Latest / 12 Months to Marathon / Episode 118 — Does Running Really Make Us Happy? With Pete Goldring

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Episode 118 — Does Running Really Make Us Happy? With Pete Goldring · 12 Months to Marathon

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the 12 months to marathon podcast.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's me, John Hill, the running podcast for the over 35 with Marathon Dreams, episode 118.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm joined by a very special guest today.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm joined by Pete Goldring.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Pete, how are you?
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: I'm good, mate.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: How are you?
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very well, sir.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very well.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for asking.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: So a little bit of background on Pete.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'll let him do the full intro.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Pete is the co-founder of Happy Stride and also the host of another running podcast called Running Makes Me Happy.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to get Pete on because I had a quick check through his profile as we do on Instagram.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm hopefully, as you know from listening to the podcast while I'm very interested on how running impacts the wider world and particularly the relationship with mental health and how it can you know improve mental health and contribute to that, not only in terms of ourselves physically, uh, but also in terms of how it can build community and things like that.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I don't particularly, you know, into in the sense of Pete, it was not really about sort of any particular running distance or getting faster or hitting PBs or marathons, it was more about something much simpler, really, which is does running actually make us happy and what happens when we start doing something because we enjoy weather instead of adding different pressures on us because sometimes I think not to go off on a tangent, but running can uh become a pressure for people and it can stress people out.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it should, I don't think it should ever stress people out um more than it should alleviate.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to get into that as well.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: So the first question, Pete, for me, I wanted to go back to the beginning really.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, what was your relationship with running and fitness when you were younger, and how did running eventually become a big part of your life?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so firstly, thanks for having me on, John.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: I'm really excited, really excited to chat to you today.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I basically uh ran at school, did a bit of a bit of cross country and and athletics like you do.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I was I was quite good.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: I wasn't I was probably I'd say, you know, sort of mid mid to top.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then I sort of took a bit of a break from running, I suppose, from say age 15, 16 up till probably early 20s, where drinking a lot and and all of those sort of things.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: And then I was working in advertising uh in in London, um, and I was uh working with a guy who who was into a lot of running, you may know or heard of called James Elson, who is who's the founder of Centurion Running.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: And um he was he was running marathons and ultras, and he basically um said, Do you want to do a marathon?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: And uh trained, was doing a little bit of running and uh trained for that marathon in three months, and then uh sort of got hooked on it from there, and then uh then he said, Do you want to try an ultra?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: And and did that.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: And um yeah, so I've been running about 17 years now, and um that's that's how I got into it.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: So I've got James to thank for that.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um so yeah.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Which was the uh what was the first marathon you did?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: Halsted, uh Essex marathon.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um so yeah, I I'm based in uh Leoncy in Essex.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Right, okay.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: So it's uh it's not far from me.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, ran 344 uh in a cotton t-shirt and a pair of uh pair of shorts.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: I I remember our um I remember our we we didn't take gels, we had little miles bars, little mini miles bars.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: There was no gels or anything like that, and uh yeah, managed to manage to to get around with James and uh yeah, sort of as I said, I've been hooked ever since and um it's a it's a massive part of my life.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it it helps all the parts of my life, um, particularly, you know, running for your mental health.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, I I and obviously starting Happy Stride.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um I absolutely love running.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a it's it's a big part of my life.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, obviously, yeah.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Brilliant, thank you.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it's funny, isn't it, you're saying that how weird it is when we talk we look at things now and we talk about running in a cotton t-shirt and easy mini miles bars, and we think about now when you get to the start line and everyone's sort of you know spandexed up and dry fitness and dry fit that, and you know, you can pay 80 quid for a uh a vest for running.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: It's funny, yeah, and carbon shows and and and and everything else, yeah, yeah.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: And watches, yeah, watches very different now.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Watches, yeah.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Mine's uh mine's been misbehaving recently, which makes me wonder why we uh we put so much emphasis on those things, but that's a that's a podcast from another day.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, your podcast is called Running Makes Me Happy, which I think is a fantastic name.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: So at what point, Pete, did you realise that running was giving you something beyond just getting fitter?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think so so I was about 25 when I started running.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so obviously it's a long I'm 42 now.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I think when I I suppose when I first started running, like I don't think men's like mental health wasn't really spoken about uh 17 years ago.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I I knew that running gave me that buzz, those endorphins, etc.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: But probably didn't really realise how much it it did help me.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um but I did notice if I didn't run, you know, how how you how you felt.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I suppose I suppose probably so we started Happy Stride seven years ago.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I would say it was probably eight or nine years ago, I'd say, but like, yeah, that's that's when I sort of started to realise how much running helps helps your mental health.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um so so yeah, and I think and then I think in COVID then mental health became even bigger, didn't it?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um with people competing with lockdown and and and all the all the things that happened in COVID.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, it's uh I'd say probably over the last eight or nine sort of ten years, it's it's I've realized how much it helps your mental health, my mental health.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: So just to just to challenge you slightly a little bit, Pete, because obviously happy happy is a main theme of of everything that you do clearly on the title stuff.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Is does the question the killer question here is does running always make you happy?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh well, it depends what you're doing, doesn't it?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like yeah, so I've run anything from 5k up to my longest run.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: I've done an ultra marathon 103 miles in one go.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I always get this in ultras where you know, especially a long one like that, where you're out there for say 24 hours, yeah, you you uh you you do regret your life decisions quite a bit in those types of races and think, why am I doing this?
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: What am I doing here?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: Particularly when you're in a hotel room on your own and the alarm goes off at 4 a.m.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: and you think bloody hell, what am I doing?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but but then you really then you then you get through those bits, and then when you finish, you're you're absolutely buzzing.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you know, like I've DNF'd some races where you not not many actually, but I've done the odd odd ultra or um missed your time target if you're going for no, I spent a lot of years, probably five or six years, being obsessed with sub-free marathons.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, no, that one.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and it took me three or four years to actually do it, yeah.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but then managed to do it four times.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and um I you know, like it I just kept coming so close, like you know, 303 and and and 304, 305, whatever, and then you're just like, and then when you do it, so you you are right.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um I I love the fear, I love that saying, you know, you never regret a run.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um if you don't want to, you know, we talk a lot about how running makes you happy, but I I don't think you ever ever regret a run, and that could be you know, one mile, uh a run walk one mile.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_02: I think you're always gonna feel better for getting out there and moving.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_02: So running doesn't necessarily make you happy all the time.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's I definitely sort of agree with that, but I think um I think normally you you you don't regret it.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: And and and may and and maybe you're not happy during the during the run sometimes, but you know, normally after once you've finished and you you've you've had a shower and you you put your feet up, you you are normally quite proud of what you've what you've just done, I'd say.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for that.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it took me five years to get sub three with a little bit of covet in between.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh in fact, actually, I was I was probably in the I was probably in the the the right shape in 2020.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, the Manchester Marathon and they cancelled it two weeks before I was uh I was about to go out and do it.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: But I'm I got there in just by uh yeah, Manchester as well, got my PB actually, 256.01.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, mine was 256.39 now is that for uh is that funny?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, that was Manchester Mine as well, too, 2023.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Manchester mine.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: I love I love Manchester, it's such a great one.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a great one.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so going on that, actually, because that's quite an interesting point that you made there in terms of the similarities.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes, I don't know about you've experienced this, but that's my question, really.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's yeah, you know, putting unnecessary pressure on yourself, particularly when you talk about going for a time, and and bearing in mind for all the listeners out there, when we talk about going for a time, it that's contextual to you.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, for some people that's sub three, for some people that's sub four, some people that's sub five.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, go going for these times.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you are going for a time, which as I keep talking about, is okay, by the way, you are allowed to do that.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's quite it can put excess pressure on yourself.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever experienced that?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: Well, put too much pressure on the side.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like so it's become a bit like, yeah, it has become not like a massive stressor, but it has become a little bit of a burden.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think yeah, I think it's the sub the sub three.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: So going for that, you know, putting so much into it, and each time, you know, you you do all that training for say three months, and then you it comes to race day and and you and you miss it, or um, and definitely and I do think that I was saying this the other day, that there is um there's there's definitely a difference between road racing and ultras in terms of I think with ultras there's less time pressure, it's just about finishing the race.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, you're standing on your local, you know, you do your local 10k, everyone's standing on the start line, elbowing each other and and and trying to, you know, I think there's a there's still a lot of pressure on uh, you know, especially particularly I'm on Strava, um, particularly things like Strava and and things like that.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I think we talk about it a lot more now at Happy Stride around finish lines, not finished times.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, all running is good running, and I think I definitely think I have, yeah, definitely at some stages put too much pressure on myself, but I suppose to combat that the pressure probably actually probably may, you know, helped me run the sub-free.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like the first time I ever ran the sub-3 in Amsterdam uh in 2017, I ran 259 uh 19, and the last six miles I was in bits, and I was literally my brain, my body wanted to give up, but my brain I kept telling not to give up, and I came over the finish line and I um did it obviously, and then uh sort of like when I passed out and then went straight into a medical tent um and I'd overheated and I'd overheated.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: So I um so they just brought my temperature down and I was fine, but then obviously my brain not giving up allowed made me make made me allowed me to get the sub free, but then I sort of did sort of think a bit, this is a bit silly because I've ended up in a medical tent and my wife was doing the half marathon, which is weirdly in Amsterdam, they do the marathon in the morning and the half in the afternoon.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_02: And um obviously my phone had probably gone off like you know, she was probably trying to ring me one and weren't wondering what's going on, but uh yeah, I definitely so it is a bit of a it's a bit of a catch 22, isn't it?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_02: Because I feel like you need the pressure to to put yourself under pressure to to to I suppose to hit the performance, but then you don't want it to be too much.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's I've changed a bit now as I've got a bit older, I've become less about the times, and and I suppose I'm now more focusing on ultras because I enjoy being out there and and and and running and and not really thinking about the time as much.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean I've interviewed a few ultras runners and they've they've told me actually that there's certainly a different vibe um when you're when you're doing that type of race.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's the it's the the uh the the I'll I'll say this word that is the word they've used is more friendly.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, camaraderie.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Everyone wants everyone wants everyone to finish.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, they're all like you know, they're friendly, like they're you know, you have you you're chatting a lot.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas I think in a road race, a half marathon marathon, they are great events.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I I still I think I'm I'm I'll be doing London marathon next year, which I'm gonna love, but like I definitely feel like there is a difference in terms of you know, everyone talks about PBs and times in in those types of races.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: I think and there's nothing wrong with that as well.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, I was about to say that.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think there's that there's I've I've talked about this a lot, I've mentioned this on a few pods, and I get I've talked about it a lot on my Instagram as well.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think the problem is at the moment, I think, and this is a world problem, we won't go down this rabbit hole, is everything's binary, so it's like there's there has to be like a right and a wrong.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: That there's not like a well, actually, what do you want to do and trying to find some sort of middle ground?
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Everything has to be one extreme or the other.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes it's either we've now got this thing where there's like this like snu there's like this slow running snobbery thing now.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like you know, people are like showing off that they're running slow and then using it as a tool to beat up people who want to run fast, and it's like, well, if you want to run fast, that's okay.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to run slow, that's okay.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't it none of this matters, it it shouldn't matter, it should be any anyone's business, and that but you're right, what they what it then does is it then puts people under extra pressure because if somebody says, actually, I want to get faster, uh, and that the that's okay as long as you don't use it as a stick to try and beat other people with.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I think it it's all um it's all subjective, isn't it?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's all it's all down to the person, and there's the there's nothing wrong with people running, it's all you know, as you just said, someone might be going for a sub five, someone might be going for a sub four, someone might be going for sub three in a marathon.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: You all get the same medal, and that that's what I love about you know, you look at London Marathon this year.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you had two two guys who ran under two hours, and I don't know what the the person who this last person was, but they got the same medal.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they ran they ran the same route, um, and they were part of that historic day.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I think um I think running and we we're learning that you know, we've learnt this with Happish Tribe of the colourful stuff, it's it's becoming more I think you know 15 years ago, something when I started running, it was all about you know, PBs and times and and and and and obviously it still is, but I think now running's become more inclusive.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely like as as running has grown, uh it's it's become more inclusive, and I think it's it is becoming less about times, I'd say.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: When you I think when you started running, actually, and I've noticed this, and this is one of the interesting things, and I mentioned this in another podcast as well.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think because marathons, like years ago, like in the 80s with the old vest or like marathons were always running events.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think some of the more grizzled veterans in marathon running can't conceptualize people walking.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's like well, that this is a running event, so why are people but actually that's because you're right, it's change now.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is different, it's more inclusive.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: There are more charity spots, and these more the bigger ones, particularly, are more like events versus actual just 300 people racing as fast as they can.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I think sometimes people, because they're a bit old school, a bit grizzled, they can't understand why anybody would not want to go for a time.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I hear people say like how much how the London marathon has changed, you know, it's become now more of like it's more like you know, it's more people wearing fancy dress, they you know, it's about raising money and getting round, versus as you just said, like old school is about you know you getting round in in that time.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and there's nothing wrong, as well as as I said, there's nothing wrong with both, really.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's down to the person, isn't it?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think one of the one of the best quotes I ever heard about, sort of particularly on the mental health side, is that somebody else's success is not your failure, and vice versa.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um like this, these again, this won't go off on this tangent, but this like viciousness there is online about like I see people share on Instagram these comments that they get, and it's like they're it's like schoolyard, vicious, you know, you've taken somebody's place, and how dare you like there's a lady that I've interviewed on here, Chris um Christina Cocaluto, who's who raised like 40 grand,$40,000 for the Boston Marathon.
• 17:38
  unknown: Wow.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: And there were and that yeah, and there were people like for cancer charities, and there were people like digging her out saying you're you've you're you charity runners and all this, and this one forty thousand dollars she raised.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, so so speaking of Happy Stride, uh Pete, where did the idea come from and what were you hoping to create when you co-founded it?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: So so I read the book Shoe Dog, which is oh yeah, so yeah, you you may have read it.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: The story of Nike.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a great book, it's a great life book and and business book, and obviously was into probably nine nine years into my running journey then.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I just loved the whole story around how he's Nike started, he was selling trainers, you know, and it started off as a running brand, and he was selling trainers out of his car.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I was working in advertising then, and and um probably like 15-16 years in, and like my wife and I had always spoken about, oh, should we try and do some sort of side hustle?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I thought it'd be good to do some after reading that because I'm inspired to do something with running and basically just noticed that uh at a parkrun that we that included myself, we all had black shorts on.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I started to think about you know, is there anyone in the UK sort of specializing in functional, colourful, bright running shorts?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: And there are a few American, there were a few like American companies, but there wasn't anyone really, so that's sort of where it was born.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the name came from you know how running makes me feel, like we all say running makes me happy, uh, and and from I suppose our um our like corporate social responsibilities around you know how running helps your mental health.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: So donating to mental health charities, so we donate a percentage of every sale to a mental health charity.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: So this year we're actually the last few years we've supported CARM, so campaign against the miserably.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: And that's I think the the the the vision, like where where we're aiming to get what we're aiming to do is is what we do do is is inspire happy running, really, and and movement.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: We don't really just say running, it's it could be walking, it could be hiking, it could be uh any sort of fitness really.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um we're sort of trying to inspire happy movement, I suppose.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now I've talked to a few people about this in something that I'm big on in terms of communities and forming communities, and I think that's I think that's become, in my opinion, even more important after the pandemic and also with the increase in social media, which I believe is actually isolating more than it's connecting in a human capacity.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's just my two cents.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: What so based on that then what do you um uh what do you think makes a genuinely good running community?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh so I suppose it's the inclusivity and and being able to uh you know we we uh we we we social media is a big part of what we do.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like we we looked for the name Happystride on Instagram before we looked for it on Company's House.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right, yeah, of course, yeah.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so like that that was more important than that at handle.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think it's about you know supporting each other and and being like we we talk to a lot of our customers on on social media and and and encouraging each other, like encouraging people and inspiring people, and that's why we you know we post a lot of inspiring running quotes.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: We post a lot of our running community actually on our Instagram.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: So someone will go and run the Chester Marathon.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: We had it on Sunday, someone ran the Chester, uh, guy called Phil ran the Chester Marathon, it was his first marathon.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um he sent us some photos and we posted that on the Monday, um you know, congratulating him.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so yeah, it's I think it's about being inclusive and and and we we listen to our we listen to our customers a lot in terms of with our products as well, yeah.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_02: How we do how we've developed our products over the years, like when our shorts, when our classic shorts first launched, which is our main two in one short, they just had an inner short and one back zip pocket.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: They've now got two side pouches, the back zip pocket, the um a key.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: pouch um we've now also bought out a pair of shorts with a running belt attached to them um so also like listening to feedback and and sort of working with our community but I think just I think the I suppose I've gone off on one here but support it I suppose the I you know supporting your community and giving back I don't think there's many running brands out there who will post you know post a lot about their customers um and and celebrating what they've done um so that's something we're we're pretty proud of good mate yeah good um yeah and I think the uh I obviously being of a certain age I like the Mr.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_02: Men and Miss you know yeah yeah that's something we only launched uh on the 1st of October what's your do you off the top of your head what you what's your best selling short design is there a particular one that goes more than others I think do you know what like so it's I think lots of people like black um even though and and and a lot of people buy our black plain shorts and do you know what for me that's a credit to our the functionality of our shorts because you can go you can go and buy a black pair of shorts from Sports Direct Ali that anyone uh and that is a credit to us and and I think a lot of the popular ones like the Leopard Prince the sometimes when there's like a black background with some colour on people like that but again the thing is like like Mr.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: Men and Little Miss like what maybe someone's favourite design what maybe your favourite design is not my uh is not my favourite design that's the great thing about Happystrade I feel like there's something for everyone I think that's that's sort of what we're saying about the new Mr.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: Men Little Miss collection yeah um you know which character which character is which character do you like but I think another thing Mr Men and and I think the way the world is like not you're not just one Mr Men or Little Miss character are you you're we're a we're all a bunch of lots of different characters depending on what's going on depending on what's going on in your life yeah absolutely how you're feeling one day you may be Mr Happy yeah the next day you may be Mr Grumpy yeah well that's why yeah I I that's why I love the um the the the film inside out the Pixar film because it's like at the end there's such a metaphor I'm very big on these metaphor I got perhaps it's perhaps I go too philosophical with this stuff but I love the metaphorical significance at the end the messages of the first film is no I'm sorry we need all you yeah we do need you we actually need you sadness as well as we need you happiness and we need you hanger we need we need everything so that's a that's a really important message so on that note I I speak a lot and I've spoken a lot about the difference between say running performance and identity so how we identify as we we we attach sort of our running to performance to us as humans so we'll say things like I am a slow runner I am a bad runner all of these things so in your opinion Pitt obviously with the with the mental health focus why do you think that we become so emotionally attached to our running performance maybe maybe it's social media maybe it's maybe it's things like Strava maybe it's you know I think like ever since I've been running like it's always there's been such a big thing around you know wearing a running watch isn't there and and times and and uh it's just I I I don't know I don't know how to answer that question really I I just feel like it's always been drummed into you since you start running around you know what P PBs PB like that's such a big thing isn't it to yeah like how much how much do people oh did you get a PB um and I think uh and now we've got this you know like now if you if you want to obviously there's a lot of people who aren't on Strava you know every run is posted on Strava um and I I absolutely love Strava to be honest I love you know supporting my yeah the the people I follow yeah um and uh it's nice to get kudos as as well um particularly if you do a race um so yeah I I don't know why there's such an emphasis on time.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think you've hit you well you've hit the n sort of my next question was about social media.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think if I talk about I can only speak to my own experience like it happens to me like I'm concerned about what my watch is saying not because it's I'm concerned about what it's saying because I'm concerned about how it looks and it's it's under the surface and I'm aware of that I'm like oh my heart rate's gone up a bit high that's going to make me look that I'm not as fit as I am or silly things like that and these are quite unconscious things so I think sometimes you're right I mean I know somebody with someone on on social media who messaged me once and said they don't use anything no watch no Strava that's a great that could be a great way to be or take or just do it now and then yeah because I think the thing is like if you do a if if your goal is to because people are running sub threes before anything before carbon plates before watches before Strava before 100% yeah and it's still counted didn't it so yeah it's interesting interesting I was listening to uh Spencer Matthews recent podcast with Paula Radcliffe uh that came out on Monday and and she was saying like when she was training for a 215 uh when she was got the world record she back then she just had a Casio watch yeah and and then she had she went to like a a loop which she knew was three and a half miles and basically ran round that loop.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah like now you think about what what the data you've got like in terms of how far you're running like and all that stuff like imagine now going for a run like imagine training for a run a 20 mile run without measure being able to measure it and I think I I remember actually in the early days of my running I used to use something called map my run.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah I mean I was a map my run when I first started yeah so you go on that you go on the route and you put the red line in and you'd be like if I run to there and back that's what it's gonna be.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah it's crazy isn't it the question to ask I think in this is well this the question to ask in a running sense is would I still would this matter if I would if this run wasn't recorded would it matter?
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly ask that question.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: And if your first answer is oh I need to make sure it's posted and I think you sometimes you've just got to maybe sit down and and look at that.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think in terms of your decision making in general I think if you're making decisions or anything like that in a heightened emotional state I think that fits into the same category.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's like well if what's more important to you here is and I'm as guilty as of anybody like you know I I went for a run as just about an hour ago as we speak and my heart rate went up really high and it went to the it went the same as the as an intense workout I did the other day but today was an easy run and I was my I wasn't worried about the heart rate because I felt okay I was worried about how it looked and I was worried about my stats getting mess messed up instead of how I actually feel and I've been guilty of that recently in terms of being a slave to the data McGarmin's telling me that I'm a mess but actually I feel okay and I think sometimes we can get too attached to the data and I think one of the main reasons as he's highlighted is because we're so concerned with how Strava looks how the data looks how the info looks 100 100% and if you look at uh I I I read something once Kip Chogi said that he when he wakes up the morning before a marathon he doesn't look at all the all the sleep data because if he woke up and the sleep data said you didn't get enough deep sleep or REM sleep or or whatever then that's going to affect his performance on the day and it's so true.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: And you think now we've got Garmin's and whoops and all of this data you were just talking about your heart rate like I I personally don't look at it as a lot because I think your data is brilliant because it if it's used right it will optimise your performance but again you can probably go too far the other way where it it takes over your life absolutely and I I definitely think with Strava and things like that I like looking at my weekly mileage I like looking at how many miles I've run for the year I'll be honest I'd find it quite hard for you to say Pete can you go and do a 10 mile run but you can't you can't log it yeah then I feel like that 10 mile run's not counting towards my weekly mileage my monthly mileage my annual mileage and I think this is a this is I suppose something I've I have got maybe hooked on yeah me too mate and like I said I've stopped my run took my garment off cleaned the back of it because I I've got annoyed that my heart rate's so high when it's actually not and I'm stood there in the street I'm stood there in the street looking round going I I won't swear who is this for who's this for also like I I I think I know someone who will like probably go for a run but they're worried about what their pace will look like on Strava.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah I I've never I'm not like that like I know sometimes I'll run slow sometimes I'll run fast and it's it's the same with a race sometimes I'll have a good race sometimes like I ran the um C to C 50k in early September I ran five hours two minutes it was five weeks after my uh North Downs 100 miler and I went out too quick I ran the first 15 miles in like just under eight minute miles and I completely blew up and the last half of the race was absolutely horrendous.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_02: I was running and walking I got to the finish in five hours two minutes I I still posted it on Instagram um because I I tend to pit every race I do on Instagram and I and I said what I did less and learn and then three weeks later I ran the Epping Forest 50k which was a bit hillier went out a bit slower and I felt a lot better and um there's certain things I've been working on and I ran that in four out 20 minutes quicker.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I put that out and then I was absolutely buzzing um and then last year I ran the Wendover 50 um which is five 10 mile loops 50 miler and after two loops it was raining and I've done that race three times before finished it three times and at 20 miles you come back each time to your car at 10 miles and I thought do you know what I'm so I'm so not enjoying this and I just pulled up I gave my number to him I said do you know what I'm I don't I don't I'm not not really enjoying I could get to the finish I think you know I've got the fitness but I'm just really not enjoying it.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not feeling good it was one race too many and I posted on my Instagram the picture and a big DNF and just wrote a long thing around sometimes it's not right and I think that's really important to like not always Instagram's not always about the good stuff is it like you've got to post post everything on there.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think so and I think what's important there is I think that you resonate with more people because it's like the person who goes out and DNFs a 5k you know or any distance it's like or the person that tries their first parkour and is absolutely petrified.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes which which happens a lot um I think that you resonate with more people I said this the other week to somebody else I said the people who are running 220 marathons and all this brilliant awesome they don't really need your help they don't need help it's the people who who are concerned about how that DNF would look and you can get as you can get as you can be religious about this or whatever you want to do but who really is going to who can judge you and also who's gonna turn around and go you absolute loser you only did 10 miles of 50 you know also like no what I always say this like no one cares.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: Not really no one really cares really to be honest like and you know your DNF today within a few days everyone's forgotten about it anyway like do you know what I mean it's no one just work just think about yourself in your own running like that I think that's the problem of society as well like we all you know we all compare ourselves to others do you know what I mean yeah I'm training for high rocks at the moment that's in a couple of weeks and I've got there's a a friend of mine who's who's like a world class high rocks athlete I'll post these workouts online and I'm looking at them going should I be doing that well no because she's she's a world she's won the world she's a world champion I'm not trying to be a world champion but I'll look at it and go oh should I be doing that no I'm 49 I'm not trying to be a world champion um but you're right it does suck you in doesn't it it does suck you in it does suck you in so speaking of that speaking of age so you're 42 now you said how how how have you found your running's change since you've gotten a little bit older well I I think I've got slower um I uh so I I I ran all my sub threes my it in April it'd be six years since I last ran sub three right um I had a daughter as well um which I think is partly to she's five now like I think that I think the lack of sleep really did affect me.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah of course um and I think yeah so so I've just I've sort of run slower and and then sort of become more into the ultras and taken it a bit less serious.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_02: So but one thing I have started doing actually over the last two months um and it's it's because so I in I interviewed a guy on our podcast called Sam Tomlinson uh in August um and he was the first Brit at the marathon de Saab this year.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_02: Oh wow okay yeah he came 27th out of 1500 people wow he yeah he was uh and he's 50 years old and um he came back from the marathon de Saab and two weeks later at London he ran two hours 50 50 years old at the marathon he doesn't wear carbon plate shoes and he uh I said what do you what's your schedule he says I do and he's done all the big ultras he's done utmb Spartaflon etc yeah he runs 50 miles a week so not huge mileage no and he does two PTs and a physio every week and um I've always dabbled a little bit with strength work at home not and and really not not enough and basically when I walked out of that podcast I was like he's really inspired me so for the last eight weeks I've started seeing a PT and um I've never really done strength work properly so I do an hour a week and I do sometimes do a little bit in between on my own.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_02: And um I actually think it's really helping my running so I'm not writing off that I may run another quick marathon because I feel like I've never really done it.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: So when I ran my sub three six years ago I was I've never done any strength work properly.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_02: So now I'm doing this I feel like it's really helping and when I did that 50k the other day I was like I started off at eight eight minute 20 minute eight minute 20 second miles you know sort of just easing in and it's a very undulating course and and mile 28 I dropped uh I still felt really strong at the end and I think it's to do with the strength work um and so your answer to your question I have got slower and I I have taken it less seriously because I think when I was doing the sub threes my life was all about sub three but now my life isn't because I've got a daughter I've got happy stride I've got other things going on my wife etc so I feel like it's not my priority but I do feel like there may be something left in me with with the strength work.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I think it's I've always been a strong runner um because I've always I mean my background was I started running properly 2011 2012 marathons 2014 but before that when I first lost weight 20 years ago I was always lifting weights always it was my thing I didn't see myself as a runner so I always I always think that I'm one of the biggest runners at the front when I do the pacework because I I'm not tall and thin I'm just not I'm five foot ten I'm quite I'm not fat obviously but I'm you know what I mean I'm a bit bigger but honestly I think for everybody strength work as you get older is massive and I noticed that in my last marathon because I I it was it was there was a 20 mile an hour headwind in Boston Lincolnshire and I went out with sub three in my head um and just blew up in the second half and I granted you you know 20 mile an hour headwind you you're you're limited in terms of what you can do but actually a more important thing was I knew I wasn't strong enough because I'd done strength work but not as much so I thought my first thought was okay you're probably never going to be a PB in that wind but then afterwards I thought you know what I could have been a bit stronger so yeah I think it's as you get older I think you can probably get away with it a little bit more when you're younger but as you get older particularly men um you know because you test our strone drops and all that sort of stuff um I think yeah strength training is definitely uh definitely uh I would say a must for anyone at our station in life so you mentioned the podcast there briefly so what made you decide to start interviewing people as well and sharing conversations about running I think it's it was about giving back to our community I suppose like we're sort of like we we're obviously selling clothing um and it's a business which we which I live I live off um so I wanted to do something else for our for our custom for our community and and and hopefully find new people to and and to in bring that to to to our community new people and to inspire again it's it's it comes back to that inspire happy happy running so we've had we've had running coaches we've had people who've done lots of different ultramarathons um we it's all recorded in in a studio in Rochford in Essex um and it's we do one a month uh at the moment and we're we're looking to maybe do a few more next year um but it's always with a it's always with a guest who you know we we we very you know we s was we select a guest who we think would be good for our community so it's more about I suppose giving something back to to our community.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah and has interviewing people like that has it changed the way you've thought about running yourself yeah well that what I just said is a great example through meeting Sam I've I've now started doing PT yeah yeah and and I told him because I saw him at a I didn't I don't even know this guy he actually messaged us to say can you come on the podcast okay after this after listening to another one right uh and uh I told him I saw him at a race a month later and I said just to let you know you've inspired me um so it it definitely has um yeah it definitely has changed my running and like talking to you now I love talking about running I just love talking about running and I and my wife does a bit of running through being with me she's done a couple of marathons but sh if I start talking about running to her after 10 minutes she's she doesn't want to know so like I you know being able to have a job where obviously I'm running a business like Cappy Shire but part of it is is being able to do podcasts and talk to people about running and learning off interesting guests and like I'm talking to you now and learning off you is um is something I'm really passionate about.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_02: I I love I love talk because I love running I love talking about as well.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_02: And the thing is there's only there's only certain people you can talk to running about because yeah like I'll go out for a beer sometimes with my running mates which is great because we sit there and talk about running but if I go out with my other mates who don't like running I can't sit there and talk about running.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah or I can't talk about running to my mum and dad because they don't run like here and they go well done for doing your marathon and that's about it but like if I sit there like I've spoken to you like they don't want to know yeah I think there's always like the glaze look when someone pokes the bear and says oh have you run a marathon and then all of a sudden 20 minutes later they're like what was all that you just said yeah yeah and it's it's a famous thing isn't it like you see it on social media like runners love talking about running and and you know you see like the jokes around you've just finished a marathon and you want to tell every single person as you just said I've just done a marathon like I remember seeing a guy in in advertising he wore he he wore his medal for a week good lad and I thought do you know what fair play fair play to the guy good lad yeah good lad yeah because because you get a medal don't you and you take it off really it's nice to if you may be in a city or something you go out for dinner and a beer after the marathon you it's great to wear your medal because if not it just goes on the on the rack isn't it with all the other medals there's uh when I did my fo when I did my fo I'll always remember this this might help people actually when I did my first sub three Manchester uh and I was 45 by the way Pete so that's so time don't give up hope yet mate and I did my second one at 47 so don't give up hope yet um I um it was funny actually because I I got sorry just quickly do you think you can still do one now the second person who's asked me a question on my own podcast and I'm conscious of your time um you don't want to go into the dark parts of my soul but um I was madly I was having this conversation the day with someone and I I was talking to my some of my coaching clients about this and I said I genuinely think with the right running and everything else I think there's another PB I don't know how much I don't know how much is left um but I I do think there's there's certainly a sub three based on my performance this year uh because I was on for PB at 10 miles but I went out a bit quick and the wind and all that so I still finished in 305 and I absolutely sort of capitulated in the second half um but I think there's I think there might be a P B there's definitely a there might be a P B there I think if I if I went for it one more time I think there might be a P B there.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we'll have to see um but the story is when I and this is good for mental health I think and I always Remember this because of my situation is not too dissimilar from yours.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_00: I've got two young kids.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: We've got no help.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I have to come when I do a marathon, I'm straight home.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: There's no setup, you know, there's no like I'm in the car.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: If it's Manchester, when I did my sub three, I'm straight home.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um shower and straight home.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: Drive home to Birmingham where I am.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember I got back to my hotel service department as it was, and I had a flat tire.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: So you can imagine I'm sat in quick fit in Manchester, this random bit of Manchester with my hoodie on that I bought, with my medler, sat there going, I've just done the biggest thing I've been trying to do for five years.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: Sat there getting me tired.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: And this bloke's like, All right, mate, you know, it's done now.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_00: I went, All right, geez.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: Don't you want to ask me what I've just done now?
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I just thought one of the things I will say, um, and this might help people, is I remember finishing and thinking, I was at it.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: All this stuff I'd aimed for, and all this stuff I'd built up for, and there's a real important lesson there about, and I was gonna ask this question as well.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_00: So, about chasing all the time, just be careful about that because when I literally when I finished, I had a bit, I I did get a bit emotional.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: I always, I always like if it's a big achievement, like when I did the Great North Run, I teared up a little bit, massive event, London.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: I tiered up a little bit second time, big event.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: You get a bit emotional, but literally, I was like, was that it?
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: I was expecting this like sweeping.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_02: I I also think though, it's like it's not just it's not just the day, it's like also the week after and and uh and the weeks after and you when you're talking to people, and also like even sitting here now, just thinking about back to those achievements, like I think you you forget about it.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_02: But that what you just said there is that whole thing, like, and that happens a lot in life when you're focusing on something for say three months, this isn't just running, this is anything, and you put so much into it, and then it happens, it's great, but then it goes and then it's finished, and you almost feel a bit sad.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_02: And it's and you know, we always talk about the post-marathon blues, you get it, don't you?
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you train for that race, you do all the training, everyone's wishing you good luck, everyone's saying well done, and then once it's over, go you know, it goes quiet, and then you're like, and that's why we always say try and book another another race or something like that.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_02: It may not be a marathon, maybe a 10k or something.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, I mean, I did a podcast on this called How to Deal with a post-race lull, and it comes from actual practical experience of coaching people because literally I've worked with people, Paul, who have done a marathon, like especially a big one like a major, like London, where there's there's even more pressure and euphoria, and then you speak to them like and that they say, I haven't ran for six months because there's that, like, it's hard to get, like you said, it's like my advice is always to people, whether people agree with this or not, is I always say once you've done a marathon, try and enter a half within a few months, because I guarantee you you'll probably PB that half because you're so used to training for a bigger distance.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: So at least you give yourself a little bit of a bigger along the way, yeah, or or even a 10k, just something just to just uh you know, don't do that in the first couple of days afterwards when you're still in the you know the hurt locker, but you know, just yeah, because if you leave it, honestly, I've so many people I've seen just like six months I've done nothing because they lose that, it's such a big thing to take out of your life.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so um would what I guess so would you still run as much if you didn't have Strava and Instagram and all these things Honestly I think I run more, not Instagram, I I I'd I'd take that out, but I think I run more, I think I've run more since I've had Strava.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_02: Because you're logging the distance, and and this isn't this isn't about the post in the run to anyone else.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm talking about even if it was just the data, you're more on the data, but you're talking more about the data we give you.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_02: Even if it was just a a private account and no one could see it, it's the data.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um and seeing those weekly mileages and yearly monthly and then yearly mileage, like I'm one of those people who unfortunately, if I'm running, I did it this morning, I ran six miles, but I um I ran five point nine nine.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um when I it said six on the Garmin, but then when I stopped it on Strava, it said five point nine nine.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's twitching now listening.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_02: I'm one of those people who runs up and down outside my house to get to the to get to the to the round number of so I I would say it has made me run more, definitely.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's an important point because I think the data, if it's used for data reasons, that's important but not for show, not for showing other people.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think one of the traps is like, and this is this this is more of a guy thing than a girl thing, but it's not exclusive, but more guys tend to be.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_00: You see these runs and people put oh so and so easy pace, and you look at the pace and you think, really?
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, really, yeah, yeah, seven minute baring, easy pace.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's it, yeah.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: 650s, yeah.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_00: That was an easy run.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: You think, really?
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I get it, and it's like so.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: I I did this challenge for sort of my coaching community and people that I know for run, as I said, for a month, just leave it, just leave it as like morning run or evening run or look at the year.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a lot, but I think as I've got older and and more mature, I don't really unless it's a race or something like that, like, or the or there's something I want to say, like if I did a speed session, like I did a speed session yesterday, but I put four times five minutes, 90 seconds jogging between, just so people know what I've done, and then I put hurting a bit from the PT yesterday.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, but uh a lot of my runs now, I I don't really do anything, like it's just morning run, afternoon run, evening run.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_02: Do you know what I mean?
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, so yeah.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think as a coach, I and somebody that's got a few followers online.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_00: I I like I do see myself as a bit of a role model.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: That can I I don't know whether that sometimes can be a bit of a bad thing.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_02: But people are looking at you, yeah.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_00: Especially when you get a few followers, you know what it's like, people when you get a bit of you know a few followers and stuff.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh unconsciously, you do think, well, actually, are people looking at me more because I should be setting an example?
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I always say the same thing, and uh, this this might help people listening, particularly because we we're talking more of a mental health angle, and funnily enough, I did a reel on this the other day.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: The most important thing I think you can ever be is consistent.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, what I say to people is don't model my running, don't model my pace, don't model my distance, look at the consistency because everybody can model consistency, whatever that looks like for you.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, running and walk a mile, run walk a mile a day every day is consistent, isn't it?
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, and just model a consistency, and everybody can do that because it's not exclusive, it doesn't say it has to be a certain way.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, definitely.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you, Pete.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, two questions from me.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_00: So the first one is if somebody's listening to this who is perhaps maybe say in their early 40s or maybe you know struggles a little bit with say mental health or getting into running or doing that, and they perhaps want to make a start and be consistent.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: What advice from your experiences, both with your own journey and also with Happy Stride, would you say to them?
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_02: So why isn't they're just beginning to get involved?
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe, maybe somebody's struggling to get into it, maybe someone's looking to get started.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I think I think it's you've you've got to start small, you know, and start with a mile, do a lot of walking and running, and I think just just like just take it easy and and and and start off like with one mile, and then bit I always say like build up by 10% a week, like because obviously you don't want to get injuries and things like that.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then I suppose if if you want to take it a bit more serious, like make sure you've got the right kit, the right trainers, um, because you know that can obviously cause injury, but I think just look after yourself and and and take it, I suppose, sort of take it easy, but then realize like what the how it makes you feel, you know, like how how that movement or or run makes you feel.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_02: And me personally, I love running in the morning.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, sometimes I do run at lunch, like I, you know, you just said, like a runch or uh or an evening run, but I I love running in the morning because you know, I get up early, but it it sets me up for the day, and I think it makes my day a better day, the fact that I've run in the morning.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_00: And my final question, which is my philosophical question that I ask everybody, is how has running changed you, Pete?
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's just made me a better person in terms of my relationships, my how I am, my you know, it makes me work harder, it makes me, I suppose it makes me stronger.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I I I say this a lot, it running completes me.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um and um I think it it really does, it makes me a better person.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I and one day I may not be able to run, but if I can't, then hopefully I'll I'll be able to do walking or cycling or something else.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but it I I think it I think it can only be good for anyone who tries it.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_02: And that doesn't mean you have to run a run a marathon or another.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_02: No, absolutely not.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_02: You could just be running a couple of miles or a mile.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_00: Spot on, mate.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for that.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate that.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: Very uh very inspiring, hopefully.
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for that.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: Where can people find you online, Pete?
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_02: So my Instagram is at Pete Goldie, G L L D I E.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um, if you want to check out Happy Stride, it's at Happy Stride uh on Instagram uh or or our website is wwwhappy stride.co uk.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, happystride and the podcast.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_02: Podcast is the run and makes me happy podcast.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you can find it on Spotify, Apple, and and YouTube.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for that.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you drop um Peter follow.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you drop Happystride follow and check out the stuff.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's quite cool stuff.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, very, very colourful and it's good for those, particularly those of us who like to make a statement when we're running and also have some practicality, but I find that very interesting how black's definitely one of the best sellers.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_00: God bless us.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_02: Everyone likes black, don't they?
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's very slimming, isn't it?
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: Black.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: So there you go.
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_00: That might be a that might be another reason why we do it when we do it.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you very much, Pete.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate your time today.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate you being generous with your time, and that was a good chat.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully that will inspire people and um yeah, hopefully it will help people to you know run because they love it as much as they run because they want to chase certain things.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, don't forget to drop uh Peter Follow and Ahab and at happy striderfollow.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_00: As always, don't forget to follow me on Instagram at 12 Months to Marathon.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you're new to the podcast, um please feel free to subscribe wherever you get your podcast from.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's Apple or Spotify.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a regular listener, I do appreciate the reviews as well.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_00: So drop me a star review and a comment on Spotify, that helps.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to share this with your friends, that's also very much appreciated.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_00: Anything, anyone you feel might benefit from this, particularly anybody who's looking to maybe get into running or maybe struggles to stay consistent.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you do go over to at 12 Monster Marathon and follow me on Instagram and check out the link in my bio, you can join my free running community for the over 35s, or we can take you away from the noise of social media and we can chat and keep you accountable and give you some support over there.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can also check out my recently launched marathon toolkit as well, which is my complete toolkit um for helping you to run your fastest or your first sorry your fastest marathon uh in the next six to twelve months.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, Pete, thank you very much for your time today.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, everyone, for listening, and I'll speak to you all again very soon indeed.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Pete.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.