In this episode, Finlay is joined by Bryan Bhark, Manager of Footwear Innovation & Development at Brooks.

Based in Seattle at Brooks' global headquarters, Bryan is part of a knowledgeable and passionate cross-functional team, responsible for pursuing new knowledge and advancing Brooks' footwear creations - in line with customer (runner) needs, new discoveries and technological advancements.

He provides a fascinating insight into the inner workings of product creation at Brooks - including how midsoles are created and developed, how a shoe is taken from concept to market, the evolution of DNA Tuned and the launch of the Glycerin Max, alongside some teasers about what's in store for the future.

Bryan shares his most memorable moment at Brooks to date. That being hand delivering the Brooks Hyperion Elite to Des Linden before her momentous Boston Marathon win in 2018.

He also highlights the importance of scalable innovation for the everyday runner and the crux of the challenge being "to create that moonshot innovation that can inspire and provide the best performance benefit for our athete, but we also have to have a plan on how that can scale to the everyday runner because that's what's most important." (00:46:28)

Follow Brooks on Instagram at @brooksrunninguk and @brooksrunning.

To get in touch, email: thepod@run4it.com.

In this episode, Project RED-S Founder and former Team GB athlete, Pippa Woolven, shares her experience with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport.

Pippa describes how her downturn began during an athletics scholarship at Florida State University, where she bought into the belief system that "lighter is faster". While knowing instinctively something wasn't quite right, it took Pippa years to find out what and start on her road to recovery.

Pippa later founded Project RED-S to raise awareness of the condition and increase prevention and support among athletes. Project RED-S aims to provide the resources and help she needed (yet lacked) while she was competing.

Pippa and Project RED-S have helped a number of athletes in their recovery including former podcast guest Jake Smith.

The episode delves into:

• What REDs is: "A shortage of energy available to keep up with the demands of exercise, on top of essential daily functions."
• The symptoms and warning signs of REDs.
• What you can do if you think you are experiencing it.
• How it can affect anyone - not just elite athletes or those experiencing weight loss.

For more information, follow Project RED-S on Instagram @project_reds_.

To get in touch, email: thepod@run4it.com.

In this episode, Finlay chats to professional runner for Nike and the NN Running Team, Jake Smith, about his rise in running and his challenges with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). Jake talks openly about his history with disordered eating and obsessive-compulsive-esque training, and the toll underfuelling and overtraining eventually took on his body - causing severe injury, illness and mental distress.

Speaking to Finlay fresh off a standout stage win at the Welsh Castles Relay, Jake talks about what it’s taken to step back from the sport – recover, reset, re-evaluate – and come back stronger in pursuit of sustainable performance.

Key takeaways:

• RED-S can affect anyone – female, male, elite or amateur regardless of age, gender, and ability – if their physical activity exceeds their caloric intake.
• High training load with inadequate fuelling or lack of recovery can contribute to RED-S.
• Aside from missing periods (female athletes), there are several other signs that you might be suffering from RED-S. Such as fatigue, frequent illness, poor bone health, low/altered mood, disrupted sleep, hunger pangs and more. In men, a telltale sign is low testosterone levels (checked via a blood test).
• With the support of his team, coach, family and friends, Jake is returning to full fitness by following a more sustainable training programme (higher quality and less) and fuelling properly.
• 38 minutes into the episode, Jake describes his typical training week then vs now, noting his change from a hard, all-out, “more more” approach to a more rounded, balanced approach, which sees hard running replaced with low aerobic cross-training.

What’s next for Jake? Paris 5K in July and Berlin Marathon in September, where he and his sister hope to secure the Guinness World Record for the fastest cumulative marathon time run by a pair of siblings.

Follow Jake Smith on Instagram @jakeliamsmith98

For more information on RED-S follow @project_reds_

📸 @globalsportscommunication via @jakeliamsmith98.

To get in touch, email: thepod@run4it.com.