs, when to add marathon pace, and why we're using upcoming races as training sessions.Follow our socials:Positive Split: @_positivesplit on Instagram and @ThePositiveSplit on YouTube.Russel: @therunningmanc on InstagramElle: @elle_warren on Instagram

Welcome to the very first episode of the Beyond the Splits podcast, in conjunction with the Positive Split media platform. UK marathon runners Elle (@elle_warren) and Russel (@therunningmanc) join forces to discuss all things running. On this episode, we discuss our running backgrounds and what is lined up this year, the London marathon ballot and double day, plus what we expect to see at London Diamond League on the 18th July. Follow our socials: Positive Split: @_positivesplit on Instagram and @ThePositiveSplit on YouTube. Russel: @therunningmanc on Instagram Elle: @elle_warren on Instagram