If you do not know how to identify and even become a first responder to overuse injuries your athletes deal with, you have no business leading them as their coach. I learned this early and have become a staunch follower in all facets of these concerns and how best to meet them with incredible solutions, many provided by The RockTape company.

Will Chung, grandson to the late creator of Soo Bahk Do, a Korean style of martial arts is respected as one of the great movement experts of our time. We recently learned of our connection through family and realized the synergy of thought we also shared in our training philosophy. Anyone who aspires to improve their athletic abilities will benefit from this candid conversation.

Fitness competitions are all the rage. With the advent of #crossfitgames #hyrox and now #thenashvillefitgames we seem to be searching for the optimal body type and functional training to create The Hybrid Athlete. With the help of Devin Tolentino, Kimm Chase and Augie Christian and myself Richard Diaz, we discuss what it takes to achieve this standard.

Steven Sashen is the CEO and Co-founder of Xero Shoes, a company dedicated to the design of minimal running shoes and the belief that as close to barefoot in all we do is healthier and promotes longevity. It is a rare opportunity to find a running shoe manufacture who refuses to bend to trendy designs in the hopes of earning more money! Richard Diaz has long been a supporter of learning to run as our bodies were designed to function as seemingly unpopular it may be to avoid trendy...

If Kipchoge ran BAREFOOT? Nike had invested a fortune to bring one of their Elite runners to the finish line of a marathon in under 2 hours. Elide Kipchoge did just that! Of course, Nike Monopolized on the event by creating a special racing shoe for him to wear which will pay them back 1000 times over. The question is… If Eliud was paid to attempt the Marathon BAREEFOOT would he have been able to better or at least match his amazing finish? There is a lot of controversy surrounding shoe...

Hard to believe but yes it’s true! I did an interview after a long break from podcasting.  I said I wouldn’t do it unless I found someone interesting to chat with.  So… I reached out to Rylan Schadegg, someone I think is worth a look.  A fierce competitor new on the OCR and functional fitness arena.  You can catch the video interview on my YouTube channel. https://youtube.com/c/RichardDiaznaturalrunningcoach

Time Trial Tips for Runners… In most training plans runners follow, rarely do you see Time Trials. Blue Benadum and Richard Diaz felt that it’s a topic that runners should understand and employ in their training. How to do it, when to do and why to do them is covered here in this episode! In the conversation Blue mentioned the training plan he followed for Boston and the Book I wrote “Training the Dark Side” find them both as a bundle from this link: https://diazhumanperformance.com/prod…

Who is Richard Diaz? it’s difficult to put a label on him and he would prefer you don’t. His notoriety is earned through his success as a coach and sports clinician and yes, he has written a few books. All the same he doesn’t like to be defined exclusively for these accomplishments. He has exceeded retirement age with no interest in shutting it down. Blue Benadum an accomplished elite marathon runner who apprenticed under Coach Diaz. Richard is no bull shit coach, those who don’t know him...

OCR for Beginners! There is so much to know and learn if you’ve never participated in a Spartan race or any other OCR event, such as Tough Mudder, Savage Race. The first thing you should know is that they are addicting! It seems people can’t get enough of them, almost to a fault. In OCR for Beginners we discuss things you need to work towards, what’s important, what is less important, basically things you need to know to crush your first Spartan Race! Your host, Richard Diaz is...

dip’s OCR Run Clinic recap Tired of getting injured doing OCR Races? OCR Run Clinic Recap Tired of getting injured doing OCR Races? A few things you can depend on, the sky is blue, grass is green and OCR athletes get injured. Out of love for participation in Spartan races and other OCR events, many enthusiastic OCR participants will find themselves suffering from injuries that could have been avoided.  It’s a function of eduction and application.  Racing is not...

If you run, you had to have been dealing with injuries and follow the concepts and rationale for shifting to “Running Naturally”.  Odd’s are you have been working at it, changed to a more minimal design in shoe selection and through it all, thus far, you’ve come up lame! Injury, frustration yet still feeling you are on the right path, that the frustration will result in success and are not about to give up, you need to hear this. You could be approaching the work all wrong! It’s not...

Planning on setting new goals for the New Year? We set out to help you avoid common pitfalls so you can avoid inevitable failure! We cover 10 bad idea’s and 10 common approaches and conclude by adding our own spin on what steps to take to help you ensure your success!

Running Road VS. Trail So many athletes tell us they don’t like running on road because its hard on their bodies. Is it the surface we choose to run on or something more? Coach Diaz sheds light and his opinion on the choice between Trail Running and Road Running. We will also offer some insights on shoe selection relative to task. What’s your flavor? Why? Please leave us your comments and by all means… SUBSCRIBE!

Regardless if you are a runner, Obstacle course athlete, Hyrox or even Crossfit, The FLow Method of training will boost your tolerance to fatigue and build your capacity to deal with lactate production, who many see as performance killer. This conversation revolves around Richard Diaz’s recent book, Training the Dark Side. Our goal is to shed some light on frequently asked questions but the solution to truly understand the concepts, we recommend you get a copy of the book. It can be...

Over Trained? How to self-diagnose. Can you tell when you are over reaching with your training before it’s too late? It is a problem. Many athletes do not know when to say when, what is enough or when is it too much. There is nothing worse than putting in too much work only to be left lethargic, having to back off or even injured as a result. In this podcast, Leah Duhon, our Co-host asks the questions… When are we in over our heads and how can we self diagnosis the problem early....

The 1% Factor – How to accelerate your performance reveals what you can do to provide in the words of Sir Dave Brailsford “the Aggregation of Marginal Gains.” These solutions are so simple it’s hard to believe they would have such profound improvements over your training. And not just in sport but in everything you do! Co-host “Princess Leah” and I felt that every listener and viewer should give energy to this episode! We offer interesting insights from a few other dynamic...

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about heart rate training (but were afraid to ask). Let’s face it, it’s complicated business to truly understand how, why and when as it relates to heart rate. Not to mention, knowing what heart rate you should be following for it to be effective for you! As it so happens, writing training plans and providing clinical analysis for athletes is my day job. Having interviewed countless athletes, I have come to realize how frustrating this can be. ...

Running Shoes… Which is right for me? It’s the most complex question asked of me as a coach. There is really no definitive choice that can be recommended. If you are well informed regarding foot function, the potential for running related injuries and the causes, providing advice here can be a slippery slope! It’s the most complex question asked of me as a coach. There is really no definitive choice that can be recommended. If you are well informed regarding foot function, the potential...

Join Coach Diaz The Natural Running Networks new Co-Host Leah Duhon “Princess Leah” a highly talented Ninja and OCR athlete in her own right. This episode was open to the audience, Questions and Answers for OCR and Endurance Athletes from those who had questions regarding a variety of topics related to racing and training. We hope you enjoy it. If you do, please subscribe to help stimulate more content!

The Relay event with one rule… Get to Vegas on foot faster than everyone else! The LA Speed Project was the brain child of Blue Benadum and a few of his friends. The conversation went a little like this: “What do you say we do a relay to Vegas? Ok, as long as we do it as fast as possible.” So it began back in 2012. Blue’s wife lead a team of 5 girls in 2019 who set a record of 37 hours over the 307 miles. A record that has yet to be broken. This interview is with both Cassidy...

Yes, I have been interviewed on the topic of Training The Dark Side before. However, this explanation, in my opinion is the most comprehensive view and rationale for why this training is so effective. Blue Benadum is an elite Marathon runner. He has embraced the concepts of Flow training and in fact, he has decided to use these concepts as the recommended approach to training for his new project “GURU” a new and exciting training app that is now in beta and soon to be released. As a...

The Boston Marathon is arguably the most prestigious running event in the United States and possibly the world. Qualifying for Boston is no easy task. I have a conversation with a friend Blue Benadum a highly successful runner who has run Boston 6 times and set a personal best of 2:23 at this event. He has also run the Lake Tahoe triple (3 marathons in three consecutive days) and won twice, all of which clocked in beneath 3:00. In this conversation we discuss “How to Get to the Boston...

I wanted to have a candid conversation with Nicole Mericle, not so much about her recent win at The Jacksonville Spartan Race which was spectacular by the way. My interest is in her new formation of The Dream Team and The OCR Women’s Development Team. This is a first in the sport and I for one think she is onto something. Listen for the details!

As we all hope, we’re rounding the turn on this insidious pandemic and the summer to fall seasons busting at the seams with races clamoring to occupy what few weekends left for the 2021 season.  Through all of this turmoil, it appears that another event producer is emerging on the obstacle course racing scene.  HILDERVAT so named from Viking lineage, loosely translated to battle on water.  Hildervat is putting on some interesting events on the beaches of Northern Florida.  I caught up with...