The Natural Running Network

Have you been talked into making a change in your diet? Decided to go Vegan, Paleo or Keto? Did someone sell you on the promise of weight loss and greater performance as a benefit of making this radical change in your diet? Are you hoping to become “fat adapted”?  Richard Diaz (host) asked Matt Fitzgerald,… Read more → The post Diets Vs. Performance appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Ever wonder about the use or potential benefits of wearing compression wear in a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder? Does it help circulation while running, does it help with recovery? Whats your take on the subject?  Zoe Szczepanek asks these questions of Coach Richard Diaz. Be warned these are opinions and they may not be… Read more → The post Compression Wear, Yes, No, Maybe? appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

The most common questions presented to me (Coach Richard Diaz) is “what Running Shoes Should I Buy”?  One would expect that my answer might be to name off a particular brand.  In this episode, we try to address the How to and what to look for when looking to purchase your next pair of running… Read more → The post How to Buy the Right Running Shoes! appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Have you ever asked yourself… “Am I doing too much, training too hard too often?” In this episode, Richard Diaz interviews Lennard Zinn and Chris Case the authors of – The Haywire Heart a book that reveals… How too much exercise can kill you, and what you can do to protect your heart. We all take… Read more → The post How too much exercise can kill you! The Haywire Heart appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Kirk DeWindt “The Bachelor” turned Elite SpartanKirk DeWindt is the real deal. He may have done his stint on reality TV on various episodes of The Bachelor but when it comes to athletic prowess, Kirk is ready to bring it.  He has had some success early in Spartan Race events but this is the year… Read more → The post Kirk DeWindt “The Bachelor” turned Elite Spartan appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Meet Zoe Szczepanek, the new co-host to the Natural Running Network Podcast. Anyone who has attended a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder has most likely seen her.  What you may not know is that she has an on going battle with a debilitating hip injury associated with her lust for competition.  Zoe comes clean and… Read more → The post Zoe Szczepanek’s Road to Recovery appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

One of our most favorite things to do and most popular for our audience is to answer questions!  At the end of the day, most obstacle course racing athletes who tune into our show do so to pick up training tips and pearls of wisdom.  What could be better than to come on to our… Read more → The post The Live Q&A Show! Answering the burning questions for OCR Athletes appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Faye Stenning is arguably the fiercest competitor on the Spartan Race circuit. Aside from her racing career, she runs a successful OCR coaching business.  To her credit, her openness to step outside her experience to learn from her colleagues provided some powerful insight for her leading into the 2018 OCR Race Season. Faye recently attended… Read more → The post Elite OCR Athlete Faye Stenning visits The Secret lab appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

20017 was the year of change in the sport of OCR there seems to have been a power struggle between the Spartan and the Tough Mudder camps. The Television Networks have taken note of this explosive popularity and have answered the call by providing massive coverage of the sport.  NBC has virtually molded the race… Read more → The post How to Develop a Successful OCR Sprint Race Campaign like the Pros appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

In most all other endurance sports, training is periodized over a race season.  Join us as we walk you through a step by step approach to effectively arranging your training and race season for 2018.  Are you simply grabbing a season pass and planning to race according to whats close or what your friends are… Read more → The post How to Plan a Winning OCR Race Season appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Its been weeks since our last podcast, forgive me.  I had a big birthday and left the country to celebrate followed by a few weeks on the road putting on running clinics but… We’re Back!  In this episode (to be continued in the next episode) we discuss: What it feels like to hit the wall… Read more → The post Prepping for the New OCR race season, what to do and why. appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

The Natural Running Network has consistently delivered cutting edge information for endurance athletes for a bit over 5 years with over 300 episodes doled out weekly.  As a show of gratitude we decided to host a Black Friday “Best of Episodes” contest. The winners will receive gifts ranging from free entry into diaz human performance‘s OCR Run Clinics (valued up to $500)… Read more → The post The Best of Episodes Review for The Natural Running Network appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

What do you get when you mix an American flag with a Canadian? You get an US “Ay” instead of a USA!  Team US-Ay members Miguel Medina and Austin Azar join us to share thoughts on their 2nd place finish at Worlds Toughest Mudder and the conversation goes way of point. For example, whats the… Read more → The post Worlds Toughest Mudder Recap with Team US-“AY appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

It may seem like a heavy statement to say “The Fittest Runner I’ve Ever met” but in all the years of assessing the fitness of athletes (over two decades) this runner, Blue Benadum has consistently tested off the charts in a VO2max test, I’m talking over 85 mls/kg/min!  To put this in perspective,  a score… Read more → The post A Conversation with the Fittest Runner I’ve ever met appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

I’ve often spoke of the importance of dedicating time to MSD sessions in each training week. They will not only keep you sharp, fine tune your running skills but if you’re not already doing them, it may be the reason you can’t seem to break through your performance plateau’s. If you are currently dong what… Read more → The post The Running Performance Drill that will Unleash your Potential appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

The beginning of this episode starts out with some high opinionated commentary about the state of OCR, bad decisions made by Tough Mudder, followed with curiosities regarding the direction taken by Spartan Race.  Once thats done, Shan Kahn and I discuss the importance of getting the numbers right with training; how much volume to take… Read more → The post Training by the Numbers appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

It may seem like a play on words but Allison Tai is one Tough Mudder in every sense of the phrase.  Just recently coming off of the win at The Spartan Ultra Beast World Championships this year (2017), she is setting her sites on the win at The Toughest Mudder World Championship in a matter of… Read more → The post Allison Tai – Ultra Beast World Champ 2017 appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Did you barely survive or thrive when crossing the finish line this weekend at Spartan Race World Championships Tahoe? Richard Diaz and Shan Khan dive into what was seen from those finishing the race, how ankle stability and foot strength is crucial to these distances, when and how you should start training for an endeavor… Read more → The post Spartan World Championships, Were you Prepared? appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

The Obstacle Course Racing Season has a few big events over the next few weeks with Spartan World Championships this weekend, followed by OCR World Championships and Toughest Mudder but once these events wind down, what then? Are you planning an Off Season?  What will that look like, will you take a few weeks, months… Read more → The post The Best Advise for OCR Athletes… Plan an OFF SEASON appeared first on The Natural Running Network.

Before Natural Running was Vogue, before Born to Run, there was Pose Running. Almost cult like, Dr. Nicholas Romanov had spent a lifetime studying the way we should be running. Much of what he created is difficult to refute. It was fun to have a chance to discuss his theories and compare them to my… Read more → The post Interview with Dr.Romanov creator of the Pose Running Method appeared first on The Natural Running Network.