Run Spesh Podcast by Frontrunner Colombo

Big one this week. We open with Run Club's return (12-week Queenstown Marathon programme starts 25 August), then get into a genuinely packed episode: our biggest-ever Run Club turnout — 260+ people — at the ASICS Novablast 6 / GT-2000 15 wear test at Hagley Park, a proper breakdown of why ASICS built the GT-2000 15 as a "stable Novablast" (same foam, completely different geometry), and the full inside story on Run Unknown now that it's actually happened — checkpoints, demo shoes, and a finish line with 220 beers on tap.
We've also got three new shoes in store causing genuine office debate: the RAD UFO (a striking new London brand that's split opinion right down the middle), the NORDA 005 (arguably the nicest trail shoe we've had in the shop all year), and the Mizuno Wave Rider 30. From there it's two listener questions — the best daily trainer for a marathon build, and why Superblasts scuff more than Megablasts even with the same rubber compound — before Oska gets properly honest about his own long history of cramping in marathons, tested against some genuinely interesting new research. We wrap with the World U20 Championships results (which deserved way more mainstream coverage than they got) and a full technical deep dive on the Brooks Hyperion Elite 6.
This episode covers:
Run Club's return
New shoes in: RAD UFO, NORDA 005, Mizuno Wave Rider 30
ASICS Hagley Park wear test recap
Novablast 6 vs. GT-2000 15 — the full technical breakdown
Run Unknown — the complete story
Listener Q&A: daily trainer recommendations, Superblast vs. Megablast wear
Does dehydration actually cause cramping?
World U20 Championships results
Deep dive: Brooks Hyperion Elite 6
New Balance Community Run details
Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs — we read every one.

This week Anna and Oska sit down with Henry McMecking — one of New Zealand's fastest-rising short course triathletes and the reigning NZ Under-23 Triathlete of the Year. Ranked inside the world's top 75 and New Zealand's third-highest ranked male behind only Hayden Wilde and Saxon Morgan, Henry's had a genuine breakout stretch: an all-Kiwi podium sweep at Oceania Sprint Champs in Napier, the U23 continental title, and his World Triathlon Championship Series debut in Hamburg this year.
We talk through his Christchurch roots — cross country at primary school, watching his mum race at two age-group world championships — and how he balances 21 to 22 hours of training a week with a full geology job and a relationship (with our own Anna, as it happens). Henry's honest about the tough stretch too: pulling out of his planned World Series debut in Quiberon with a bout of tonsillitis, then backing up to actually debut in Hamburg a few weeks later, finishing 41st after coming in ranked 48th. He also tells us about lining up at the NZ Cross Country Championships just for fun — and running his way to 5th in a stacked senior men's field.
We get into how he and coach Tess plan a season, what "making it" in triathlon actually looks like day to day, and the story behind Triathlon Trouble, the YouTube channel he runs with mate Gus Marfell. We close out with a round of quick-fire questions before he heads back to Europe for the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra.
This episode covers:
Growing up in Christchurch and his mum's triathlon career
Balancing elite training with a geology job and a relationship
The all-Kiwi podium at Oceania Sprint Champs
Withdrawing from Quiberon with tonsillitis, then debuting in Hamburg
Racing NZ Cross Country Champs for fun and finishing 5th
How races get chosen, and what "making it" looks like
Triathlon Trouble, his YouTube channel with Gus Marfell
What's next: Pontevedra and Rome
Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs.

Tom's mid-trip to Andorra and Anna's home recovering from having her wisdom teeth out, so this week Oska's joined by Andy for a big one. We open with training updates — including Oska's steady comeback from hamstring injury — before a full recap of the NZ Cross Country Championships, headlined by Ronan Lee's title-winning run (with David Lee closing like a freight train for silver) and a genuinely gutsy run from Maia in her last local race before leaving the team.
From there it's a big Commonwealth Games wrap: Josh Kerr backed up his mile world record with gold at the Games, Sam Tanner ran a season's best, Eliza McCartney completed a real comeback story with pole vault gold, Tom Walsh took silver, and Tori Mowbray picked up a javelin silver that deserves more attention than it's had. We run through everything coming up on the community calendar — the ASICS Community Run, Run Unknown, the New Balance New Brighton run, and Run Club's return — plus a genuinely wild double course record at Badwater 135 in Death Valley.
We're also excited to announce Off Track, a new trail-running spinoff of the podcast hosted by Andy, launching soon. From there it's a listener question on the best carbon race shoe for a heavier runner, a discussion of Izzi Batt-Doyle's honest piece on racing with her period, and we close with a full deep dive on the New Balance SuperComp Rebel v1.
This episode covers:
What we're testing / wearing this week
Training weeks: Oska's hamstring comeback
NZ Cross Country Championships recap
Commonwealth Games wrap: Kerr, Tanner, McCartney, Walsh, Mowbray
Community events: ASICS Community Run, Run Unknown, New Balance run, Run Club's return
Badwater 135 double course record
Announcing Off Track, our new trail spinoff
Listener Q: carbon race shoe for a heavier runner
Izzi Batt-Doyle: racing with your period
Deep dive: New Balance SuperComp Rebel v1
Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs.
✅ Store website: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrunnercolombo/ ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontrunnerthecolombo/ ✅ Run Club page: https://frontrunnercolombo.co.nz/pages/frontrunner-run-club-frrc ✅ ASICS Community Run RSVP: https://luma.com/71ml6j34 ✅ New Balance Community Run RSVP: https://luma.com/xk7g6ilb ✅ Izzi Batt-Doyle article: https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/houseofwellness/my-legs-were-achy-i-felt-sick-and-i-wanted-to-stay-in-bed-izzi-battdoyles-hidden-raceday-struggles/news-story/6c513d812aa27648b457c4d536c42fd6
Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro (Andy filling in for Anna & Tom) 03:00 – What we're testing / wearing this week 10:00 – Training weeks: Oska's comeback 17:00 – NZ Cross Country Championships recap 32:00 – Commonwealth Games wrap 42:00 – Community events: ASICS run, Run Unknown, New Balance run, Run Club returns 45:00 – Badwater 135 double course record 50:00 – Announcing Off Track 53:00 – Listener Q: carbon race shoe for a heavier runner 60:00 – Izzi Batt-Doyle: racing with your period 65:00 – Deep dive: New Balance SuperComp Rebel v1

Just Oska and Anna in the studio this week — Tom's mid-way through a 44-hour trip to Andorra, and Maia's home sick days before her final episode with the crew. Still plenty to get through: we open with training updates and what's currently on our feet, run through the week's big shoe releases (Novablast 6, On Cloudboom Strike 2), then get into it — the frankly rubbish online backlash aimed at Hamish Kerr for withdrawing from the Commonwealth Games, and why we think people need to do better.
From there it's a big Commonwealth Games wrap led by Zoe Hobbs' stunning 100m gold (NZ's first-ever Commonwealth sprint gold), plus Geordie Beamish, Lauren Bruce, and a strong showing in the pool. We preview this Saturday's NZ Cross Country Championships at Hagley Park, work through a stack of listener questions — including a proper debate on supershoes vs. uptempo trainers for workouts, our picks for NZ's marathon "Mount Rushmore," and a Reddit question on whether some runners are doomed to stability shoes forever. We close with a full deep dive on the ASICS MetaFuji Trail 2, plus all the key dates coming up: Run Club's return, Run Unknown, and the New Balance New Brighton event.
This episode covers:
Training weeks and what we're running in
Shoe releases: ASICS Novablast 6, On Cloudboom Strike 2
Hamish Kerr's Commonwealth Games withdrawal and the online reaction
Commonwealth Games wrap: Zoe Hobbs' gold, Beamish, Lauren Bruce, swimming medals
NZ Cross Country Championships preview
Listener Q&A: supershoes vs. uptempo trainers, NZ's marathon greats, local "Majors" equivalents
Reddit Q: stability shoes
Deep dive: ASICS MetaFuji Trail 2
Key dates: Run Club, Run Unknown, New Balance New Brighton event
A farewell to Maia
Got a question for the show? Email marketing@frontrunnercolombo.co.nz or drop it in our Instagram DMs.

"Wear a kilt. The hill just kept on going. I stopped and got some whisky." One finisher's take on the Mackenzie Half Marathon — which pulled over 1,150 entrants the same weekend Kennett Cup's senior men's race had just five starters. We get into why cross country numbers are shrinking, and what might actually fix it.
Also this week: a full breakdown of Josh Kerr's mile world record, including the wild eight-years-of-data story behind his custom Brooks spike. Anna walks us through new EBU camera-angle guidelines aimed at reducing the sexualisation of women's athletics coverage. Maia Flint — in her second-to-last week with the Frontrunner crew — won the Kennett Cup women's senior race, and Tom's athlete Corbin Harding took silver at the Mackenzie Half. We round up cross country results from around the country, catch up on Kiwis racing well overseas, and give you the first real details on Run Unknown's return.
We close out with a proper tech deep dive on the Saucony Endorphin Elite 3 — what's actually been fixed since the divisive version 2, and who it's built for.
This episode covers:
What we're testing / wearing this week
Josh Kerr's mile world record and the tech behind it
New broadcasting guidelines for filming women's athletics
Kennett Cup results and a real conversation about cross country's participation problem
Corbin Harding's silver medal at the Mackenzie Half Marathon
NZ cross country round-up and Kiwis racing overseas
Run Unknown returns — mystery riddle race with On
Deep dive: Saucony Endorphin Elite 3
Winter Grind party, Run Club's return, and the New Balance store takeover
Got a question for the show? Drop it in our Instagram DMs or in the Run Club Facebook group.