The ZenRUN Podcast

Five months to Delirious West 2027, and Stuart Rainbow’s foot is finally starting to play the game. Which is rather handy when you’re planning to cover 200 miles. 😂 After spending much of this year recovering from a ruptured plantar fascia, Stuart has started putting some proper running back together. There’s even a bit of speed work creeping into the program, although Stuart admits that particular combination of speed work and enthusiasm may need to be handled carefully. There was also a fairly significant little milestone this month. For the first time since February, Stuart managed to get beyond a distance that had become a bit of a mental barrier. We chat about what training looks like from here as the long runs and hills begin to build, why walking and hiking are very deliberately part of the plan, and the ever-growing collection of gear apparently required to run Delirious. There’s also some backyard ultra news, an unfortunate incident involving an eight-year-old pair of running shorts, and yes... The sand gaiters are back. 😂 2 Rivers Backyard Ultra: https://northvicbyu.com/2-rivers-backyard-ultra Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website: https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387 💛 Want a running plan that actually fits your life? ZenRUN Coach gives you personalised running coaching without the rigid schedule or the price tag of traditional 1:1 coaching. Your training is built around your goals, your experience and the time you actually have available. Then, as life, fatigue and training change, your plan can change with you. You’ll know what to do, why you’re doing it, and how to adjust when the week doesn’t go perfectly. Less guessing. Less guilt about missed sessions. More running with a plan that makes sense for you. 👉 Join ZenRUN Coach 🙏 A couple of big favours If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you, or someone you know, has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.

Nikki Frost is back for her first Delirious West 2027 check-in, and apparently there is absolutely nothing interesting happening. Except there kind of is. 😂 Training is going well, there are no injuries, and Nikki has been getting out of Melbourne to find some proper hills. One particular session at the Thousand Steps turned into quite the ego boost, complete with encouragement from strangers and even a proposal or two. Meanwhile, Kosciuszko 100 miler is getting very close. Naturally, Nikki has booked the campervan. She has not looked properly at the mandatory gear list, is still wondering what shoes she might wear, and has somehow spent more time thinking about whether the microwave in the camper will work than some of the finer details of the race. We also get into the one thing she is watching carefully as the longer distances build again, plus the ongoing question of who might end up crewing and pacing her at Delirious??? As usual, Nikki appears very calm about all of this. Possibly too calm. 😂 Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website Event Facebook group 💛 Want a running plan that actually fits your life? ZenRUN Coach gives you personalised running coaching without the rigid schedule or the price tag of traditional 1:1 coaching. Your training is built around your goals, your experience and the time you actually have available. Then, as life, fatigue and training change, your plan can change with you. You’ll know what to do, why you’re doing it, and how to adjust when the week doesn’t go perfectly. Less guessing. Less guilt about missed sessions. More running with a plan that makes sense for you. 👉 Join ZenRUN Coach 🙏 A couple of big favours 1️⃣ If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. 2️⃣ I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you (or someone you know) has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.

Have you ever paid attention to the way your legs naturally swing when you run? This week's ZenRUN Moment is about something we don't often think about: feeling the natural swing of your legs. When we're running, it's easy to focus on pushing harder, lifting our knees or trying to make every stride count. But running isn't just about strength and effort. There's also a lovely natural rhythm to it, and sometimes we make things harder by trying to control every movement. On your next run, take a moment to notice your legs moving underneath you. Forward, back, forward, back. Feel that pendulum-like motion and see if you can relax into the rhythm rather than forcing it. You're not trying to change your running technique or make your stride longer. Just notice how your legs move and whether you can let go of any unnecessary tension. You might find that the movement starts to feel a little smoother and more comfortable. And there's a nice little reminder here for everyday life too. Sometimes we're so busy trying to push through everything that we forget there's another way. We can still put in the effort without forcing every little thing. So give this a go on your next run. Instead of thinking about pushing yourself forward, see if you can simply enjoy the rhythm of moving. Small moments of awareness like this can completely change the way running feels. 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do—Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again A couple of small favours 1️⃣ If you're enjoying the podcast, a quick follow, like, or review helps more runners discover it. 2️⃣ Got a running story - or know someone we should chat with? I'd love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected]

Ashling Rogan is back for her first Delirious West 2027 check-in, and apparently training was going beautifully. Until it wasn’t. 😂 Ash admits she has a slightly all-or-nothing approach when life gets busy. Miss one session, then another, and suddenly it becomes very tempting to declare the whole week a write-off and start again on Monday. Which, I suspect, may sound familiar to more than a few runners. Fortunately, she isn’t particularly stressed about it, because there’s something rather substantial sitting on the calendar very soon. Feral Pig. And Ash is taking on the 100K. We chat about how she’s approaching that one as part of the bigger Delirious picture, plus a couple of things she’s learning along the way about strength, gear and what happens when you start spending a lot more hours on tired legs. There’s also one part of Delirious Ash already knows she may not enjoy very much, thanks to seeing it firsthand while working as a medic. Plenty to test at Feral before we catch up again. Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website: https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do - Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again 🙏 A couple of big favours 1️⃣ If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. 2️⃣ I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you, or someone you know, has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.

When we first met Brad Halls, he was heading towards another Delirious W.E.S.T. 200 miler with plans for plenty of hiking, hills and hopefully a little better nutrition. A few weeks later, his knee has decided it would like some attention too. Brad has now had an MRI, although he points out this was also a handy way of avoiding the blood test he was supposed to have. 😂 The results have given him a few things to think about, and he’s still waiting to find out exactly what they mean for his Delirious training. After several weeks without running, there’s also been one very cautious little test run, with Brad admitting he was almost too scared to do it because he didn’t really want to know the answer. We also get into his current hiking plans, a rather hefty new weighted vest and somehow discover that Brad managed to break a pole during Delirious this year. Apparently there was another casualty in that incident too. But Brad seems considerably more upset about the pole. 😂 For now, the 200 miler is still very much the plan. We’ll see what the next few weeks bring. Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website – https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do - Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again 🙏 A couple of big favours If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you (or someone you know) has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.

Shane Connolly is currently travelling around Europe, lives out of a Troopy when he’s back in Australia, and has signed up for his first 200 miler. This feels entirely consistent with the rest of his life. 😂 In this first catch-up for the Delirious West 2027 series, we get to know Shane and how a bloke who discovered he was pretty handy at a 5K rather quickly found himself wanting to run much, much further. There’s a travelling lifestyle that has taken him around Australia and now Europe, a love of exploring places on foot, and a tendency to choose running challenges that scare him just enough to keep things interesting. We also chat about why Shane spent three months living near the course before his first 100 miler, what he’s learned from volunteering at Delirious for the past two years, and the slightly unusual Delirious training block currently happening somewhere between the Dolomites, France and whatever country comes next. There is one small complication involving a knee. And Shane is also, by his own admission, very competitive. This could get interesting. Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website: https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do - Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again 🙏 A couple of big favours 1️⃣ If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. 2️⃣ I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you (or someone you know) has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.

Paige Krekeler is back for her first Delirious West 2027 check-in, and apparently things have become rather busy since we last spoke. She now has a coach, an Achilles that is allowing her to “run-ish”, and a 100K race coming up that she openly admits she is not trained for. So, everything is going beautifully. 😂 The 100K has a purpose though. Paige needs it as a qualifier for another race she desperately wants to do, which means finishing is considerably more important than doing it quickly. Before that, there’s also a weekend pacing a friend at Javelina, creating the slightly awkward question of just how much running Paige should do one week before her own race. We also discover that Paige’s definition of “not training very much” may be slightly different from the average person’s, and start getting into another puzzle that could become pretty important by the time Delirious rolls around. Food. Because finding something Paige likes, can actually eat while running, and that her stomach agrees with is proving surprisingly complicated. Plenty to report back on next time. Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website: https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do - Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again 🙏 A couple of big favours 1️⃣ If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. 2️⃣ I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you (or someone you know) has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.

Have you ever been halfway through a run when a little voice in your head suddenly says, "Maybe that's enough for today"? 😄 This week's ZenRUN Moment is about noticing the moment you want to stop. It happens to all of us. Sometimes it's because we're tired, uncomfortable or struggling up a hill. Other times we're bored, distracted or simply not feeling it. And sometimes stopping really is the right decision. But rather than immediately acting on that thought, what if you took a moment to get curious about where it came from? On your next run, if that little voice pops up, try noticing it without judging yourself. What's happening? Are your legs genuinely tired? Is something hurting? Are you stressed about something else? Or have you just reached a hill you'd rather not climb? 😄 Take a breath, ease your pace if you need to, and give yourself a moment to decide what you actually need. This isn't about pushing through pain or forcing yourself to keep going. It's about recognising the difference between a thought and a decision. And it's a useful skill beyond running too. We don't have to react to every thought the moment it appears. Sometimes a little curiosity gives us space to make a better choice. Small moments of awareness like this can completely change the way running feels. 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do—Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again A couple of small favours 1️⃣ If you're enjoying the podcast, a quick follow, like, or review helps more runners discover it. 2️⃣ Got a running story - or know someone we should chat with? I'd love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected]

Levi Quinton is back for his first Delirious West 2027 check-in, although his preparation has taken a slightly unusual turn. Instead of spending the weekend out on the trails, Levi climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest on a StairMaster. For 16 hours. 😳 It was all to raise money for Telethon, and what started as a fairly modest fundraising goal turned into something much bigger than he expected. A couple of days later, though, Levi is feeling the effects. There are sore quads, a body that isn’t quite behaving itself and another big event sitting only a few weeks away. So we chat about what that means for Feral Pig, and the not-always-easy job of making a smart decision when part of you really wants to race. There’s also a useful little crossover between 16 relentless hours on a StairMaster and preparing for Delirious. Sometimes looking at the whole thing is far too much. You just need to work out what the next little target is. Plenty still to figure out, and hopefully considerably less StairMaster time from here. 😂 Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website – https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do - Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again 🙏 A couple of big favours 1️⃣ If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. 2️⃣ I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you (or someone you know) has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.

Kat Booth is back for our second monthly medic catch-up in the Delirious West 2027 series, and this time we're getting into some of the things you might want to think about before heading out for 100 or 200 miles. And we've got questions from listeners! 🎉 Chelsea has sent through a few good ones, including a question about the little foot care kits Kat made for her and Scott Bunny last year. Apparently Scott was rather excited about his little toolbox. 😂 So what exactly should your crew have ready when you arrive at an aid station with feet that aren't quite as happy as they were at the start? We also get into something a little more serious. Painkillers. Kat has some strong advice about certain medications during these very long events, and there's a good reason she wants runners and crews to understand the risks. And Chelsea's question about butt chafing? We're saving that one for another episode. Apparently there's plenty to discuss! Got a question for Kat? We're collecting questions from runners for our upcoming monthly chats. Whether you're preparing for Delirious or another big ultra, we'd love to hear what you want to ask the medic. 👉 Submit your questions for Kat here If you're training for Delirious, this is another chat worth listening to! Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website: https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387 💛 Running used to clear your head. Now it’s another thing weighing on it. Let’s change that. If you’re tired of dragging yourself out the door, feeling guilty when you don’t, or comparing every run to what you used to do - Feel Like a Runner Again is for you. This practical program helps you quiet the mental noise, drop the pressure, and rediscover running as time for yourself. Less “I should go for a run.” More “I’ve missed this.” 👉 https://www.zenrun.app/courses/feel-like-a-runner-again 🙏 A couple of big favours 1️⃣ If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast - it helps more runners discover these conversations. 2️⃣ I’m always looking for runners to interview. If you (or someone you know) has a running story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Find me on Facebook or Instagram @ZenRUN.club Or email [email protected] 🎧 Don’t miss an episode Subscribe to the ZenRUN Podcast in your favourite podcast app so new conversations land straight in your ears.