Runbelievable

What happens when running becomes more than something you do, and starts becoming part of who you are?
Oli Jones has spent much of his life around running. He's founded a run group, coached runners, worked with young athletes and spent five years telling other people's stories through the Local Legends in Running podcast.
But after years of consistent running, the last three have brought injuries, a marathon DNF and the possibility that his fastest days may already be behind him. Along the way, Oli has had to reconsider what consistency, success and even being a runner actually mean.
This is a conversation about what remains when you strip away the PBs, coaching, podcasts and everything else we've built around running... and ask why we'd still choose to run.
In this episode:
Growing up with running and walking away from it
Endless injuries after almost a decade injury-free
Accepting that another PB may never come
Why consistency sometimes means doing less
Finding community through running
What five years interviewing runners has taught Oli
Balancing running with coaching, teaching and family
🌏 Episodes, community, and all things Runbelievable:
http://runbelievable.au
🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday; hit follow so you don't miss a lap!

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About Runbelievable
Runbelievable is the podcast for every runner. From your first parkrun to your 100th marathon, from walk-run intervals to dabbling in trail running, every runner has a story worth telling. Through honest conversations with runners from all walks of life, Runbelievable explores the challenges, achievements, setbacks, and experiences that connect us through running and shape who we become.

What if the person most intimidated by a run club is exactly the person it should be built for?
Cam Smit wasn't always a runner. He started in his late twenties, hated his first 2.7km and was too intimidated to join a run club himself. Years later, he created Cam's Run Club... the kind of running community he wishes had existed when he started.
The first session, literally nobody showed up. Today, 20–40 runners regularly join a community built around one simple idea: nobody runs alone.  
If you've ever worried you're too slow, too inexperienced or simply not “runner enough” to join a run club, this conversation might change how you think about belonging in running.
Follow Cam's Run Club: https://www.instagram.com/camsrunclub/
In this episode:
Why nobody came to Cam's first run-club session
Building a club specifically for slower and newer runners
Why nobody at Cam's Run Club runs alone
The importance of finding a “third space” as an adult
Cam's own journey from struggling beginner to sub-3:30 marathoner
Why the term “only a 5K” should disappear from runners' vocabulary
What Cam would tell someone who's still too nervous to show up
🌏 Episodes, community, and all things Runbelievable:
http://runbelievable.au
🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday; hit follow so you don't miss a lap!

☕ Enjoying Runbelievable?
If the show has kept you company on a run, you can help keep the stories coming:
https://buymeacoffee.com/runbelievable
About Runbelievable
Runbelievable is the podcast for every runner. From your first parkrun to your 100th marathon, from walk-run intervals to dabbling in trail running, every runner has a story worth telling. Through honest conversations with runners from all walks of life, Runbelievable explores the challenges, achievements, setbacks, and experiences that connect us through running and shape who we become.

Can running make a new city feel like home?
When Alex Narang moved from Manchester to Sydney, she knew very few people. Less than 12 hours after landing, she joined Coogee Run Club; and within weeks, running had given her friends, community and the beginnings of a new life.
Six months later, Alex badly broke her jaw in three places on the way to run club. Suddenly, the people she'd only recently met were taking her to hospital, organising her care and making sure she never had to recover alone. Eleven weeks later, she somehow made it to the Sydney Marathon start line... and the result was even more staggering! 
If you've ever found friendship, belonging or something completely unexpected through running, Alex's story is a reminder that sometimes the people we meet along the way matter far more than the kilometres.

Follow Alex's journey: https://www.instagram.com/justalexercising/
In this episode:
Moving to Sydney and finding a run club within 12 hours 
Breaking her jaw in three places on the way to training 
How Alex's new running community rallied around her 
Fighting her way to the Sydney Marathon start line 
Learning to experience a race instead of chasing the clock 
The moment Alex realised running had built her life in Sydney 
🌏 Episodes, community, and all things Runbelievable:
http://runbelievable.au
🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday; hit follow so you don't miss a lap!

☕ Enjoying Runbelievable?
If the show has kept you company on a run, you can help keep the stories coming:
https://buymeacoffee.com/runbelievable
About Runbelievable
Runbelievable is the podcast for every runner. From your first parkrun to your 100th marathon, from walk-run intervals to dabbling in trail running, every runner has a story worth telling. Through honest conversations with runners from all walks of life, Runbelievable explores the challenges, achievements, setbacks, and experiences that connect us through running and shape who we become.

What does Australia's largest parkrun know about building community that the rest of us don't?
When Joanne Watkins first arrived at Albert Melbourne parkrun in January-2012, around 30 to 50 people would turn up each Saturday. The first time attendance reached 100, they celebrated because they genuinely thought the event had peaked.
Nearly 15 years later, Albert Melbourne parkrun can attract more than 1,000 runners, walkers and volunteers. But the remarkable part isn't simply its size... it's how Joanne and her team have tried to grow something enormous without losing the connection that made those early Saturday mornings special.
That means two timekeepers, dozens of volunteers, an extraordinary double finish funnel. But it also means noticing the newcomer sitting alone, remembering people's names, shared ownership... and extraordinarily... Joanne “firing” her entire run-director team every year.
In this conversation, Joanne shares what nearly 15 years at Albert Melbourne has taught her about running, volunteering, leadership and human connection; and why people might come to parkrun for five kilometres, but stay because they've found somewhere they're seen, known and connected.
If you've ever wondered why running communities can become such an important part of our lives, this episode is for you..
In this episode:
What Albert Melbourne parkrun looked like with just 30–50 participants. 
Why Joanne believes people don't really come to parkrun just for the 5K. 
Building systems designed around simplicity, redundancy and collective ownership. 
How Albert Melbourne grew dramatically following Melbourne's COVID lockdowns. 
Deliberately making newcomers feel noticed, welcomed and connected. 
How the famous double funnel handles enormous numbers of finishers. 
The catastrophic accident that left Joanne needing to learn to walk again. 
How the parkrun community supported Joanne throughout her recovery.
🌏 Episodes, community, and all things Runbelievable:
http://runbelievable.au
🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday; hit follow so you don't miss a lap!

☕ Enjoying Runbelievable?
If the show has kept you company on a run, you can help keep the stories coming:
https://buymeacoffee.com/runbelievable
About Runbelievable
Runbelievable is the podcast for every runner. From your first parkrun to your 100th marathon, from walk-run intervals to dabbling in trail running, every runner has a story worth telling. Through honest conversations with runners from all walks of life, Runbelievable explores the challenges, achievements, setbacks, and experiences that connect us through running and shape who we become.

Can running give you somewhere to belong... especially if belonging has never come particularly easily?
Since October 2025, Josh Rischin has encouraged other runners to open up about their lives, identities and the role running plays in them. Now, it's his turn.
In this one-off special, good friend and previous guest Shona turns the microphone around. And she doesn't go easy on him; questioning whether Runbelievable might also have provided Josh with a rather convenient place to hide.
Growing up, Josh rarely felt like he fitted in. Persistent bullying, a deep desire to be accepted and years spent searching for the next achievement, career, interest or place left him wondering where (if anywhere) he actually belonged.
Running initially became another pursuit to "master". First came parkrun, then a running club, PBs, races and eventually five marathons. But somewhere along the way, getting faster became less important (let's be honset, he kind of no choice!).. with the people around him becoming the focal point.
In this conversation, Shona explores Josh's complicated relationship with belonging, why he trained for months before feeling 'ready' to attend his first parkrun, what happens when the PBs stop coming, the origins of Runbelievable, and why running may finally have given him something he spent much of his life searching for.
In this episode:
Growing up with bullying and struggling to feel accepted. 
Searching for belonging through achievement, career and new challenges. 
Training for months before feeling brave enough to attend his first parkrun. 
Joining a running group for one reason: to get faster. 
Realising that the running community mean more than performance. 
How the original idea for Runbelievable emerged from curiosity about other runners. 
Why other runners' stories have helped Josh better understand himself. 
Finally finding a community he doesn't feel an urge to leave.
🌏 Episodes, community, and all things Runbelievable:
http://runbelievable.au
🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday; hit follow so you don't miss a lap!

☕ Enjoying Runbelievable?
If the show has kept you company on a run, you can help keep the stories coming:
https://buymeacoffee.com/runbelievable
About Runbelievable
Runbelievable is the podcast for every runner. From your first parkrun to your 100th marathon, from walk-run intervals to dabbling in trail running, every runner has a story worth telling. Through honest conversations with runners from all walks of life, Runbelievable explores the challenges, achievements, setbacks, and experiences that connect us through running and shape who we become.