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Beyond the splits
EP3 - Commonwealths preview, World Ultimates and the Boston lottery.
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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.
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EP15: the ups and downs of the Great North Run + World Ultimates review
01:34:59|This week on Beyond the Splits, Russell takes us through his Great North Run and, let’s just say, it did not go to plan. He breaks down what went wrong, how the race felt, and what comes next. Elsewhere, Elle’s marathon training build is starting to gather pace (+volume).And then it’s time for a full World Ultimate Championships review. We go race by race, revisit the big performances, discuss the surprises and disappointments, and — most importantly — find out how our predictions actually held up.Who got their picks right? Who completely bottled it? And who is going to have to hear about it until the next episode?EP14: the one about setting goals - process vs performance, A/B/C goals and what to do when it all falls apart
01:03:47|How do you actually set a goal for a race? And what happens when it falls apart halfway through? This week Elle and Russel break down their real approach to goal setting: the A/B/C framework in practice, why performance (i.e. time) might not be the only measure of success, and the goals they're happy to shout about publicly versus the ones they keep to themselves because they sound a bit ridiculous out loud. Plus: what really happens in your head when the A goal slips away mid-race, and how to find something else to hold onto.EP13: Who needs rest days anyway? Marathon training setbacks, team relays, Zurich DL and World Ultimates predictions
01:30:46|This week on Beyond the Splits, Elle and Russell get into the highs and lows of their training this last week, with both hosts navigating their own challenges and some big successes.Russell opens up about a frustrating week dealing with back, hamstring and calf issues, dropping his mileage dramatically and discovering the unexpected joys of the stair stepper. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of discussion around the mental side of being injured - from the strange relief of being forced to rest to the temptation to rush straight back into training.Elle talks through her own return to faster running, including bike sessions, marathon-pace work and a successful comeback to longer running.There’s also a look at the Leeds Country Way Relay, a challenging 100km off-road team event, and a brilliant win for Elle’s women’s team.Plus, we dive into the latest (and final) Diamond League action, make our questionable predictions World Ultimates, and discuss the latest spicy interviews.EP12: Room 101 - Running Edition
37:10|This week, we’re doing something a bit different… it’s Room 101 for running. We each bring the things in the sport that drive us absolutely mad - the habits, trends, behaviours, kit choices, and everyday runner quirks we’d happily banish forever.From training clichés to Strava crimes, running etiquette and daily annoyances, we discuss what deserves to be locked away in the vault. Expect some controversial opinions (ahem - Russel), petty grievances, and some things that I'm sure we've all thought at times.The perfect listen for anyone who loves running but has a few things they’d happily throw into Room 101 and never see again.
EP11 - World records in Zurich, Sydney marathon
01:25:52|It’s episode 11 of Beyond the Splits and we’re officially into double figures!This week we’re reviewing the latest Diamond League action in Zurich which gave us world records, an incredible pole vault competition and great 800m races.We also get into the reality of marathon training as autumn road races get ever closer. How much is too much? When should you back off? And how easy is it to become completely obsessed with mileage, pace and Strava stats?We admit our own “toxic running habits” - from comparing ourselves to other runners on Strava, to judging people’s choice of hydration vest, and the controversial question of whether you should pause your watch at traffic lights.Plus, we revisit our conversation with Natasha Wilson and what we learned from hearing about her marathon training, including the fact that an elite marathon build doesn’t always have to be the perfect, uninterrupted block.
EP10 - Q&A with Natasha Wilson: 2.24 marathoner and fifth in Europe
57:46|In this episode, we talk to Natasha Wilson (née Cockram), 2:24 marathoner, about the highs, lows and breakthroughs of her journey so far - from breaking the Welsh marathon record multiple times, to narrowly missing out on the Tokyo Olympics, running a huge 2:24:21 PB in Valencia in 2025 and backing that up with a fifth place finish in the European Championships earlier this month. We also get into the realities of elite marathon training, whether that's 3am alarms each week in order to practice the Birmingham route or running 120 miles a week mostly solo. We discuss what it takes to keep improving when you're already one of Britain's best marathoners.And with Natasha fresh from a fifth-place finish at the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham - and a European team gold medal with Great Britain - we ask what's next, and just how fast she thinks she can go.
EP9 - marathon sessions, fuelling, a half marathon world record and the diamond league returns
01:37:15|On this week's episode of Beyond the Splits, we're talking:💆 Physios, sports massages & why they hurt so much🏃 Our favourite marathon training sessions🍝 How we fuel for a marathon⚡ Kejelcha's new half marathon world record (ratification pending...)💎 Lausanne & Silesia Diamond League debriefs🇨🇭 What we're looking forward to at Zurich🎵 Mondo Duplantis' latest banger👀 The latest in the Josh and Jakob saga
EP8 - Euros: the good, the bad and the return of Jakob
01:22:58|On this week's episode:🏃Russel smashes his parkrun PB and continues to knock out 100 mile weeks🦶Elle is still managing an achilles issue - we chat about the physical and psychological impacts of dealing with injuries and niggles🎟️Why do some races still not allow entry transfers?👟 New York marathon fields have been released! Including one HUGE debut from the newly crowned European 10k champ⏱️We're in for a treat with two STACKED diamond leagues this week in Lausanne and Silesia. Will Jakob come back as king of the1500? 🇪🇺 We debrief the biggest moments of the European champs, including the best races, most iconic moments and biggest surprises. How did our predictions go from last week? Safe to say, neither of us could predict the men's 1500!
EP7 - Athlete Q&A: Lisa Hart on winning the London marathon mass race
01:28:27|A deep‑dive conversation with Lisa Hart, the first female finisher in the 2026 London Marathon mass race, and one of the most compelling breakthrough stories in British distance running at the moment. We debrief her fantastic 2.30 performance in London. From there, we rewind to Lisa’s running origins and rapid progression - including her leap from a first sub‑3 marathon in 2024 to becoming one of the fastest amateur women in the UK just two years later. We talk about the mindset shifts, training changes, and decisions that fuelled her improvement, and the motivation to chase truly elite times in her thirties.Lisa also shares a more detailed look at her training and racing: typical mileage, her favourite sessions, how she approaches race strategy, and what she’s learned from competing across distances from 5K to the marathon. Finally, we look ahead to her future goals - the races she’s targeting next, the times she believes she can run, and what excites her about the next stage in her running journey.