The Natural Running Network Live

Often times, we interview elite athletes from various sports, the hero’s that command the podium race after race. As much as we admire their physical prowess, many of our listeners have their own agendas and goals they hope to fulfil.  So, we intend to offer the spotlight to those of you who have questions and hopefully we can provide answers that will make a difference in your running, training and racing experience.  In this episode we feature OCR Athlete Cody Higgs from Nashville Tennessee, along with a few questions from Richard Rachal of Baton Rouge Louisiana. 

Over the years Richard Diaz (our host) and diaz human performance has put on elite caliber running clinics all over southern California. The impact of this training and education is so dramatic that athletes from all over the country go through great pains to attend and or visit for personal coaching and evaluation. Our current project is to put on a Two Day Running Clinic and Lab Testing by invitation in Baton Rouge Louisiana on the 27th-28th of February (registration deadline is quickly approaching Jan. 25th 2015). In order to provide a detailed explanation of what to expect for those interested, we decided to offer the details direct from the horse’s mouth! Richard Diaz along with forward statement’s from Elite Spartan Pro OCR Athlete Hunter McIntyre and hosts Richard and Emily Rachal is onboard to share all the pertinent details.  For quick registration visit: www.naturalrunningcoach.net/clinics.html

Battle Frog is quickly becoming the OCR Series of choice among discerning competitors in the world of Obstacle Racing. Christopher Acord is Battle Frog’s chief architect/Race Director, fondly nicknamed “The Beard” for obvious reasons.  We thought it was time to reach out to Christopher to gain some insight into the planning and development of “the other OCR events”. This interview was highly enlightening and for those who have never competed in a Battle Frog Event, this is clearly a show you don’t want to miss! Be sure to get access to more content by visiting www.naturalrunningnetwork.com

For those out of the running jargon loop, an F.K.T. is the acronym for a “fastest known time” event. Generally orchestrated by a few brace souls who develop an event never run before to establish a record.  Running a trail race that has never been attempted comes with a great deal of risk. Getting lost, being in inaccessible terrain for extended periods is very dangerous and not for the meek.  Join us as we invite Charlie Engle back to share the exploits of his and Nickademus Hollon’s attempt at the Sea to Sea Ultra F.K.T. project, an Ultratrail running event of over 140 miles of unforgiving terrain.www.naturalrunningnetwork.com

We invited a few competitive Obstacle Racing Athletes to come on and to discuss the past year and prospects for The New Year’s performances.  Jack Bauer, Alexandra Walker and Benjamin Pina agreed to share their thoughts.  The questions were… How did it go last year? What do you feel you need to improve on? What is your key race focus for 2016?  We also delve into various training considerations that would benefit anyone hoping to improve in the coming year. Listen in; we might give you some food for thought leading into your new racing season.

Learn simple exercises that will greatly reduce your incident of upper and lower body injuries that are common among runners and OCR athletes from the ground up offered by Dr. Emily Splichal, world renowned podiatrist and human movement specialist.  In the sport of Obstacle Racing there are a lot of demands placed on grip strength. Improper approach to training and racing can result in extensive injuries to both the upper and lower extremities. Dr. Emily shares a few exercise techniques that develop “stability from the ground up- foot to core” by adopting these simple exercises you will gain a significant improvements in running skill, upper body strength while greatly reducing the incident of injury.   The Host of “The Natural Running Network” Richard Diaz says: “This episode provides the most useful take away training advice we have offered all year. Dr. Emily is on the cutting edge of evidence based sports science and her research on the subject of developing functional stability is unparalleled. If you p

Yancy Culp is an internationally recognized OCR coach with an all-star cast of Elite Spartan Athletes in his stable. It was great fortune for Coach Richard Diaz, his “Posse”, Miguel Medina, Nickademus Hollon and his wife and long time running mechanic Lori Diaz to converge in Austin Texas to put on their ever popular Off Season Running Clinic. It was a great experience for all in attendance, many who partook in A VO2max test administered by Coach Diaz, running fundamentals and a real time technical trail running clinic directed by Nick Hollon, world renowned Ultra Trail Runner and Elite Pro Spartan Miguel Medina.  Post event, Yancy Culp and Richard Diaz discuss the importance of honing running skills in the off season and how running influences the sport of Obstacle Racing. www.naturalrunningnetwork.com

I invited Stew Smith former Navy Seal, who spent eight years in the SEAL Teams and an instructor at the Naval Academy Physical Education Department. He has also been showcased on National Geographic’s “Fight Science”.  Stew demonstrates his ability to perform tactical exercises under the most extreme of conditions.  An incredibly disciplined athlete and warrior, Stew is an expert in dealing with harsh cold environments. I asked him to share his experience and tips on staving off hypothermia and staying sharp while racing over obstacle courses.  If you want to be competitive in OCR, Spartan or Battle Frog events and don’t deal well with cold, you don’t want to miss this amazing interview. Racing Cold - The Battle with Hypothermia.

This episode was drawn from our archive of shows done 2 years ago.  It is an interview with Gilbert Tuhabonye a genocide survivor, world class runner and now an amazing running coach thriving in Austin Texas. This show is hands down one of them most powerful interviews we had ever done and if you had not hear this story, you really need to listen. It’s about faith, running, hope and achievement.

Every year as a way of showing our appreciation to our listeners, we do a Black Friday giveaway show. The way it works is simple: Write or message me, Richard Diaz or The Natural Running Network Facebook page and provide a question related to Obstacle Racing, Running or associated training. We'll do our best to answer the question on our Friday show and award gifts to the providers of the best questions. We gave away ver $1,000 in gifts last year and plan to do it again! Don't be left out!  Be sure to visit www.naturalrunningnetwork.com 

The 2015 World’s Toughest Mudder set the bar high for team participation. With a $100,000 carrot held out for the team that could cover 100 miles in the allotted 24 hour deadline. It was an interesting race and with the best attempts from the top teams, the money remains uncollected. There was a new course champion crowned and some interesting developments unfolded as the teams broke apart, some retired opting to stay with the team, others pushed on in hopes of personal glory.  Our featured guests, Miguel Medina and Nickademus Hollon, were in the thick of competition and share their inside views of the race as it unfolded for them. They also offer some professional insights as to how one should approach this event, it’s a great interview with two great OCR athletes.

Jaime Lopez is serious about his OCR training; he reads what he can to keep up with the trends in training. He monitors his work via his heart monitor, he abides to specific training protocols and logs all of the metrics afforded him though his devices. Yet still, it all seems confusing at times.  Jaime is also a devoted fan of our podcast, he has reached out to Richard Diaz (the show’s host) to ask for some advice on how best to interpret the information he collects and in so doing we invited him on this episode to review his training data and discuss what we’ve learned and to make recommendations.  If you, like Jaime, enjoy Spartan Racing, are training for a marathon or are new to running, this is a show you don’t want to miss!

Everyone knows that to be successful in the sport of Obstacle Racing you must develop your running skill. Never mind that of all recreational sports, running leads in the number of injuries that athletes endure. What’s interesting is that the leading cause of these injuries is improper running skill and could easily have been avoided with proper training. Our host Richard Diaz is a highly sought after running form specialist and performance diagnostician. In this episode of “Listen and Learn” He hopes to point out the principal flaws runners make and what they should do to correct these flaws and get back to running injury free and optimal performance. If you are setting out to run your first marathon or are an avid Spartan Race aficionado, this is an episode you don’t want to miss! ”Running more often or at greater intensity with bad form is a hell bound train!”

Every athlete that follows our show knows that recovery is critical to performance and health. Unfortunately, too few practice effective active recovery. This is especially true among Obstacle Racing Athletes. Our featured guests; Dr. Tim Simansky, commonly known as “The Wod Doc” and Elite Spartan Pro athlete Hunter McIntyre are on to share opinions and expertise on the topic of foam rolling and other tools that are great for keeping the body in great repair. Be sure to visit www.rocktape.com after the podcast to learn more about the Movement Manifesto. MOVE OR DIE! It is estimated that Americans sit 9.3 hours a day, which is even more time than we spend sleeping (7.7 hours). Our bodies weren’t built for that, and it’s starting to take a toll. Sitting 6 or more hours per day makes you up-to 40% likelier to die within 15 years than someone who sits less than three. Even if you exercise for 1 hour a day, your risk is still higher if you sit for long periods in the day.

Jim Vance is an elite triathlon coach who has co-authored “Triathlon Science”. He is a two time Amateur World Champion in ITU and Xterra and holds an IronMan PR of 8:37:09. I brought Jim onto our podcast because he has been at the forefront in research of Power Running.  Many believe that when power can be effectively measured in running, as has been cone in cycling, it will be a major game changer.  In sports science thus far; heart rate is the most effective metric used to identify work relative to performance.  This is an interesting time in endurance sport technology and our goal is to share some insight as to the potential of power as it applies to running performance. “All records, from 100 meters to the Marathon will drop, when we are able to effectively measure power in training”.

Ryan Atkins, coming off an exceptional race season, finishing 2nd in The Spartan World Championships behind a fearless and relatively unknown Robert Killian, now sets his sites on World’s Toughest Mudder. Ryan won this event last year but this year with the stakes up to $100,000 for the first team to complete 100 miles in 24 hours, he has opted to create what many feel is a dream team.  Learn who these team mates are, and as a bonus, get a heads up on the all new Online Obstacle Race Training program created by Ryan, Matt Murphy and Jon Albon.

Lesley Paterson is arguably the fiercest competitor in the XTERRA RACE SERIES.  She has won 2 consecutive world championship titles, was then plagued with injuries which caused her to fall out of the sport almost entirely last year. In 2015 she seems reborn with aspirations of competing in Obstacle Races. So far this year she has placed 1st, Pro Women, XTERRA Costa Rica, 1st, Pro Women, XTERRA West Championships (Las Vegas, NV), 1st, Pro Women, XTERRA East Championships (Pelham, AL), 1st, Pro Women (and 1st overall – men and women), XTERRA Laguna Beach (Laguna Beach, CA) 1st, Pro Women, 6 hours of Temecula (MTB race).  She now sets her sights on regaining her crown at the XTERRA World Championships on Maui, this November.  Our host Richard Diaz caught up with her to gain some insights on her outlook past, future and present.

Running 100 miles has become common place among the growing community of Ultra Runners. Few can say they have run over 4600 miles across the Sahara Desert, to raise awareness of the need for fresh water in Africa for an HBO documentary titled “Running the Sahara”. Charlie can.  He can also talk about his run across the United States or his most recent 7 day stage race in Ecuador that began at an altitude 12,000 ft. and continued with over 155 miles at altitude for the duration of the event.  Yes, Charlie Engle is an extremely unique runner and is always fun to chat with.  Listen as we catch up with one of the most colorful ultra-runners of our time.

In all recreational and competitive running events from your first 5K to a marathon or Spartan Ultra Beast, athletes tend to get injured.  Generally injuries come about when the weekly mileage increases along with the intensity. Our host Richard Diaz, founder of diaz human performance and The Natural Running Network, has a long history of training runners to perform optimally with his unique approach to what he refers to as “Motor Skill Drills”.  Diaz feels that the key to running fast and avoiding injuries is directly tied to the way you run not how much or how hard you run.  Before you blame your running shoes for your last injury, you should listen to this episode.

Running for 205 miles in 76 hours through the Alps with a collective elevation gain of over 80,000 ft., is no simple task.  Being the only American to podium in this death defying race, for now, is reserved for only one man, Nickademus Hollon.  Join Nick and Richard Diaz as they discuss the upcoming Spartan World Championships, the World’s Toughest Mudder and other adventures reserved for only those with the endurance, grit and strength to consider such undertakings.