In this inspiring episode, Marcus Smith, founder of InnerFight, shares his journey and the philosophy behind the InnerFight brand (and how it got its name!) Marcus discusses the importance of mental toughness, pushing beyond physical limits, and the significance of building a supportive community. This episode is also a first for our co-host, none other than our Yorkshire Correspondent Mel Sykes, massive thank you to Mel for adding her own style and guiding us through this episode. Marcus...

Konnichiwa!! Welcome to season 12. Welcome to our voyage to the Land of the Rising Sun! In this season opener we reveal what it's all about as Stevie Boy exclusively announces a springtime trip to Tokyo. Another marathon major beckons, and it's an important one for all sorts of reasons. We find out how he got his Tokyo Marathon spot and some initial plans for a bucket-list trip of a lifetime. The best part, you're all invited along! We then spend time having a look back at the UK's premier...

A bonus episode where we get the lowdown from our man on the street (literally) Adrian Stott... In an event like no other, to meet their goal of 3100 miles (4989km) in 52 days, athletes must log an average of 59.6 miles (95.9 km) per day. This is just one statistic of a fascinating event known as the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race which takes place annually in New York. Adrian provides the detail of what's involved for athletes, the organisation of the race and the history...

Our Season 11 Finale is here!! Join us as we round off our long and winding journey into the 'Danger Zone' with Back Yard Ultra specialist Keith Russell. A fitting guest in a week that saw the BYU world best smashed by our pals in Belgium. An enormous achievement and one that will now be firmly in Keith's sights. Keith is something else, an incredible athlete yes, however that's not all. With a fire in his belly fuelled by matters as close to his heart as possible Keith has risen to...

In our penultimate episode of a tumultuous Season 11 we're joined by Rachel Macpherson. It's fair to say that Rachel's running story has exceeded her own expectations. 2024 has given her a taste for some of the UK's most iconic ultra marathons and the chance to test out her growing prowess. We find out from Rachel how, from a standing start, she's moved rapidly up through the distances. From tackling her first marathon in spring 2023 to conquering in style the Highland Fling and Lakeland 50...

We first clapped eyes on Jonny Wolf at the 10k Chilli Trail Race in Auchterarder in 2022 when the first three finishers crossed the line within 9 seconds of each other! Originally from Kelso in the Scottish Borders, Jonny and his partner Tess are now living their best lives in Canada, taking on adventures and exploring their new surrounding area. Happening across Trail Runner Nation podcast in 2017, a fire was lit and Jonny hasn't stopped running since. By his own admission, bit off a big...

We're joined in this episode by Laura Watts. By her own description, Laura is an ordinary girl doing extraordinary things. WARNING...you may feel very inspired by this episode! Laura ran her first marathon in London in 2003, she's come a long way since, completing 179 marathons to date! Laura's running and her learning journey is all in this episode, the highs and lows, it's a no-holds barred extravaganza. The focus of our episode is around the Badwater 135 event, Laura is the first UK...

Join us as we round the bend for the home straight of Season 11. And we're doing so with a swagger. The UTMB. The Champions League final of trail running. For many of our tribe it's a mainstay on the bucket list. Dave Adams had that dream. In 2024 he made it a reality. And he joins us to share his UTMB experience. In typical YHRF style we first find out about Dave's running background. Then he takes us over to Chamonix for the buzz and razzmatazz of the UTMB race week. Recounting his...

Destination Windermere for this week's bumper episode as we look back at our experience taking on The Lap Ultra Marathon. And we've brought our pals! First up we have the pleasure of a race debrief with John Robb. John finished up a superb 2024 racing with another outstanding outing in the Lake District. An honest account of his Lap ensues, oh that finish time! As if one star guest isn't enough we then welcome the lass we know and love as our Yorkshire Correspondent. Mel Sykes had yet...

Let's dip back in time a smidge.  This week we're joined by Robyn Cassidy winner of the 2024 Lakeland 100. Robyn took the top podium spot in Coniston, we focus on that terrific effort but delve into tons more. Robyn runs us through her running career to date picking out highlights along the way. A recap of a busy 2023 including a win at the Dragons Back, a brace of 2nd places at the Arc of Attrition and Ultra Trail Snowdionia and a 'different' day out at the 2024 Madeira Island Ultra Trail...

We take a momentary break from the 'Danger Zone' this week for a much-needed catch-up with your hosts. No guest, but we throw a curve ball by posing 3 questions a piece to each other. Mixing things up, ken. The kettle is just off the boil, mon in for a chill. Whether you want to hear about John's latest scran plan, looking for alternative races for 2025 or want to hear Stevie Boy's thoughts on who's making the biggest splash in the world of ultra running. We've also a race or not plus a...

We've met some great folks along the way whilst doing this podcast malarkey. This week's guest sits comfortably in that bracket. Dan Bentley is that man, you may have seen some of his work on your social channel timelines over the last few months. Dan, a jogger, an ultra-runner and a helluva photographer. In traditional YHRF style we first get to find out about Dan's own running. Just what led him to inadvertently bump into your hosts? Then it's on to speak about Dan the man behind the...

Keeping safe out on the trails and hills. Could we be doing more?This week we're joined by James Anderson, an ultra runner and volunteer member of the Galloway Mountain Rescue Team part of Scottish Mountain Rescue.We bumped into James at this year's Lakeland 100. He was taking part. Raring to go. Then his weekend took an unexpected twist.James came across a stricken fellow competitor. His training kicked into gear. His race over.Listen in as we find out the tale. We also get to know about...

Neil Walker joins us this week to recount a memorable day spent on the Rob Roy Way. Drymen to Pitlochry. Come on and dive in to hear all about it. Neil takes us through his recent attempt to grab the Fastest Known Time on the famed Rob Roy Way Trail. He chose the tougher of the two route options, just shy of 90 miles with almost 11k feet of vertical ascent. Neil, who previously repped for Scotland cycling in the Commonwealth Games, starts by giving us his running story. What from his...

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!!! In this week's episode we're joined by winner of the 2024 Jungle Ultra Ben Harrison. Taking us straight into the danger zone from the get-go Ben's take on his memorable time in the Amazon rainforest is both inspirational and appetite whetting. How does a lad from Tenby conquer a jungle ultra in Peru? Listen into find out. A captivating character Ben holds nothing back to give us an amazing insight into his 230km journey. It's epic stuff. Ben also covers his own why,...

We said we’d be back to unpack our Lakeland 100 weekender, let’s go! Dusting ourselves off after another everlasting weekend in the Lake District John, Stevie Boy and Mel Sykes sit down for the big debrief! We’ve plenty to cover. It proved to be a tough race for both John and Mel as the course threw all it had at them. Their outcomes differed with John battling injury and Mel battling the downright rude terrain. We get tore into in typical warts n all fashion.  Kicking off with pre-race...

Danger Zone ye say? Mon then. Our eyes are on the Lake District this week as we turn ALL our attention to what is set to be another tumultuous weekend in Coniston. Yip, the time has come for our John to hit go on his latest adventure as he looks forward to taking on the Montane Lakeland 100. Joining us is fellow LL100 2024 starter, our esteemed Yorkshire correspondent Mel Sykes. Stevie Boy leads the questioning as we whet the appetites ahead of the big dance. Training blocks, race plans,...

This week we're over the moon to chat with a guy who's made a monumental impact in the sport of trail and ultra running. Dylan Bowman joins us for another landmark episode of the Young Hearts Run Free Podcast. Hot off a heavy schedule covering race weekends the length and breadth of the USA Dylan blows the lid off in our recap of his running career, his Freetrail media journey and gives us a wee sneak peek at what's next. A self-proclaimed 'Trail Running Evangelist' his infectious passion...

Jarlath Mckenna had an absolute belter of a day this year on the West Highland Way Race. Snatching that coveted first place with aplomb. Yes...Jarlath entered the danger zone, but how did he react, how did he deal with it? We've got all of the answers and more as he joins us for a race debrief. We don't just speak about the WHW though, we cover Jarlath's early days of running and his transition to ultra marathons which followed a rather tasty period running marathon distance. It's in...

Who would run 60 miles over Wales toughest Mountains, and then turn around and do it all over again? This weeks guest Ajay Hanspal did exactly that on his way to setting a new Double Paddy Buckley Round FKT. What is the Paddy Buckley round? Ajay gives us the details, but in summary it covers 132 miles, with 58,500ft of elevation and includes 94 summits! Phew... Previous guest Nicky Spinks was the first to complete the challenge in 2019 and held the previous record of 57hrs 27mins, come on...

The Cape Wrath Trail. It's almost mythical. It certainly presents a danger zone. This week we welcome the quite magnificent Tom Rainey to tell us all about it. Tom recently tackled the North to South version of the Cape Wrath Trail in pursuit of the Fastest Known Time. 240 miles of arduous terrain, it turned out to be quite the adventure! We're unsure if we've ever had a guest who's been quite as excited to appear on the podcast than Tom. He's a wonderfully infectious human being, fun,...

It's the 2024 YHRF summer special bonus episode 110 miles up the Pennine Way, a few months after a brain operation, is this even possible? It is if your our Yorkshire Correspondent Mel Sykes. Mel chats with us about the kit list, the terrain, the rain, what it takes to complete this demanding long distance event. Did we mention the rain? Did we mention the feet photos? What lessons did Mel learn from the same event in 2023, did she eat proper this time? The whole story is regaled in Mel's no...

Welcome to season 11 episode 1, welcome to the Danger Zone! Let's talk iconic Scottish trail races, let's talk Scottish running icons, let's talks West Highland Way race, let's talk to Fiona Rennie. Fiona started running in the early 1980's and has covered a fair few miles since! 103 ultra marathons...so far! Fiona's first ultramarathon was the Speyside Way and her results from that race were posted to her with a wee note from race director Don Ritchie. How times have changed! Proud to wear...

EPISODE 200! It's a whopper!! We lay out the red carpet for the return to the podcast of the indomitable Jasmin Paris. It's the most fitting of season finales. We've a single-minded agenda as Jasmin leads us through her historic Barkley Marathons finish. Her achievement rightly became global news but how exactly did she manage her time out on the toughest of ultra-marathons? How did she prep for such a monumental endeavour? How did she build up the enormous self-belief that she could...