The Run Smarter Podcast

Learn more about Brodie's Research Database & AI Assistant 📄🔍For MORE Run Smarter Resources 🏃‍♂️📚- Including Free Injury Prevention Courses 🩹🎓- The Run Smarter Book 📖- Access to Research Papers 📄🔍- & Ways to Work with Brodie 🤝👟👉 CLICK HERE! 🎉✨ In this month’s Latest Running Research episode, Brodie breaks down three high-impact studies that every runner should know about—covering sleep quality and injury risk, what actually gets injured during marathon running, and how strength training can improve running economy. If your goals are to run faster, stay injury-free, and train smarter in 2025, this episode delivers clear, evidence-based insights without the fluff.We start with a standout prospective study tracking runners over six months, showing that poor sleep quality—not sleep quantity—significantly increases injury risk. Each one-point drop in perceived sleep quality increased injury risk by 36%, while rising fatigue and muscle soreness emerged as early warning signs in the 1–2 weeks before injury. The takeaway is clear: sleep quality, recovery monitoring, and subjective signals like soreness and fatigue deserve far more attention than most runners give them. Next, we zoom out and examine a comprehensive review of marathon-related injuries, separating race-day injuries from training injuries and identifying the most commonly affected areas (thigh, knee, calf, foot, and ankle). The paper highlights both modifiable risk factors (training load, recovery, alcohol use, footwear transitions) and non-modifiable risks (age, sex, prior injury), offering valuable context for runners preparing for longer events or returning from injury. Finally, the episode explores new research on strength training and running economy, focusing on how combining heavy resistance work with plyometrics (“complex training”) can meaningfully improve efficiency. The findings reinforce that strength training isn’t just for injury prevention—it directly improves how much energy you burn at a given pace, making it a powerful performance tool when programmed correctly.

Learn more about Brodie's Research Database & AI Assistant 📄🔍For MORE Run Smarter Resources 🏃‍♂️📚- Including Free Injury Prevention Courses 🩹🎓- The Run Smarter Book 📖- Access to Research Papers 📄🔍- & Ways to Work with Brodie 🤝👟👉 CLICK HERE! 🎉✨ In this reflective end-of-year episode, Brodie pulls back the curtain on his own training highs, mistakes, injuries, and breakthroughs to help you make 2026 your smartest running year yet. Drawing from a full year of HYROX preparation, calf and hamstring setbacks, strength gains, sleep struggles, and race-day lessons, he breaks down what actually worked, what didn’t, and—most importantly—why. This isn’t just about racing faster; it’s about learning how to adapt, manage load, avoid repeating injury cycles, and build resilience over the long term. Whether you’re training for a marathon, HYROX, or simply trying to stay consistent and injury-free, this episode will prompt honest self-reflection and give you practical ideas you can immediately apply to your own running journey 

Learn more about Brodie's Research Database & AI Assistant 📄🔍For MORE Run Smarter Resources 🏃‍♂️📚- Including Free Injury Prevention Courses 🩹🎓- The Run Smarter Book 📖- Access to Research Papers 📄🔍- & Ways to Work with Brodie 🤝👟👉 CLICK HERE! 🎉✨In this Ask Me Anything episode, Brodie answers three high-value listener questions on marathon prep, goal setting, and tapering. He breaks down when to prioritise distance vs time for long runs, how to structure challenging yet realistic running goals, and the key differences between tapering for a half marathon versus a full marathon. The discussion includes practical guidance drawn from coaching insights, research, and Brodie’s own clinical experience supporting runners around the world.Key Topics Covered1. Long Runs: Distance vs Time Brodie explains how to balance training plans that prescribe long distances with the reality of being on your feet for extended periods. He outlines the tipping point where diminishing returns can compromise recovery and how to use duration caps or split-day mileage to stay on track.2. Setting Challenging but Realistic Goals Using a structured process—including performance history, rate of improvement, race timelines, and A/B/C goal setting—Brodie shares a framework for developing goals that stretch you without leading to burnout. He also discusses staying true to your plan when friends’ ambitious goals don’t align with your needs.3. Tapering for Half vs Full Marathons Brodie breaks down how tapering differs across race distances, why marathon tapers commonly run two weeks while half-marathon tapers may require only a few days, and which variables should remain constant (like intensity) to keep your legs feeling springy and race-ready.TakeawaysCap long runs around 3–3.5 hours if distance pushes you excessively beyond that, to protect recovery.Use A/B/C goals and clear timelines to stay grounded and motivated.Tapering strategies must match the physiological demands of the race:Marathons require a longer, structured taper.Half marathons may only need a shorter, flexible taper period while maintaining intensity.Goal clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and simplicity are the pillars of effective goal design.

Learn more about Brodie's Research Database & AI Assistant 📄🔍For MORE Run Smarter Resources 🏃‍♂️📚- Including Free Injury Prevention Courses 🩹🎓- The Run Smarter Book 📖- Access to Research Papers 📄🔍- & Ways to Work with Brodie 🤝👟👉 CLICK HERE! 🎉✨This episode is all about turning setbacks into strategy. Brodie joins the show to unpack why injuries are rarely random and how every niggle, flare-up, or full-blown setback carries valuable information about your training, lifestyle, and recovery habits. We explore the big levers that influence injury risk, including sleep, stress, nutrition, footwear changes, and emotional pressure, as well as the subtle patterns runners often miss. Brodie breaks down how to identify training errors, uncover weak links, and understand the early warning signs your body gives long before an injury fully appears.You’ll learn how to approach your running like an ongoing experiment, how to track the right data, and how to use self-awareness to build a more durable, resilient runner’s body. From understanding your personal injury patterns to applying smarter safeguards in your training plan, this conversation teaches you how to turn any injury into long-term progress. Whether you’re currently sidelined or simply want to avoid repeating past mistakes, this episode gives you the mindset and tools to come back stronger than before.Check out the Strength Running Podcast here

Learn more about Brodie's Research Database & AI Assistant 📄🔍For MORE Run Smarter Resources 🏃‍♂️📚- Including Free Injury Prevention Courses 🩹🎓- The Run Smarter Book 📖- Access to Research Papers 📄🔍- & Ways to Work with Brodie 🤝👟👉 CLICK HERE! 🎉✨Predicting Future Injuries & Early Detection with Prof. Eric HegedusIn today’s rerun episode, Brodie sits down once again with Professor Eric Hegedus—physical therapist, clinician, researcher, and one of the podcast’s favourite returning guests. Eric previously joined us in Episode 186 to dive into return-to-running principles. Today, he’s back to explore one of the hardest and most misunderstood topics in running science:Can we actually predict running injuries?If so, how? And what should runners do with that information?Using insights from his 3-year prospective cohort study, Eric walks us through what physical performance tests can and cannot tell us about injury risk—and why simple movement screens like single-leg squats may be more powerful than we ever realised.We also dive into psychosocial risk factors, early warning signs, modern wearable data, and why injury prediction research is evolving rapidly.What This Episode CoversWhy Eric designed a study to challenge the Functional Movement Screen (FMS)The 15 bodyweight performance tests studied across 360 athletesWhich movement patterns actually mattered for overuse injuriesThe shocking finding: when motor control was considered, past injury stopped predicting future injuryWhy weak glute medius and poor ankle mobility show up repeatedly in injured runnersHow poor movement gives you “less wiggle room” before overloadWhy injury prediction today is no longer just movement → injury, but a multifactorial real-time modelThe four early warning signs of an upcoming injury episodePractical takeaways all runners can apply immediatelyKey Insights & Takeaways1. Movement Quality Matters More Than We ThoughtEric’s research found that poor single-leg or double-leg squat control was strongly associated with future overuse injuries—even more than past injury history. When movement quality was poor, “past injury” no longer predicted new injury. This indicates:Poor motor control = major vulnerabilityRunners with poor control have less buffer when workloads fluctuateRunners who move well have a much larger margin for errorSymptoms of poor control during squats include:Knees collapsing inwardTrunk rotatingHeels liftingUsing the spine instead of hips/knees to descendThese often reflect:Weak glute mediusPoor ankle mobilityPoor neuromuscular coordination after prior injury2. The Tests That Truly MatterEric’s study grouped bodyweight tests into:Active motionMotor controlHip stabilityFlexibilityPowerBut the only category that consistently correlated with overuse injury was:Motor Control: quality of double-leg and single-leg squatThese tests are simple, take 20 seconds, and anyone can self-assess in front of a mirror.3. Early Warning Signs of an Injury (Clear Red Flags)Eric highlights four factors runners should monitor weekly:FatigueStress levelsSleep qualityMuscle sorenessWhen all four trend in the wrong direction, an injury is often imminent.4. Wearables Are Changing Injury PredictionUnlike old studies that tested athletes once per year, modern tech (Garmin, Whoop, Oura, etc.) collects real-time data—giving much stronger prediction models.Right now, Eric estimates we can predict injury with:👉 30–50% confidence Already far better than the past, and improving rapidly.5. Runners Must See Themselves as Whole HumansMechanical load alone doesn't explain injuries. Psychological and lifestyle factors matter just as much:TravelStressPoor sleepRelationship/social strainHigh sorenessReduced recovery behaviorsIgnoring these variables leads runners into repeated injury cycles.🧠 Practical Tips for RunnersFilm yourself doing a single-leg and double-leg squat → check knee control, trunk alignment, ankle mobilityAvoid running when fatigued, highly stressed, poorly slept, or extremely soreBuild glute medius strength (side planks, hip abduction variations)Improve ankle mobility if squats improve with heels elevatedConsider cross-training to break unidirectional overloadTake easy days without guilt—they prevent injury, not reflect weaknessLook at yourself as a whole athlete: body + mind + lifestyle📚 Related Research MentionedHegedus et al. Physical performance tests predict injury in NCAA athletesChris Bramah: Hip drop & knee mechanics associated with running injury (Referenced within conversation)👤 About Today’s Guest: Prof. Eric HegedusEric Hegedus is a professor, clinician, researcher, and highly respected physiotherapist whose body of work spans biomechanics, injury risk, and clinical reasoning. His research is widely used globally in sports rehabilitation and athlete screening.