Tales from the Valley Podcast

TFTV ft. James Tunbridge

Sam, Katie, and Mitch catch up with James ‘Tunnaz’ Tunbridge, whose impressive personal bests include 8:26 for 3000m and a recent 2:32 marathon in Sydney. James, who played high-level tennis in his teenage years, naturally ran 5Ks in the low 16-minute range without structured training.
In 2011, after a chance encounter with Russ Dessaix-Chin at parkrun, James joined Russ for training sessions to elevate his performance.
Recently, James launched his own running business, ‘JT Running,’ which has been buzzing with activity. The business offers Tuesday track sessions, Friday tempo runs, dedicated programming, and strength training.
Sam is back at the track with the crew, hitting 800m reps on Tuesdays and logging 62km over five days. Katie slows her long-run pace this week, completing an impressive 26km at 4:09 per km, totaling 120km for the week. Mitch continues his steady progress with 108km and a strong progressive run.
James (Tunnaz) stays involved, jumping into reps during JT Running sessions. Over the holidays, he heads to Tasmania, enjoying cooler weather for his long runs.
Café Kit of the Week
Traak Running Hat
Ryze Smart Ring
Mohawk Haircut
Creatine
Round the Club Shoutouts
Chloe Tighe (Kembla Joggers)
Zoe Rayment (Coast to Mountain)
Luke & Jett Warmer (Kiama Running Club)
Carl Ernst (JT Running)
References
JT Running
Creatine - Runner’s World
TFTV Podcast - Perene – Custom Race Singlets – pre-order by Jan 31

TFTV ft. Karyn Hamilton

Sam, Mitch, and Katie catch up with Karyn Hamilton, an avid runner who has completed 42 half marathons—and counting! Interestingly, Karyn wasn’t always passionate about running. She discovered her love for it after the birth of her daughter, initially running with a pram. After completing the Gold Coast Half Marathon, Karyn was hooked and participated in numerous events within the following 12 months.
Karyn shares her balanced approach to "Gym to Run" programming, explaining how she aligns her strength training with race schedules. She also provides insight into her weekly routine, which includes a mix of running and strength training. Her typical week consists of 50 km of running, highlighted by a 23 km long run incorporating Parkrun.
Sam gives a quick update on his shorter week of running as he recovers from COVID, while Katie focuses on building her fitness and speed, logging an impressive 115 km at the track. Meanwhile, Mitch continues to deliver strong sessions with the JT Running Crew, clocking 110 km for the week.
Café Kit on the Way
Vivobarefoot walking/gym shoes
Saucony Endorphin Pro 4s (white/black colorway)
Birkenstocks
Dynamic Runner Strength Series: Dynamic Runner Club
Round the Club Shoutouts
Rede Carney – WTC
Amanda Jones – Kiama Running Club
Sari-Elle – Team Keem Coaching
Rosie – Shellharbour Parkrun
Referenced Links
Fly Studios
iFly Studios on Facebook
JT Running Crew

TFTV ft. Ralph Mathiessen

Sam, Mitch & Katie chat with Ralph Mathiessen. Ralph has run 50 marathons since he started running 11 years ago, having recently run the Berlin Marathon as his 50th, which was also the 50 year anniversary for Berlin. Ralph got into running to simplify his commutes to Tafe, though had a knack for cross country with his mates throughout high school. Since his dad had dragged him into doing marathons at the time. Ralph shares some funny marathon experiences with us including some stomach issues with the Gu Salted Caramels at the M7, getting caught for 3rd place just 100s of metres from the finish line. Ralph ran an impressive 2:50:53 at Melbourne Marathon in 2022 however. Ralph trains to Power recommendations set by his STRYD foot pods and he gives us a summary of how that works and why he finds that conducive to his training. Ralph is gearing up for Newcastle Marathon next year to secure a qualifier (sub 2:55) for Chicago 2025 and New York 2026.
Ralph runs us through a maintenance week before things ramp up in his marathon prep running around 65km for the week with some 1-minute harder efforts on session days. Mitch has another very impressive week progressing his 800 reps to as fast as 2:28 and running his threshold at 3:28s on Friday. Katie puts more bricks together and nails both of her sessions capping a 20 minute threshold at 3:46 mostly into the headwind. Sam runs 44km pain free but suffers another set back picking up Covid on Friday evening.

TFTV - Christmas Gift for Runners Guide

Katie and Sam catch up to share some gift ideas for runners.
Tune in if you're struggling to come up with your own wish list or are looking for some inspiration to buy for your loved ones!

TFTV ft. Pete Naseby

Sam, Katie & Mitch speak with local physio and runner Pete Naseby. Pete has some handy PB’s ranging from 17:53 for the 5k and 3:06 for the Marathon at Sydney this year. Pete has been a long-time member of WTC training with Tunners and Frosty throughout Uni. Due to family demands Pete took some time off consistent running training and programming but is back in the thick of things now having recently run some solid PB’s. Pete explains how he uses his physio knowledge to compliment his own running, and also runs us through the recent treatment approach of Sam’s Shin.
Sam kicks off his training week with more of a back to running program, but he finally gets down to Kiama Run Club for his first ‘no stops’ run of the rehab program which goes to plan. Pete runs us through his week as prescribed by newly announced coach James Tunbridge, which includes a mix of hill strides, 400s, cross-training and capped off with a solid sub 19 run at the GONG5000. Mitch has a hectic week organizing the GONG5000 event, but this didn’t stop him from running 16:29 and finishing strong in the 5k race at the Unanderra Crit Track. Katie also runs the GONG5000 coming 2nd in the Female field running 17:47, a great first run back post injury but knows there’s more in the tank for next time.

TFTV ft. Daniel Wood

Sam, Mitch & Katie chat with Daniel Wood. Dan has been cleaning up the local 5k races winning both Shellharbour 5k and Husky 5k in the last few months. Dan trains with Coach Rob McDonald with Nowra Athletics Club, but lives in Culburra Beach. Dan has run 16:59 at Husky Parkrun, and 35:45 at Sydney10 earlier this year. Dan started running a few years ago to sharpen up for touch, casually running 1:22 at Shellharbour Half. Shortly after he ran 52km fundraising for charity and days later tore his ACL playing Touch Footy. That gave him time to think about what direction he will go with his running and has taken a conservative training approach which is proving to be very successful.
Mitch walks us through the GONG5000 event at the Unanderra Criterium Track Saturday November 30th with races starting at 6pm. Katie runs some solid reps this week, though the crew struggle to convert the paces from Miles to KM's. Dan knocks both interval sessions out of the park and even does his first double threshold session on Saturday. Sam continues Zwifting riding 211km on the bike this week with 24km of running and all of his rehab activities. Mitch does his first Deeks Quarters session and continues consistently building up his Blue Bars on Strava.

TFTV ft. Holly Howell

The crew speak with Holly Howell this week. Holly is a couple of weeks off her win at Husky Marathon where she ran 3:02. Holly ran more casually years ago completing the London Marathon and the Great Wall of China Marathon. After having a few years off Holly joined Savvy runners here in the gong and after a couple of years nailed all of her PB’s this year. She also came 3rd overall in the Gold Coast Marathon Half and Full Marathon combined event running 1:25 and an impromptu 3:17 marathon.
Sam reluctantly provides a ‘shinjury’ update, but is positive that the cautious approach is the right call. Katie puts together solid sessions and some quick ‘K’ reps with a week total of 112km. Mitch strings along more great running as he pushes the pace in his session and stacks another brick in the form of a 100k week. Holly bounces back from Husky with an 85km week with hill reps and some fast threshold reps to get back in the swing of normal training.

TFTV - Men's Mental Health Chat

Inspired by the vulnerability of our guests on the Podcast, Sam, Mitch & previous guest Dane Ottesen decide to open up about some of their personal mental health issues as they relate to running.
We talk about some distressing mental health topics to please consider that before listening in.