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Michael Roderick
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This week on the UKRunChat Podcast, we’re joined by Michael Roderick, a runner and coach who has taken his training from the every day to achieving elite-level times. Michael shares his inspiring journey from being a regular runner to pushing his limits.
In this episode, we find out:
- How Michael transformed his approach to training to achieve elite times.
- Proudest moments that define his running journey.
- Setting up a running club, and how community can help propel you to the next level.
- Overcoming injury, and lessons learned along the way.
Whether you’re chasing a PB, overcoming challenges, or just love an inspiring story, this episode will motivate you to dream bigger and run stronger.
Follow Michael on Instagram
#ukrunchat
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Background
00:00:00
UKRunChat
to this episode of the UK Run Chat podcast today. We're joined by Michael Roderick, one of our runners in our community. We're very excited to be chatting to him today about all things running.
00:00:10
UKRunChat
Hiya, Michael. ah Welcome and thanks for joining us.
00:00:11
Michael Roderick
Good morning. No problem. Morning.
00:00:14
UKRunChat
Yeah, would you like to just introduce yourself to our listeners, please?
00:00:18
Michael Roderick
um So i my name is Michael Roderick. I'm 34 years old. I live in Swansea in South Wales. um I've been running for quite a while now. I've been running for 20 years.
The Impact of Lockdown on Running
00:00:32
Michael Roderick
and And sort of or since lockdown, really, I really My running's really taken off. I was always a bit of a recreational runner, and then the last sort of four or five years now has become a bit more serious, and I'm taking it a lot more serious than I have before.
00:00:47
UKRunChat
Yeah, we we love seeing your updates that you post on Instagram. and we're We're always sharing them. You've probably seen them. If you're listening out there, you've seen them sharing lots of Michael's posts.
00:00:54
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:00:59
UKRunChat
and So what's changed since lockdown, do you think?
00:01:02
Michael Roderick
um I think i I started running when I was 14, 15 and that was pretty much a bet between me and my old business studies teacher that I couldn't do a 5K quicker than he could. um Turned out I was pretty good at it because I was a sprinter in school. So my first 5K was a good time and then I kind of got the bug from that.
Running and Community Leadership
00:01:22
Michael Roderick
And i was i then I started doing stuff for charity. So I started training for like 10Ks and half marathons all for charity.
00:01:28
Michael Roderick
um did my first marathon back in 2013, which was London, the charity. um But i was always running was never my main focal point. I was playing football a lot. um And I was also doing other stuff. just not Running was just something I enjoyed doing. And and then joining a local running club.
00:01:49
Michael Roderick
Few years, quite a few years before lockdown. Started to enjoy that. And then I think it was 2016, I became a run leader for a local running club. So I started to help people um train and you know we did everything from coach to 5K up to marathon. I was involved in all of that. And then lockdown, just before lockdown happened, myself and a few of my close friends, we were kind of having in a discussion about um what we should do because we all felt that we could there was something missing there was a gap in the market in Swansea there was a club there was a few clubs but what we wanted to do there wasn't many clubs that offered the running side and a few of the triathlon stuff but more running focus um so we decided to start my club up which we'll talk about later um but then obviously lockdown happened and
00:02:39
Michael Roderick
I think a lot of people went one or two ways in lockdown. They either went and got really fit or they lost all their motivation. Unfortunately, I was the first where I started with put on third order and I started training two or three times a day um because I had nothing better to do. um My wife was the same. She was doing a lot of, she does a lot of running. um So we both decided, we both got immediately into our running and then kind of when the lockdown was easing,
00:03:06
Michael Roderick
um Wales was a little bit behind
Social Media and Training Evolution
00:03:08
Michael Roderick
England as well. So we didn't get events. We weren't allowed to run events as quick as England were. So I was travelling to England to race.
00:03:14
UKRunChat
oh really
00:03:15
Michael Roderick
um And all of a sudden I noticed my times were a lot better than they were before lockdown. So I started to decide, right, if I stopped football now, could I become a better runner? And started to look at different avenues of that.
00:03:27
Michael Roderick
And then within like 12 months of lockdown finishing, I was hitting sort of elite stand times, which I never thought was possible years ago. um And obviously the club kind of took off at the same time as well.
00:03:39
Michael Roderick
So that kind of went hand in hand.
00:03:40
Michael Roderick
And yeah, the last four years has been a bit of a whirlwind where I've done a lot of racing, a lot of running, um met a lot of people, and social media has been massive as well, I think, because Instagram massively helped me through lockdown.
00:03:40
UKRunChat
Oh, really?
00:03:52
UKRunChat
yeah
00:03:54
Michael Roderick
um The running community on a whole, including like the UK Run chat page,
00:03:57
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:03:58
Michael Roderick
um know um I've been lucky that I met a lot of people who I've spoke to on social media over the last few years, because when the races and stuff, you get to meet up. I'm pretty much right up to now where I'm still running 30 to 40 races a year, um as well as everything else has gone.
00:04:12
UKRunChat
Yeah, well, yes.
00:04:17
UKRunChat
yeah but Yeah, that's an incredible transformation. So is it just the volume of running that impacted that at first, would you say? So what did you start to add in? what How did training change?
00:04:29
Michael Roderick
I think and i look when I look back, I used to just sort of go out and run and I'd always run like pretty much the same pace. For me, it was always like go out and run six and a half, seven minute mile in with no real structure behind it. um And I think that's why I was never getting better as I was just going to run. Whereas in lockdown, I was sort of with my club. We were the only club in South Wales that were planning virtual sessions for people. So we'd go and say, right, go and do this.
00:04:56
Michael Roderick
And I started to do more tailored running. And then I thought, right, well, if I slowed my other runs down and I actually did what you meant to do as a runner, um, then the volume came hand in hand. I started to run more days because I'd only run like three times a week initially. Then I would go up four or five. And for the last two or three years and now, I've not had many days off, um, because I've not felt that needed to my body's kind of adapted to the run, you know, running pretty much almost every day or very, a lot of it. But.
00:05:26
Michael Roderick
not all those are like high volume runs anymore sort of really easy runs or runs your friends or whatever it might be um and I think that it just grew over time and I've seen that same pattern that with people in my running club where I've told trying been trying to tell them what to do and I've got friends now who've literally doubled their mileage in 12 months and but they've also like massively achieved everything they wanted to do at the same time so
00:05:45
UKRunChat
Wow.
00:05:50
UKRunChat
Yeah, that's incredible. So talk us through that training in philosophy a little bit then. So you mentioned slowing most of your runs down. What do the other runs look like and, you know, how does an easy run feel? How long is it, for example?
00:06:03
Michael Roderick
I think like Monday always used to be my rest day and then Monday became my easy Monday and for the last 15 months when I've got a couple of friends and we tend to go out on a Monday morning now.
00:06:16
Michael Roderick
and but we'll never run faster than, for blafo and obviously everybody's pace is different.
00:06:21
UKRunChat
yeah yeah
00:06:21
Michael Roderick
um So my pace might be totally different than someone else's, my like my wife's is totally different than mine. But for us, like our race pace is like five or six minute mile in, but then our easy runs is eight, nine minute mile in.
00:06:32
Michael Roderick
So we are really slowing it down, making sure we're having a good chat.
00:06:34
UKRunChat
yeah
00:06:36
Michael Roderick
doesn't matter if you put a few hills into it but it's just that you know it's kept very easy we never do more than about four or five miles so it's always like a nice start of the week and then Tuesday tends to be a more intense session for me whether it's if I'm marathon training it's long run with long efforts or if it's
00:06:44
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah.
00:06:54
Michael Roderick
If I'm doing the shorter racing in the spring and the summer, then it's a lot of, we do, I've got a group of friends and we train them, ah we go and do track running and speed work, um just as a group of friends, nothing to do with my the club or nothing, and we just meet up as friends.
00:07:07
Michael Roderick
And we all kind of do our own little sessions, but we just train together, that so it's quite nice, because we're all sort of pushing each other and passing each other. Wednesday then becomes another easy run, so you kind of alternate back and forth.
00:07:18
UKRunChat
yeah yeah.
00:07:19
Michael Roderick
um Thursday night is my one of my club nights, so we always do either speed work or hill work on that. um But again, to top my mileage up and my volume up, I tend to do um extra miles before the session, just very easy, just chilled out all and more three or four miles, so then that ends up being like a 10, 11 mile day, which, that's how I built it.
00:07:38
UKRunChat
yeah.
00:07:41
Michael Roderick
It was building up my volume in stages, really.
00:07:42
UKRunChat
yeah.
00:07:44
Michael Roderick
Same with Friday, and Friday's always become like an easy run now, so I'll just chuck my headphones in, growth and i could it could be any distance because it depends on if i've got a race on the weekend obviously um and then saturday nine times out of ten is park run day um me and a lot of people from the club we always um my local one is Swansea we i've done it 170 180 times now um but again i'll do a couple of miles before easy a couple of miles after easy and they are if i'm doing park run it's a six minute mile then
00:08:15
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:08:15
Michael Roderick
warm up and cool down now seven and a half eight eight and a half so it is really easy really chill and then Sunday's always been naturally the long run day.
00:08:23
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:08:24
Michael Roderick
It's my other club run day so we tend to do that and if we're not going really long on the club run then me and some of them will either do miles before or after again to top up what we need to for our training.
00:08:35
UKRunChat
Yeah. So if someone's out there listening and thinking I want to kind of increase the amount of running that I'm doing and I want to improve, Where would you recommend they start? Say, for example, someone's running three times a week at the moment and they're just getting out for for a run. Where would you recommend they start?
00:08:51
Michael Roderick
I think the easiest thing to, but but what a lot of people might do is just, I'm going to go and run more days. But that might he might depend, it has to be sort of, you have to be sensible with it.
00:09:02
Michael Roderick
So you can't go run a 15 mile train around on a Sunday and then try and run the Monday if you're not used to it.
00:09:02
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:09:07
Michael Roderick
You have to kind of build it up. So it's either, if you run in three days, three times a week, then maybe increase the mileage on one of those, increase the intensity on one of those. and then add in a very, very easy run on another day where you haven't done something too hard the day before. And then ah eventually, that's what I noticed was my legs didn't ache as much because they just got conditioned to it. And even when I was, if I did like a a 20 mile run on a Tuesday, for example.
00:09:37
Michael Roderick
And then I could still get up for an easy four mile run on the Wednesday, but it would have to have to be very easy because your legs are naturally only tired. Otherwise you'll never recover. And I think that's the one thing I've encouraged everybody else to do is if they are feeling that their legs tired, then don't, they don't be afraid to take a rest day.
00:09:55
UKRunChat
yeah.
00:09:55
Michael Roderick
Like I know that can happen until recently. I run pretty much every day this year. Um, But that was because I felt like I didn't need the rest day, because my easy days were as good as a rest day.
00:10:07
Michael Roderick
It was just, if I didn't run the three or four miles easy, then I'd go more five or six miles, which would be the same sort of intensity. so
00:10:14
UKRunChat
yeah yeah okay. and So tell us about the club. So when did that start
Growth and Challenges of Try Hard Harriers
00:10:22
UKRunChat
up? Because you you're a founder of the club, aren't you?
00:10:25
Michael Roderick
Yeah, so my club is called Try Hard Harriers.
00:10:25
UKRunChat
So when and how did that happen?
00:10:30
Michael Roderick
And like guess I said, we're based in Swansea. It was, it all started as a group of nine of us. Um, and we were actually on a Christmas night out and they were all saying that yeah I should start a club up because I've got a lot of running experience and didn't believe it. Um, I'd actually been asked to go and join a couple of other different clubs. So my plan was to just moved to another club in in the area. Um, and then we decided, right, well'll we'll give it a go. We'll see what happens. I'll put the initial plan. We started up as a social running club, which meant that
00:11:02
Michael Roderick
Anybody from any club could come and just run with us. um But we were going to do the sessions that I wanted to do, which were different to what we knew anything else, that anybody else was doing at that time.
00:11:04
UKRunChat
you.
00:11:14
Michael Roderick
So we started in January of 2020. Obviously, two months later, COVID hit, um which for us was the best thing that ever happened because we were very proactive with with COVID as a club.
00:11:27
Michael Roderick
um We didn't have many members before it, but then As I mentioned earlier, we whereas we were training on a Thursday and a Sunday, we then put sessions out on social media on a Thursday and a Sunday, and we have people from all over the UK in the end doing our sessions um because it gives them come some kind of structure where they were just going out to run because they didn't have their club sessions anymore.
00:11:41
UKRunChat
yeahwhile
00:11:47
Michael Roderick
We were putting these up right, go and do these three hill sprints or whatever it might be. And when we came out to the first lockdown, then we had about 40, 45 people turn up to the first session, which was massive numbers, and we more than we'd expected.
00:12:03
Michael Roderick
And a lot of these were people that had never been part of a club before either. So they were like new people who kind of got into it or got more serious into it because of lockdown.
00:12:07
UKRunChat
Yeah, wow.
00:12:11
Michael Roderick
So then we affiliated in the summer of 2020. And it's just snowballed massively from there. We're now a fully affiliated triathlon club, as well as a running club. and We've got 125 members. um We've got people that have done racing and events all over the world. we've had ah We've got one of our members this year who's represented Wales. um And he's going on to rep hopefully represent Great Britain in the Master Series. um It's been the best thing I think I could have ever dreamt for it to be. um
00:12:44
Michael Roderick
It does keep me busy because it's like having a certain job that you don't get paid for, but it's my passion and I love it.
00:12:46
UKRunChat
Yeah, I'm sure.
00:12:49
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:12:49
Michael Roderick
And I've also got a fantastic committee behind me as well, um who helped with every step of the way.
00:12:52
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:12:55
Michael Roderick
And my wife was heavily involved with setting it up. um And I think if she didn't have the patience to allow me to do it, then we wouldn't be where we were. so
00:13:03
UKRunChat
Yeah, it can be it can be challenging and heading up a club, can't it?
00:13:07
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:13:07
UKRunChat
Yeah. And any kind of challenges that you've experienced or any advice that you give to somebody thinking about starting their own club.
00:13:16
Michael Roderick
I think if you have the confidence to do it then it's not the most challenging for us was the the hurdles you have to overcome at the very beginning because there's some legalities and stuff if you want to become an official club but then if you've got the core members then that becomes easier it's just try not and the one thing which we always said is we don't want to be the best club or the biggest club we just want to be who we are and we've got a we feel that we've got our our identity now and I think the bigger things can get, sometimes unless you've got people the the sort of the manpower on the ground to control that, it can really get out to control.
00:13:56
Michael Roderick
like we When our numbers started to creep from 50 to 100, that because became one of our biggest challenges, is how do we manage this, not the people. How do we keep everybody happy? ah We've got training sessions five days a week now, um between the running and the swimming and the bike, because obviously, like I said, with the try stuff.
00:14:08
UKRunChat
yeah well.
00:14:13
Michael Roderick
but you're not going to keep every single person happy but we do we try it and I think we've got a very sort of family based club so like everybody knows everybody every trains with everybody um you know we've got like the WhatsApp chats and we've got all stuff like that so we can talk to each other as well and it's just things like that which we've developed over the last couple of years
00:14:29
UKRunChat
yeah.
00:14:34
Michael Roderick
Like I said, the club's going to be five years old now in January, and we've got so much planned for next year already, where hopefully it'll be and even more success than this year. so
00:14:43
UKRunChat
Yeah, that's exciting. how How do you find kind of getting volunteers to to coach the sessions and you know plan out the training?
00:14:51
Michael Roderick
ah to With regard, obviously, when we started, there was a the ones that started it, um they kind of were happy to get involved with this taking the sessions and stuff. I was predominantly doing it because I'd had the experience before. But then as people as time has gone on, yeah we always we don't ever like force anybody to become a coach or nothing like that. it We sometimes put it out there and say, is anybody interested in it? um And like every year, we get three or four new people who go through like the leaders course.
00:15:18
Michael Roderick
um And then they kind of come on board and helped. Same with the committee, the committee started with just like the group of friends that started the club. And now we brought in other people who were more tailored to certain roles, so which has helped the committee sort of solidify a little bit more and made things a bit more structured because we were doing things, but now we're doing things a lot better.
00:15:39
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:15:39
Michael Roderick
um Even just simple things like making sure the finances are in check and making sure we have all the meetings and we should be having meetings and stuff. We were doing it a bit more ad hoc at the beginning because it was we didn't know what we were doing as running a club um and even though from the outside it looked like a great success, yeah we will I think now we know what we're doing a lot better and I think it's working behind the scenes it's working a lot better as well. though
00:16:03
UKRunChat
Yeah, I think that's important, isn't it? And I think it's important to keep bringing kind of new people in to help as well.
00:16:09
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:16:09
UKRunChat
You need that kind of fluidity, don't you? And planning ahead as well. Yeah, no, that's great.
00:16:16
Michael Roderick
Yeah. I think like the one thing which really helped me was when we were in lockdown, as I said, we couldn't race in Wales. But because we had this like core group of members at the time of 30 or 40, there's a few like run through events. Obviously, they were back up and running very early in lockdown in in England.
00:16:36
Michael Roderick
um and I know a few of the guys that run it because I've done a few of their races and they were very kind to like sort of back support the club at the early days there was a few other companies that did as well so like we took 30 or 40 people to like challenge them to do a race um so we were traveling as a club then which not many other clubs are doing in those numbers because of and I think a lot of people were apprehensive because of lockdown as well whereas
00:17:00
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:17:01
Michael Roderick
people that joined the club were really like they wanted to get going they wanted to be part of the club so when we started going and doing these events it looked great because social media we had 30 people granted our first 14 photos were two meters apart which was really hard to do but we did it and we've got some brilliant photos from that of like us all standing in a field like two meters apart um but then it's come to what it is now so
00:17:14
UKRunChat
Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, I know. That's great. Is the virtual side still going strong then?
00:17:28
Michael Roderick
Yeah, without like I said, we don't do the virtual sessions and stuff anymore because we do the normal sessions on that day, you know, but and we're still really active on social media.
00:17:39
Michael Roderick
as As Act Deserves, we feel we need to be.
00:17:41
Michael Roderick
um We're still, like I said, we've developed like the WhatsApp chat, we've got um this year now we've introduced a WhatsApp community so we've got a different events, different group chats for different races so people can have conversations.
00:17:41
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:17:56
Michael Roderick
We've got a women's chat, we've got a men's chat which they talk about like mental health and stuff in there as well which is quite nice outside of running you know people can just talk in a confidential space and it's things like that which we've developed now as well and we always try and as a club we have a couple of socials every year so
00:18:02
UKRunChat
Yeah, it is, isn't it? Yeah.
00:18:13
Michael Roderick
Like last year we went and played mini golf. We went and had a curry. We've got to render you a Christmas party, which is always really good. um And it's little things that we try and encourage so that people come together.
00:18:24
Michael Roderick
So it's not just about the running. The club is and myself are known for, we always like to try and go for a drink after a race because it's just that way where you've done the run and then you can celebrate and kind of all just and enjoy it as well.
00:18:37
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's it's nice to be social, isn't it? And I think you do make a lot of new friends in a running club as well.
00:18:39
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:18:42
UKRunChat
I think people forget that sometimes it's important. and So what what kind of races have you done this year as a club? What are you most proud of?
00:18:50
Michael Roderick
Um, I think as a, from the club side of things, um, our main ones, we've got Cardiff half marathon, um, which is probably one of the biggest ones. I think we have 50 or 60 people doing that.
00:19:02
UKRunChat
Wow.
00:19:02
Michael Roderick
There's another, another local race, Richard burden 10 K. Um, that's pretty big. One of my favorite races ever. Um, and we, again, we have 50 or 60 doing that where we talk to each one, each of them.
00:19:13
Michael Roderick
So we all say thereafter, I had a drink and stuff. Um, we've got our own five K in the summer.
00:19:19
UKRunChat
Oh, wow.
00:19:19
Michael Roderick
which would be stopped
00:19:19
UKRunChat
So you, you organize that. Yeah.
00:19:21
Michael Roderick
Yeah, so we started it last year um and all the all proceeds go to charity so the club doesn't, we don't make any profit from it, we don't do it for that reason, we just do it to put an event done for the community.
00:19:33
Michael Roderick
and we've made over £2,000 in the last two years on it because it's been that much of a success and like this year we had 77 from the club running it and the people that weren't running it were volunteering so pretty much the whole club was there which was quite a special day because obviously and we I think we had over 300 people running it as well so it was ah quite a big event for for Swansea um and it's only it's that's going to be it's in the calendar now so everybody's waiting for an exit already Um, which is always really good.
00:20:01
Michael Roderick
And the other thing which we do as a club is we've done red January. Um, which I know is like ah a UK white thing, but we've done it as a club where people can sign up through us.
00:20:06
UKRunChat
yeah
00:20:12
Michael Roderick
Cause we did it in lockdown again, initially. Um, through some was in 2021 where. people are paid to sign up, they get a t-shirt for finishing, but there's no commitment, so we don't say you have to send us any evidence, there's nothing that we have to do in that way. You pay, your t-shirt will be sent to you at the end, and but we, again, donate every single penny of that to the charity, um and like we literally, it's been announced today, know for 2025, we're launching it today, um which has been something that Again, we've had over 100 people sign up, and I think last year we had someone sign up from America. We've had people sign up from Australia. That's purely because of social media, because of people who follow us, which is great then, because we get to see our tops all over the world.
00:20:55
UKRunChat
Yeah, that's incredible, isn't it? So just explain what Red January is for those out there who don't know about it, because that's starting pretty soon,
Personal Achievements and Family Balance
00:21:02
UKRunChat
obviously.
00:21:02
Michael Roderick
Yeah, so obviously there's a couple of different places that do it, but Red January is run every day.
00:21:03
UKRunChat
and
00:21:07
Michael Roderick
um It's generally encouraged that you try and run one mile a day,
00:21:08
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:21:12
Michael Roderick
ah I know that the national one on our one, we always say that you can do it. It can be tailored. So if you can't run, you can walk it every day, walk a mile a day. We've had some people who we had the girl in last year was injured and she cycled every day or swam every day. My wife was heavily pregnant last year and she walked every day of it. So that's what it's just about sort of starting the year with a bit of a health kick and trying to get out, putting your shoes on again out the door every day. That's what we try and encourage it as.
00:21:41
Michael Roderick
um We have some people, like I said, who try and stick to the 5K a day as well. um And we've actually had three people listed go on to run 5K every single day since.
00:21:53
Michael Roderick
So that's kind of, I think the best way to describe it is it's just about trying to start a new fitness regime for the new year.
00:21:56
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:22:00
Michael Roderick
and Yeah, yeah.
00:22:00
UKRunChat
Yeah. Just being more active.
00:22:03
Michael Roderick
I'm not, nine times out of 10, money goes to charity from whatever organizations are doing it. I know the main red jam one is that's a charity based on as well. So you feel like you're doing something good as well then.
00:22:15
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah. I know that sounds good. well I hope that goes really well for the club as well and hopefully inspires some people to to just be more active and get out a little bit more.
00:22:22
Michael Roderick
yeah
00:22:24
UKRunChat
and So let's just get back to your running then. and What's been your proudest running achievement so far, would you say Mike?
00:22:31
Michael Roderick
I think I'm a proudest running achievement. is I think it always will be the run London Marathon.
00:22:36
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:22:36
Michael Roderick
I've been very, very lucky to have run it four times. um I've run many of them, quite a few other marathon since, and I don't think I'll have a better experience than London. I've experienced the highs and the lows of it as well. that My first two, I was quite badly injured doing them, so didn't get any any of the time I wanted, but I still got the medal.
00:22:58
Michael Roderick
um and then just before lockdown in 2019, I did it for a while. That's because I was raising money for my mother. Um, and that was the first time I finished it, injury free, bursting the tears, going across the line, the whole emotion of the day got to me. Um, and then I also set my current PB in London, um, in 2022, which I didn't think was possible. Um, cause my first ever marathon was three hours, 52. Um, and then in,
00:23:30
Michael Roderick
2019, as I said, I got down to three 12, which was a massive PB for me at the time it locked on.
00:23:34
UKRunChat
yeah
00:23:35
Michael Roderick
I run my first ever sub three. Um, that was virtually at the virtual London marathon because obviously it wasn't on properly.
00:23:40
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:23:42
Michael Roderick
Um, and I did just under three hours. I think it was like two hours, 57 virtually. Um, and then my current PB, you know, it was two hours 29. So it's a massive, huge, huge jumping time.
00:23:50
UKRunChat
Yeah. That is a huge. Yeah, that is.
00:23:54
Michael Roderick
Um, and I think. Even though I've improved at all my distances, I think the marathon is, because the marathon is the one where you can't hide, you you have to put the hours in, you have to put the training in for it.
00:24:03
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:24:05
Michael Roderick
And to be able to get what is class, I know times have changed now a little bit, but what was class as an elite standard finish is something I never ever thought I could get.
00:24:15
Michael Roderick
Even when I run, I think I run 237 or 236 in Manchester a couple of years ago, I thought that was my absolute absolute limit. And then I still managed to go faster.
00:24:23
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:24:25
Michael Roderick
so
00:24:25
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:24:26
Michael Roderick
That's, I think that has to still be all the runs I've done and all the races I've done. And I've won, I'd be lucky to ask if I used to win quite a few events now as well.
00:24:30
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:24:34
Michael Roderick
and And London is still the pinnacle and I want to go back and run it again. ah But with that and a little one now, it's obviously you take the costs and stuff into it. So I'm actually going back to run Manchester next year, not London, because they're on the same day.
00:24:44
UKRunChat
yeah
00:24:47
Michael Roderick
So.
00:24:48
UKRunChat
Yeah, they are out there. yeah Has as becoming a father kind of impacted your running in any way? Have you found you've had to have more time at home?
00:24:56
Michael Roderick
Um, I think the way I train and the way, the way that we worked as a family, um, my wife's obviously very understanding with my training.
00:25:01
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:25:04
Michael Roderick
She knows that I can't stop training. Um, but, so I've always tried to get out like really early in the mornings. My run tends to be when the baby's still asleep so that it doesn't impact that too much.
00:25:16
Michael Roderick
Um, so I can't say it massively impacted my mileage or my training early on lack of sleep a little bit. So maybe some of my sessions weren't as, as good as they could have been. Um, But I can't, you like Manchester, this didn't go to plan for me.
00:25:29
Michael Roderick
I had a bit of a niggle um in the race that had nothing to do with becoming a dad or anything like that. It was just that happened during the race.
00:25:35
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:36
Michael Roderick
But I think as the years gone on, once he got the six months, out we were both able to train with him. We got a running buggy. So I was able to take him to park and and take him out on runs. And um it made things more enjoyable again.
00:25:50
Michael Roderick
And to be fair, he's been coming to races since he was two weeks old. i
00:25:54
UKRunChat
Oh, that's lovely.
00:25:55
Michael Roderick
I came third place in a local half marathon when he was literally two weeks old to the day.
00:25:59
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:25:59
Michael Roderick
And he was there to watch me on the podium, which see I think we've my wife's very, very good in that aspect.
00:26:06
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:26:08
Michael Roderick
And then in the summer, she just she wanted to get back to running. um So her ambition then was to run a 5k, 10k and a half within a year of Sunday alone, which is in February.
00:26:20
UKRunChat
yeah
00:26:21
Michael Roderick
And she did our 5K in the summer. She did a local 10K in Cardiff. She did the Cardiff half-marathon. So she'd she'd done them all by October, which was eight months. But she didn't tell anybody. She'd also signed up to American. And she'd never run a marathon before. She was doing 18, 20-mile training runs with a running buggy. um And then she went and done a Snowdonia marathon on Marathon Arrari, which is known to be one of the hardest in the UK.
00:26:48
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's very hilly, I believe.
00:26:50
Michael Roderick
Yeah, and she did that for her first ever marathon at the end of October.
00:26:50
UKRunChat
Yeah, I've not done that one. Yeah.
00:26:53
Michael Roderick
so So I think everything I've achieved, that bit that's way better than anything I've done because obviously she's given birth as well this year.
00:26:53
UKRunChat
Wow.
00:27:02
UKRunChat
Yeah, that's incredible, isn't it? Yeah. Wow, that's amazing.
00:27:04
Michael Roderick
But yeah it it's been nice to sort of support her on that journey as well because she's always been, ah she's been running since we've been together and she's done many like halves and stuff, but to see her run her first, her words were her only marathon was ever going to be London.
00:27:18
Michael Roderick
And then the opportunity came up to run that that s Snowden race with a couple of your friends. And I was doing it as well. So I said, well, why not? We didn't we had a babysitter booked, so we weren't taking a baby anyway.
00:27:29
Michael Roderick
um And yeah, she went and done it. And she wants to go back and do it again next, you know.
00:27:33
UKRunChat
Oh, so it's not put her off. That's great.
00:27:35
Michael Roderick
Yeah,
00:27:38
UKRunChat
and So what are your goals then for kind of marathons in the future? Are you still aiming to better your PB?
00:27:45
Michael Roderick
yeah I think Yeah, this year has gone marathon-wise. It's probably not been my best year. I'm realistic that you can't have a good year every year on every distance. Coming over the lockdown, like I said, I was hitting PBs in every distance, every race, and it felt like it was never going to stop at one point, but every race I went to, it was getting quicker and quicker. And then I PBed in London, as I said, and then Manchester this year, I was on course to run 2.26, so it would have been a big PB. My own 19, 20, my calf started to play up, so I have to drop off. Still run a very, very good time, I think around 2.34.
00:28:28
Michael Roderick
And then I did another marathon in the summer, but that was part of, a it's called Long Course Weekends. You swim on the Friday, cycle on the Saturday and run on the Sunday. But the marathon, the Sunday, you've done 110 miles on the bike on the Saturday, so you've not got fresh legs. So that went really well. And then snow done in October, but I went into it with a a bit of a niggle.
Injuries and Future Plans
00:28:49
Michael Roderick
um In hindsight, looking back, I maybe shouldn't have run it, um because I've not run since, because I've been injured, but I still finished it. um
00:29:00
Michael Roderick
and I think that was my realisation that next year I need to just maybe adjust ah just the few things to make sure I don't get any more injuries because since I got i had an operation in 2018 on my knee and I have not had any injuries since, I've been very lucky ah and now I've been out for maybe eight weeks and and it's been really difficult not running when you've got used to running every single day
00:29:23
UKRunChat
Sure. Yeah.
00:29:24
Michael Roderick
Um, so I think next year is just, I'd run, like I said, I'm Um, I'm backing for Snowden again. So it's kind of like going back and beating my demons and beating, beating my times because Snowden is a different race.
00:29:35
Michael Roderick
You don't, even though it's really hilly, I've still managed to run sub three of that, um, twice.
00:29:37
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:29:41
Michael Roderick
So it's sort of my target for Snowden is position and time. Whereas Manchester, I'm purely going out to try and get a PB, um, provided I can get back training when I want to get training. Um, and I think.
00:29:51
UKRunChat
yeah So what's the rehab plan at the minute? When are you hoping to get back to running?
00:29:56
Michael Roderick
If I'm honest, every time I thought I was going to come back, I've had to knock it, like, set it back a little bit. And I think that's just me being sensible, knowing I'm not ready to, like, my body feels like I could run now, but I don't want to, I and felt like this about five weeks ago, and then I did a ah run on a Sunday, and it didn't feel right. so had a prolonged but rest.
00:30:18
Michael Roderick
I've got physio on Thursday, and that's kind of kind of the term. And I'd love to be back running by the new year. My plan is to do Red January, the club, even if it's just a mile a day. And the plan is to like do that.
00:30:26
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:30:28
Michael Roderick
like The last start last two years, i I've averaged 9, 10 miles a day on the Red January. I've really like made that like my block to start my marathon. But I'm at a different stage now.
00:30:38
Michael Roderick
I need to sort of get back into running again and be realistic that I can't just go and run 15 miles off the block. I have to build it back up. Um, I think the plan, the hope is to start running by the new year.
00:30:51
Michael Roderick
Um, if I'm, as long as I'm in no pain, um, otherwise it'll be when, when the time is right. Um, and spoken to a few other running friends as well, who've had similar sort of injuries. Um, and the timeframe is anywhere from like four weeks to 10 weeks.
00:31:06
Michael Roderick
So I'm somewhere towards the second half of it now. So I'm really hoping that I'm coming out of it and and going to get back to running.
00:31:11
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:31:12
Michael Roderick
Thankfully. because I'm a triathlete, I've managed to pick up swimming.
00:31:15
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:31:16
Michael Roderick
So I've been, instead of running, I've been swimming a lot more. So I've been swimming four or five times a week now and that's kept me fit and kept me active. Um, otherwise I think I drive my my friends and my family insane because obviously like it's it it when I've always used running as like sort of my escape as well.
00:31:33
Michael Roderick
Like that's my hour where I can just go and switch off, go and do what I need to do and just enjoy it whereas with friends or my headphones or whatever it might be, not having that. be able to just chuck my shoes on about the door, it's a lot harder.
00:31:45
UKRunChat
yeah.
00:31:46
Michael Roderick
But it's probably, it's made me realise a bit more about that I don't have to run every day. So even though my training has been like that for the last couple of years, now I haven't run for seven weeks, I think it's something that, I swear I'm doing the Ironman wheels next year.
00:32:05
UKRunChat
Right okay.
00:32:06
Michael Roderick
So i need I know that if I want to really improve in that as well, that I need to focus on the other disciplines a bit more, which means I won't be able to run as much as I have for the last two years.
00:32:18
Michael Roderick
Because I've done Ironman wheels two years ago in 2022 and done it really well, run had a really good time, but I'm going back to try and prove a point on that as well.
00:32:21
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:32:28
Michael Roderick
So I want to be able to race all three disciplines really well, not just the run, which I did do fantastically well in the run um of Iron Man, but I want to be able to do well on the other ones as well, which means that I'll have to sacrifice some of my running.
00:32:41
Michael Roderick
so
00:32:41
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah. Because, you know, you've only got so many hours in the day, I suppose, haven't you?
00:32:45
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:32:45
UKRunChat
and So what will kind of an Iron Man program look like in terms of hours with each discipline, roughly.
00:32:53
Michael Roderick
i have I think because it's not until September, it's not my main focus at the minute. at the minute i' not I haven't written down a plan and I'm planning to do.
00:32:58
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:33:03
Michael Roderick
like I'm doing a little bit of cycling, but I'm trying not to overwork this injury at the moment. Obviously the swimming, I think my swimming has improved a lot in the last sort of six weeks, um but whereas like like as I said historically a Saturday tends to be like a park run day for me and I always love a park run that's going to become a cycling day and I know it has to become a cycling day because I need to do a long bike ride on a Saturday and then be able to run on tired legs and do a long run on a Sunday because that's that's something that I neglected a little bit too much last time I did it and I wasn't doing as many long rides as I needed to so it's just making sure that I fit that in obviously it's also fitting it in around having a young family you know my son's 10 months old and
00:33:47
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:33:48
Michael Roderick
he's going to be walking and stuff next year. So I need to be prepared for that. And I need to, you know, I'm really hoping that there's going to be bits I can do with him as well.
00:33:52
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah.
00:33:57
Michael Roderick
And i know not so much the the really big bike rides and stuff like that, but like even things like if we do family bike rides and little bits like that, it's all classes training. So, and um I'm hoping to try and make my training a bit more fun in that aspect as well, where I can make more time for the family as well.
00:34:06
UKRunChat
yeah
00:34:13
UKRunChat
Yeah. oh Well, yeah. I hope you get back to it soon. and Yeah. like I can kind of sense your frustration at not running, but I should say it's, it's good to kind of try different things as well, isn't it?
00:34:23
UKRunChat
And new ways of training.
00:34:24
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:34:26
UKRunChat
Yeah. Do you do um kind of a lot of strength training as well alongside your running and your triathlon?
00:34:30
Michael Roderick
That is one thing I'm guilty of, is I don't do enough strength work. i so I do stretching and i'm I'm always religious in my stretching, you know, doing the proper warm ups and stretching after every race or run. But I know the strength work is the area that, and I think it's the area that a lot of people neglect and as runners because
00:34:48
UKRunChat
yeah
00:34:49
Michael Roderick
And it can be something so easy. You can do it in the house. I know I can do it. um So I think once I'm back from running, now and I've already been saying like I want to do more stretching, more strength work in the house. But I've resisted because I don't want to damage my injury at the moment.
00:35:02
Michael Roderick
So once I know what I can do, then I'm going to make sure because, like I said, when I have the operation on my knee, I have to do strength work to get that back up before I just start running again. and I listened to the book point of the physio. right You've got to do this, you've got to do that. And that's what I've been doing now. like I haven't done any training or any running for four weeks because she said not to do it. See what she says Thursday day and then it'll be sort of trying to introduce a bit more strength through a bit more.
00:35:02
UKRunChat
yeah
00:35:31
Michael Roderick
um stretching and stuff like that as well. And the one thing with my sort of social media, ah my Instagram pages, i've i've always just i I just document everything.
00:35:41
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:35:41
Michael Roderick
Every run I post, I just say what my run is, what my pace is, anything I've done. And I'm going to try and make it above the journey, my comeback journey as well, like how I'm rehabbing, how I'm what I'm doing other than running as well. So like the strength of the stretching to make sure that I encourage other people to do it. I do it in the club. So I'm always telling people in the club, make sure you stretch, make sure you're doing this. But I'm not obviously with my social media has always just been these are my runs, these are my races. Whereas now it needs to be this is the background of it as well. And that's what I'm going to try and do a little bit more next year.
00:36:17
Michael Roderick
It is weird because I've had a bit of a social media, not break as such, um but since being injured, I think it's affected, like I haven't been on social media as much, um not because I don't like looking at what other people do, it's just, I think I've been so frustrated with the injury that I don't want to keep posting about running when I'm not running.
00:36:32
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:36:37
Michael Roderick
I have been still posting a little bit and I've still been coaching the club and stuff like that, but I've gone from posting like every day to like two or three times a week at most. um But then when I do post, I get messages saying of people, which is really nice you know asking how my injury is or giving me some advice and stuff like that. So the running community is is very good in that aspect.
00:36:59
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's funny, isn't it? Because we get into habits with social media, like just sharing our runs. I'm the same on my own personal one. You kind of just share your runs. And then when you don't run, it's like, well, I've got nothing to post about.
00:37:09
UKRunChat
It's funny. and So yeah, I think sharing your kind of comeback journey will help a lot of people because we often we don't we don't often share the down times, do we? And I think it can be lonely if you're out there and you're not seeing other people experiencing the same.
00:37:18
Michael Roderick
No, and I posted a couple of things recently saying, you know, it has affected my mental health.
00:37:28
Michael Roderick
It has affected my, motivat not my motivation because my hunger is there to get back, but my motivation to post, I think more than anything else. Like, um, I don't want to just be like, feel like I'm just moaning to people every day saying I'm injured.
00:37:41
Michael Roderick
I'm injured. Um, everybody knows I'm injured.
00:37:44
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:37:44
Michael Roderick
Um, so I'm just kind of. dealing with it in the best way I can. I speak to my friends every day about it. Like I said, I've still got the clubs. I'm still seeing people in the club. I'm still coaching a lot of the sessions. I'm still taking part in the swim sessions. But I think once I get that sort of green light to go back and try running again, then I think even the way I'm going to post would be slightly different. I still go back to posting my runs because that's always what I've done, but I will make sure that like I said,
00:38:16
Michael Roderick
If I can help other people as well and and encourage other people that look, I've had quite a serious injury. This is what I'm doing to come back from it, you know, and see if other people, because if other people end up in the same boat, then then they might feel that they can do something similar as well. They're not necessarily documenting it, but they can and you use what I'm using to try and get back to running.
00:38:37
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah, that's so important. Yeah, well, yeah, I really hope you get back to it soon. and Right, we're gonna finish up the podcast with some quick fire questions. So we'll we'll start with our this or that questions.
00:38:49
Michael Roderick
Okay.
00:38:49
UKRunChat
and So morning or evening runs?
00:38:52
Michael Roderick
Morning, every day.
00:38:54
UKRunChat
and Road, trail or running track?
00:38:58
Michael Roderick
I love all three. It has to be rolled. Open, open rolled especially.
00:39:03
UKRunChat
Yeah, why is that just because you can just go as fast as you like?
00:39:06
Michael Roderick
Yeah, especially in the summer down with us in Swansea, because we've got the Gower, which is just like country roads. Going down there at six o'clock in the morning and just running and you've just got like the nature around you. Barely see a car on the road. That is my favourite run. Whether I'm on my own or with friends, I actually love that. I do love the trails. Don't be on the trails.
00:39:28
Michael Roderick
I don't mind the running track, but open roads all day long. I don't mind pavement running. Obviously we do it a lot, but if I can get out onto an open road, I'll take that any day of the week.
00:39:39
UKRunChat
Yeah, nice. And hills or flat roots.
00:39:43
Michael Roderick
Hills. and i but i'm not I'm known for hill running. My elevation every year is crazy.
00:39:49
UKRunChat
Yeah, I'm just seeing your, your Strava here in sport, actually. Yeah. It was a lot of elevation.
00:39:54
Michael Roderick
Yeah, I always encourage it.
00:39:55
UKRunChat
but
00:39:56
Michael Roderick
It's one thing I've encouraged everybody is if you just run on the flat, you're not going to get better, especially because 90% of events you do have got some form of hill in them. Even the runs like London and Manchester got little ups and downs.
00:40:08
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:40:09
Michael Roderick
So I always encourage people to do add some hills into training. You don't have to be running mountains like I do. But yeah, hills all day, all the flat runs.
00:40:17
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah, hills are great. We love hills. ah Run in the rain or run in the heat.
00:40:22
Michael Roderick
Rain.
00:40:23
UKRunChat
Rain. Oh, really? That's interesting. Yeah, okay.
00:40:25
Michael Roderick
Yeah, I can run in the heat, and I love running on holiday and stuff as well. um But once I'm out, the hardest thing about running in the rain is going out the front door. Once I'm out the front door, I love it.
00:40:33
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:40:35
Michael Roderick
And I can stay out there for hours. like I really do love running in the rain.
00:40:37
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:40:40
UKRunChat
Yeah, something nice and invigorating about it, isn't there?
00:40:42
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:40:44
UKRunChat
ah Music or no music?
00:40:48
Michael Roderick
Depends on what it is. And I think I've not, i the background behind the music situation with me is along, with I think it was 2014, 15, I used to race with music, so I was just around my headphones in, um and I was doing a trail of race, and a horse bucked its rider and actually came down the track after the runners, and I nearly got trampled by the horse, because I had music in there, couldn't hear it coming. So for the best part of about nine years, I never run with music then, because it was a bit of a panic thing. And then,
00:41:22
Michael Roderick
Um, I've, the last sort of 18 months, probably, um, I've been using shocks, headphones, and more recently, the ESC sounds a year, but I'm now mainly on my easy runs. I love putting my playlist on. Um, if I'm doing speed work or any racing, there's never a headphones in that because it's gotta be in the, in the, kind of in the zone for it. Um, but yeah, if I'm just going out and like my Monday morning run.
00:41:48
Michael Roderick
always music on those notes. I can just switch off completely, which I really enjoy.
00:41:51
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:41:53
Michael Roderick
I do really enjoy listening to music now.
00:41:55
UKRunChat
Yeah, I know. What kind of music's on your playlist then?
00:41:59
Michael Roderick
Anything and everything. It it can v literally vary. I've got rock music on there. I've got pop music. I've got anything that i anything I think I enjoy or anything that's got a good beat to it. um i I tailor my spot if I run in playlist a little bit more the last 12 months.
00:42:18
Michael Roderick
But just as long as it's got a good beat to it, I can don't feel like, because I used to just, you'd have a song, come on, and slow you do, you slow down to the music.
00:42:25
UKRunChat
Yeah, you do, don't you? It really affects me, actually. I struggle with music for that reason.
00:42:28
Michael Roderick
My first ever half marathon was Great North Run back in 2011, and I had headphones on, and as I turned on to the the front of ah South Shields, the Rocky team tuned, come on to my headphones, and I was like, that you you'll never beat that, like finishing with the Rocky team tune on was brilliant.
00:42:44
UKRunChat
No.
00:42:46
Michael Roderick
and So yeah, anything and like I said, that anything like that with good good mood good a good beat to it.
00:42:52
UKRunChat
Yeah, fantastic. Long runs of speed sessions.
00:42:57
Michael Roderick
I love a long run. I really do love a long run, especially being a
Reflections on Running Community and Inspirations
00:43:00
Michael Roderick
marathon runner. um I'm always going to do speed sessions, but long runs, I feel like that is something that you have to mentally prepare yourself for. You can, especially if you went out for like an 18, 20 mile run on your own, and it can be hard, but I really enjoy them.
00:43:17
UKRunChat
Yeah, you've got to enjoy them, haven't you?
00:43:18
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:43:18
UKRunChat
To be able to get them done. Yeah, medals or memories.
00:43:26
Michael Roderick
um I think memories. I've got, I've probably got 400 medals upstairs, um but the memories I've got from races will always be better.
00:43:32
UKRunChat
yeah
00:43:36
Michael Roderick
um Whether it's crossing the finish line, there's parts of certain races I really remember like my first ever time doing London. and I formed my mother crossing Tower Bridge and I was, I boosted the tiers and it's just one of those things on there. And even this last time I'd done it in 2023, my wife was on the bridge. um I knew exactly where she was going to be because she texted me before. And the atmosphere on that bridge is something like I've never experienced anywhere else in any race. The noise just goes up. And I remember it's one thing I've always got emotional over. And I think you can have
00:44:14
Michael Roderick
Memories will always outweigh any medal you have. you It's great to have the medals and I do love medals and I love the t-shirts I get in races as well ah because they kind of, the they're evidence you've done it, but I can talk about my memories from races all day.
00:44:28
UKRunChat
Yeah, love it. Shorts or leggings.
00:44:31
Michael Roderick
I don't own any leggings, so I've got an abundance of Ron Hill running shorts. and to the point where as soon as they're on CLLOs, but I bought four um a couple of months ago just before I was injured.
00:44:44
Michael Roderick
And I now i used to wear leggings nine, 10 years ago. um I just can't wear them anymore. I'm short all your own matter. If it's snowing, raining, freezing, boiling, it's always short.
00:44:54
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:44:57
UKRunChat
what What would you say is your favourite piece of running gear then that you can't live without? Is it the shorts or something else?
00:45:04
Michael Roderick
A hack. I never used to, and it's weird, it's another one of those things that kind of sits locked down more, I think. I can't really remember when it started, but never used to run with a hat. and If you'd asked me this question 10 years ago, I always used to run with a Nike sweatband on my wrist. That was my likely lucky sweatband. Or used to race with it, sorry. um And then yeah, I started wearing a hat coming out, just as we were coming out of the lockdown, and obviously I was hitting PBs, so then it became like a lucky hat.
00:45:36
Michael Roderick
and then All of a sudden, every run, I wore a hat. And now I think I've got ah about 25 running hats.
00:45:36
UKRunChat
i
00:45:42
UKRunChat
Wow.
00:45:43
Michael Roderick
And I've got different ones for trail running, different ones for racing, different ones for training. Obviously, you've got like the winter ones. But ah yeah, I had my lucky hat literally to the point where it was falling apart and I was still wearing it.
00:45:55
Michael Roderick
I've still got it. I want to throw that one.
00:45:57
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:45:58
Michael Roderick
But yeah, a hat all day long.
00:45:59
UKRunChat
Yeah, I love that. You've always got a favorite one, haven't you? Yeah.
00:46:02
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:46:03
UKRunChat
Yeah. ah What's the one thing you would change about the running world?
00:46:12
Michael Roderick
I think a lot of people don't see running for what it can be. um And I think running is part of running. It's become more about a lot about money now, which I don't agree with. And I think a lot of people are getting priced out to go into races now. I really wanted to run Valencia, Marath, and next year. I physically can't afford it. There's people in our club that have paid 190 euros to enter.
00:46:42
Michael Roderick
And going back sort of before lockdown, my wife was able to buy myself and who entries the parcel on a half and a weekend away for cheaper than you can pay for some races now. So I think making running about running would be my one thing. and all ah All the things that we do, like from my club side of thing, like I said, our 5K and our red jam, we keep them the price as low as we can, because we know, especially in the current world we're in, where you know people are a full can't afford to buy food some weeks.
00:47:12
Michael Roderick
But then they want to go and do these races and the card of half marathon used to cost 29 poem that would cost 60. So it's double. And a lot of, a lot of running events are very similar these days. Um, and as I said, I was for the last couple of years, I've run 30, 40 races a year. I'm lucky that a lot of those, I either get elite entry or I might've done the podium and podium, then got free entry for the next year, next year, because I haven't done that. I definitely won't be running as much because I physically can't afford to do it.
00:47:43
Michael Roderick
um So I think making running more about running again is something, and I know that some companies are trying their best to do.
00:47:43
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:47:50
Michael Roderick
I get that obviously cost of everything goes up as well. I see that because we organize our own events. But at the same point, when I organize the event, I know how much things cost. I know how much T-shirts cost and how much everything else cost.
00:48:02
Michael Roderick
And when you see them up, place it your know week it can be done to to make it more ah affordable for everybody. um Because I don't want to get to the point in 10 years where nobody can afford to race.
00:48:15
UKRunChat
No, that would be a very sad day indeed, wouldn't it? Yeah.
00:48:18
Michael Roderick
I think especially because running has become such a focal point in in Britain, especially since lockdown, like so many people tuck it up. um And you know we've had this massive boom. And even now, you know we still get people joining in the club pretty much every week, which is great. And we get people who have started running.
00:48:37
Michael Roderick
But we are literally out of committee meeting last night and we were saying that people can't afford to do all these things. Like I'm doing Iron Man wheels um next year for, i'm and I'm doing it for charity. If I didn't do it for charity, I probably wouldn't be doing it for the next few years because I've got you know a young, young son now and I can't afford to spend 500 pound on a race. So it's, I think that's the biggest thing for me is.
00:48:59
Michael Roderick
it It doesn't have to, and the other thing I've seen is the guys in the club. It doesn't have to all be about racing. You know, just don't run in is is just as and rewarding um as anything else.
00:49:04
UKRunChat
No.
00:49:09
UKRunChat
Yeah, it is. And I guess that's why part runs so good as well, isn't it? like That's always going to be a chance to test yourself for free.
00:49:13
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:49:16
Michael Roderick
Yeah.
00:49:16
UKRunChat
you know They've said they're going to be free forever. and Yeah. um Describe your ideal run in three words.
00:49:26
Michael Roderick
Ooh, that's a good one. ah
00:49:31
Michael Roderick
Easy long run.
00:49:33
UKRunChat
Oh, okay. Yeah. yeah
00:49:34
Michael Roderick
I think, I just, I do, with me on the quick fire, I love just going out for a couple of hours and doesn't have to be any at any pace or nothing like that.
00:49:39
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:49:43
Michael Roderick
Just going out and just running and going to explore in new places. And now you can't do that on a short run. When I'm going out and doing a 20 mile run, I'm very particular.
00:49:54
Michael Roderick
I very rarely run with my front door because I don't like running the same loops. So I'll even drive a mile down the road, so I start somewhere different, so I can go a little bit further.
00:50:02
UKRunChat
yeah
00:50:04
Michael Roderick
So I think the easy long runs have to be my ideal run, where I can just go out and just run in the middle of nowhere, do something I never, like we did it, we actually, I didn't do it one mile when I did it with a few of my mates.
00:50:18
Michael Roderick
There's a mountain range number, it's called the Black Mountain. It was 40 minutes in the car, but we drove there and it was, and four miles uphill, four miles downhill, four miles back uphill, four miles back downhill because we were training for Snowdon, being the hillier one.
00:50:32
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:50:33
Michael Roderick
But it was just easy. We just had a chat. We got there as the sun was coming up. It was incredible. And a lot of people would never, ever run that route because it's open roads. It's in the middle of nowhere, but it was breathtaking.
00:50:45
Michael Roderick
And it's runs like that that, that keeps me wanting to go back and do them. So.
00:50:49
UKRunChat
Yeah, that sounds special. Yeah, that's one for the memories, isn't it?
00:50:52
Michael Roderick
yeah
00:50:53
UKRunChat
Yeah. and Okay. I like this question. I always get interesting answers for this. If you could have one superpower to enhance your running, what would it be?
00:51:02
Michael Roderick
No fatigue.
00:51:04
UKRunChat
Oh, I like it. Yeah.
00:51:06
Michael Roderick
I think, again, more so in the longer distances in the short ones, but especially a half marathon in a marathon, everybody knows when to hit mile 20, that's where the race really starts in a marathon. And if I could have a new pair of legs given to me in no fatigue at 20 miles, then I'd love it. um And the same with a half, I can get to mile 10 and a half and that's where it really starts to hurt because you push in a lot harder. and So yeah, I think if I had to have one super healthy would be to not, basically not get tired and have no fatigue.
00:51:36
UKRunChat
Yeah, that'd be great, wouldn't it? Yeah. Imagine not having to kind of sleep or anything on just, you know, bounce from the one run to the next.
00:51:39
Michael Roderick
thank you
00:51:42
UKRunChat
Fantastic. And ah finally, this one's for the community because we are a running community. So shout out time. Who inspires you in the running community?
00:51:53
Michael Roderick
I think when it comes to as obviously people who have inspired me as a, as a runner, um, more so like if you're classing as celebrities or athletes, Mofar was someone I've always looked up to. Colin Jackson is another one. I think that's because he's, he's just what he's done. Um, and I've always followed like athletics and stuff like that. But I think when it comes to local and especially now I've kind of taken up running a bit more seriously, um,
00:52:26
Michael Roderick
It doesn't necessarily have to be the fastest person. um There is some people who are watching their journey, especially people, there's something and a lot of people on Instagram will know Matt Reese from Swansea, the Welsh runner.
00:52:40
UKRunChat
Yes. Yeah.
00:52:40
Michael Roderick
And he had the, obviously, what happened in London and he supported that guy. He's from Swansea, he's from where I'm from.
00:52:45
UKRunChat
yeah
00:52:45
Michael Roderick
So I've known, I was in Swansea, Harry was with him years ago. um And he did a very fin similar thing to me. He came from not being an elite runner to being a very, very fast runner. and And he's actually someone that reached out to me when I've been injured, and we've been speaking, and he's been giving me advice, which is really nice.
00:53:02
Michael Roderick
So he's someone that I've always sort of not wanted to idolize, but someone that I've looked up to and thought, right, if his journey, I've gone on a similar journey, as in like I've got a lot, like I do a lot more volume.
00:53:14
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:53:16
Michael Roderick
um And I think so seeing something like that is really important. and There's a lot. and Biggest people who inspire me are the people in my club at the moment. And I think I've seen people who've come in as coach to 5K and gone 18 months to run a marathon. um One of my best friends now, Tom Davis, and he was quite overweight, going to run into lose weight. And he ran a 255.01 in Manchester this year, which was his first ever marathon was a couple of hours slower than that. um And
00:53:54
Michael Roderick
is seeing things like that. yeah ah it It keeps me pushing me.
00:53:56
UKRunChat
yeah
00:53:58
Michael Roderick
If I can help other people do that, then I can continue to do it myself. And like I said, you know I speak to a lot of people. There's a group on and Instagram called Run Spire, which is another one that I tag a lot.
00:54:12
Michael Roderick
um I've been lucky enough to meet quite a few of the members in that. When I've done London, we all met up together and stuff like that. um And we all come from different backgrounds. We all got different abilities, but we all got the same goal.
00:54:24
Michael Roderick
we know We all love running. We all love doing doing the races we do. So I think it's things like that. It's the community feel of things that really do inspire me because you get to see everything.
00:54:36
Michael Roderick
And it doesn't necessarily always always have to be the quickest person that will inspire you. As I said, my biggest inspiration is my wife, and what she did this year.
00:54:44
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:54:45
Michael Roderick
When we got together, that she wasn't a runner. and She'd signed up for a half marathon. um and ended up running Cardiff Half Marathon a couple of months after we got together. And then she got the bug a little bit. She's done, I think it's 15 half marathons now and many other the five and 10Ks.
00:54:55
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:55:00
Michael Roderick
But obviously when she was pregnant, she didn't run at all. So to come from like not running for the best part of the year to running five, 10, half on a marathon in eight months is, I didn't think she was gonna, when she said she was doing the marathon, I told her she was able to do it as long as her body let her.
00:55:17
Michael Roderick
You know, I think she's been a bigger inspiration to a lot of people than she expected.
00:55:22
UKRunChat
Yeah. Oh, that's lovely. Oh, thank you so much for coming on and chatting to us. it's bit We've chatted for nearly an hour. That's, yeah, it's been really interesting.
00:55:29
Michael Roderick
No, I really enjoyed it.
00:55:30
UKRunChat
and ah Yeah, thank you. It's been lovely to meet you.
00:55:34
Michael Roderick
And you?
00:55:34
UKRunChat
and Where can people find you on socials then if they want to follow your your kind of rehab journey from January?
00:55:40
Michael Roderick
So the main one I use is obviously Instagram and my Instagram handle is Mike Rod underscore the runner. Um, That will never change. It's just stuck. No, it works.
00:55:48
UKRunChat
Okay.
00:55:49
Michael Roderick
um it's It's good because like even when I go to a race, people come up to me and call me that because they know me by my Instagram handle, which is lovely. ah So yeah, that everything I post is on there.
00:56:00
Michael Roderick
I don't really use many other platforms now. I kind of just kind of stick to one. I do have Facebook and stuff as well, but that's more for like friends and family. My Instagram is where all my running stuff is going to be.
00:56:10
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:56:12
Michael Roderick
and obviously like if anybody's in South Wales and they're interested no more about the club then the club is just it's just called Try Hard Harriers on Instagram. Again I i run the the Instagram page for our club so and if anybody's got any questions on that they can come and ask me on that as well.
00:56:28
UKRunChat
Fantastic. Well, thank you very much for joining us. I hope that everybody listening to this episode has really enjoyed that. I know and know that I did and we will see you on the next one.
00:56:37
Michael Roderick
Thank you very much.