Run Spesh Podcast by Frontrunner Colombo

Pip, head coach of the Frontrunner Run Club and one of our new regular reviewers, joins Oska and Theo this week.
We recap the Timaru Ten, the real nationals: flat, fast and perfect conditions, with Toby Gualter's course record, seven men under 30 minutes and a string of big PBs for the women. Theo walks us through his race morning and his 32:39 PB, and we talk about the pacers who made it all work.
Then we look ahead to the Auckland Marathon and Half Marathon. Toby Gualter makes his marathon debut chasing the course record, defending champ Dan Balchin has plenty of experience on his side, and we go through the women's and half marathon fields.
We also cover Georgie Grgec's NZ 10K road record, the Peres Jepchirchir doping case and its effect on LA28 qualifying standards, Mark Kiptoo's M50 marathon world record, and a tribute to coach Arch Jelley.
Then it's the Run Club update, the Adidas HyperBOOST Run as the most underrated shoe of 2026, and the Saucony Endorphin Speed 6 scored on our new Run Culture Scale.
New episodes drop every Friday at lunchtime.
frontrunnercolombo.co.nz

Andy and Logan crack open the mystery beers from Trail Running NZ and run through a huge weekend of racing. Taupo Ultra produced a new 100K course record from Gary Carlton, and Crater Rim had fast times in great conditions. Logan wins the 22K, with finish-line interviews from Jack Payne and Tim Jorgensen, our Athlete to Watch. Ruth Croft takes out Diagonale des Fous.
Also this week: lactate testing at Hagley, a review of the Norda 005, the new Test Run demo shoe system at Frontrunner Colombo (frontrunnercolombo.co.nz/pages/test-run), and Coach's Corner questions on travelling for hills and the longest run for a 100K. Next episode is our first human in-studio guest.
Off Track is the trail spinoff of The Run Down, recorded at Frontrunner Colombo in Christchurch.

Saucony Triumph 24 Review, Timaru 10 Preview + Hannah Gapes on a Tear
Tom, Theo and Oscar are back with the weekly running specialty podcast from Frontrunner Colombo in Christchurch. This week Theo makes his podcast debut in the third chair.
IN THIS EPISODE
Meet Theo: his running background, how he ended up on the pod, and his Timaru 10 goals
Tom on racing back to back (Auckland, then Queenstown), why he won't taper for each race, and his shoe choice
Timaru 10 preview: the pace groups, the fields, and the live stream
Hannah Gapes on a tear in the NCAA: what's driving it and where it could lead
Crater Rim results and what's coming on Off Track
New in store: heat press Run Club merch, the Community Colab, and Test Run, where you can book shoes for a weekend
The Athletics New Zealand summer season rundown
Listener question: does colourway change how a shoe fits?
Saucony Triumph 24 review: Theo's 300km verdict, the new Incredlite foam, fit, and how it compares to the 23
LINKS
Test Run: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz/pages/test-run
Shop: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz
Timaru 10 live stream: [add link]
New episodes every Friday at noon, ready for your weekend long run.

Anna's back from Europe, Tom's lining up for Auckland and Queenstown, and Oska's out of retirement. We recap Race the Pro 5, run through the weekend's marathon results, give first impressions of the Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2, and preview Timaru Ten.
Full show notes
The Run Down is our weekly running specialty podcast from Frontrunner, taking you behind the scenes of our stores around New Zealand, the shoes we're testing, the training we're doing and the races coming up.
This week:
Anna's back from six weeks in Europe: Edinburgh, Spain and Rome, and how European crowds compare to NZ events
Tom's Auckland Half and Queenstown plans, and his pro triathlon licence paperwork
Oska's comeback from injury, and a possible Spectacle 5K
Race the Pro 5 recap: 120 runners, teams of five, 800m laps, chasing a team of the country's best
Kipchoge, Chicago and the weekend's big marathon results
Shoe talk, then Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2 first impressions
Kona's surprise winner and retirement
Test Run: book demo shoes online, keep them for two days, with a refundable deposit
Timaru Ten preview
Community competition: design a Christchurch run culture tee to be heat-pressed in store. Email your designs to us.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:30 Anna's back from Europe
05:00 European crowds vs NZ events
07:30 Auckland Half and Queenstown
12:00 Tom's pro licence and the ECG scare
17:00 Oska's comeback
21:00 Spectacle 5K and the hangar night race idea
23:00 Race the Pro 5 recap
27:30 Kipchoge, Chicago and Melbourne
35:30 Shoe talk
39:30 Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure 2
48:00 Run Club and Kona
53:30 Test Run demo shoes
55:30 Timaru Ten
59:30 Community heat-press competition

Off Track is back — a week late thanks to dogs and airport logistics, and with plenty to catch up on. Andy and Logan start with training: school-holiday survival mode and a busy race-season build for Andy, a post-Tekapo reset (plus a mountaineering course and a taped-up ankle), and Logan's return to running, where each new session type feels like unlocking a character in a video game, alongside big bike miles ahead of La Petite Brevet, a 300K mountain bike loop of Banks Peninsula.
We launch a new segment, Tales from the Trails, inspired by the stories that land in Training Peaks comments. The first comes from a friend's early-morning tempo run up Captain Thomas / Godley Head. Send us yours! We also read out a very good reply to last episode's chat about weeing on the run.
Then it's three weeks of Kiwi results: Annabel Bramwell and David Hammersmith (course record) at the Rakiura Challenge on Stewart Island, Clinton Manderson and Megan Craig at Marina to Marina, the dog-and-runner 4 Paws Marathon in Bottle Lake Forest (including a 39:55 10K), Dan Jones winning the masters at road relays, a record 1,300 entrants at Cave Kidnappers (a course record for Amber Morrison and a 3:02 from Calum McPherson in the 34K), and Simon Cochran's record 205K "Claw" at the Blue Lake 24-hour. A look at Masters records leads to the story of Jack Foster, who started running at 32, finished eighth at the Olympics, and still holds the NZ M40 marathon record of 2:11:18 from 1973.
Athlete to Watch is Chester Holt-Quick, who's building to the Spectacle 100K in Nelson and has an enormous 2027 calendar. Overseas, we cover Lucy Bartholomew's Melbourne Marathon PB, Salomon becoming Ironman's sponsor (and what that might mean for UTMB), Des Linden's road-to-Western-States plan, and Ruth Croft lining up at Diagonale des Fous.
Finally, a preview of Taupo Ultra and Crater Rim (Andy is racing the 22K), gear choices for the weekend, a No Free Ads shout-out, and a Coach's Corner on when to start carrying fuel and fluids and how best to carry them.
This episode covers:
Training catch-up and the new Tales from the Trails segment
Results: Rakiura Challenge, Marina to Marina, 4 Paws Marathon, road relays, Cave Kidnappers, Blue Lake 24-hour
Jack Foster and the NZ Masters records
Athlete to Watch: Chester Holt-Quick
Overseas: Lucy Bartholomew, Salomon x Ironman x UTMB, Des Linden, Ruth Croft
Preview: Taupo Ultra and Crater Rim
Gear: Norda 005 and the singlet
No Free Ads: hotel reception lollies
Coach's Corner: fuel and hydration
Got a trail story or a coaching question? Send it to Frontrunner Colombo or @andygood on Instagram, or comment on Spotify. Anonymous is fine.