Ben Gibbard talks ultras, sobriety, music on the run much more

Paralympic royalty joins Rick and Ben this week as Richard Whitehead MBE came in for a chat. We talked about how he continues to get faster with age, how is training is continually evolving and the key thing all runners need to do to keep improving. Plus we talk about the 2012 legacy and how he wants nothing more than for people with disabilities have access to the joys of movement and sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining Rick and Ben this week if Death Cab for Cutie frontman, Ben Gibbard. An accomplished ultra runner as well as a musician, Ben's journey into running is a fascinating one and he's so into it, he's even designed his own running shoe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining Rick and Ben this week is Sam Tomlinson, a runner who has completed some of the biggest races in the world, yet he's also DNF'd and DNS'd them all too. In the podcast this week, we talk about "failure" in running and why it's so important, misunderstood and treated with shame rather than as part of the natural process of improving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and comedian Paul 'Tonky' Tonkinson joins us on the podcast this week to talk finding his running mojo again, why he needed to race the MdS (and what he thinks about the race), training incidents with dogs, writing his new book, why running will always be part of his life and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He's written a book about ageing and running, so Damian Hall is back on the podcast to encourage us all to keep going as we age. We chat around the health benefits, but also how to continue to be competitive, the best approach to training, why the right attitude to age can make all the difference and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the podcast, Rick and Ben are joined by Hugo Fry, a running influencer who brings a much lighter and entertaining side to the world of 'runfluencing', whilst also being an undeniably fast runner. We chat about Hugo's route into running, his training, the best way to cook rice, why running is just a hobby and shouldn't be that serious and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A moment in history happened at the 2026 London Marathon as Sabastian Sawe became the first person to run a sub-2 hour marathon. Rick and Ben chat about this incredible run, the history behind this moment and what it means for the future of distance running, especially now that Yomif Kejelcha has also broken the two hour mark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rick and Ben are joined by Rachel and Joe and between them all, they've run quite a few marathons, so they're sharing all they know about about what to do and what not to do when it comes to running 26.2 miles successfully. We've got advice on how to fuel the race, why the heat can make all the difference, how to navigate the expo, supporting advice and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor, James Norton, joined Ben and AT (from Men's Health) for this special joint podcast to talk all about his prep ahead of running his first marathon at London Marathon at the end of the month. We chatted training, how he structures it all around filming, why we need to bring back those mini trampolines from the 90's, how he manages his T1D with training and much, much more. James is raising money for Breakthrough T1D, a charity that helps young people with Type 1 diabetes. Here is his JustGiving page Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Dr Miranda Layton aka Dr_Mimi_Runs, a running influencer who is also an actual doctor, using her platform to try and stop the spread of misinformation for runners online. She's also got a marathon PB of 3:03, so we chat about her taking about that, how she started running and much, much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices