Tales from the Valley Podcast

Cafe Kit of the Month (Ep 2)

On this episode of Café Kit of the Month, Sam sits down with Isaac Shaw.
Isaac breaks down his outstanding performance, finishing 2nd in the State 3000m, and walks us through his summer of training. He also shares his experience with precision gels, gives an early review of the up-and-coming NVR running apparel—with a focus on the Ghost Singlet—and chats about the Puma MagMax.
To round things out, Isaac gives us the inside word on the upcoming Run Havoc community runs and their latest testing partnership.

TFTV 2026

Sam and Katie kick off the New Year with a proper catch-up, chatting New Year’s resolutions and recapping their training weeks as usual.
Café Kit of the Week
Nike Vaporfly 4
Brooks Glycerin Max
Zwift subscription
Huge congrats to Alex Bui, who takes out this month’s Run Havoc $100 voucher 🏃‍♂️🎉

TFTV ft. Tim Manuel

Sam chats with Tim Manuel, a huge part of the KJ’s community. Tim rediscovered his love of running during the Covid lockdowns after first lacing up in his junior years—and he’s been flying ever since.
From a 2:11 PB over 800m through to an agonisingly close sub-3 marathon attempt at last year’s Sydney Marathon (3:00:50), Tim’s range is seriously impressive. A standout Masters athlete, he’s won multiple Cross Country and Track titles for KJ’s and played a key role in numerous podium finishes throughout the season.
Originally a middle-distance runner, Tim tackled the marathon with guidance from those around him, plenty of reading, and jumping into long runs with the WTC group as part of his Sydney build.
Training Weeks
Sam
Another solid week of training
Yasso 800s
Friday session: 5-4-3-2-1 off a one-minute jog
Sunday long run: 2 hours
Total volume: 80km
Tim
Running purely for enjoyment through the end of the year
Mixing in swimming ahead of the Australia Day Aquathon/Duathlon
Around 60km of running, including some pool-to-run transition practice
Café Kit of the Week
T8 Sherpa Shorts (order a size up)
ASICS Metaspeed Edge – Ekiden colourway
Milo cereal
Shoutouts
Tim gives a shoutout to Joe Crawford, who does a mountain of work behind the scenes for KJ’s while also running some seriously impressive times across the marathon and beyond.

TFTV ft. Sam Hodges

This week, Katie takes over hosting duties and puts Sam in the hot seat for a change. Sam runs through his personal bests — including a 9:57 3 km time trial where a shoelace came undone mid-run, a gritty 1:18 half marathon at the Western Sydney Half, where he came third after running through the field and picking off competitors throughout the second half, and his 2:56 marathon, which capped off his original ambition of breaking three hours.
Katie then debuts a brand-new segment: Rapid Fire Questions, putting Sam on the spot with some quick hits.
🏃 Training Weeks
Katie recaps a varied week of strength training and cycling, before having a crack at the JT Running 5 km on the track Tuesday night.
Sam successfully paces the JT Running 5 km group through to sub-20 minutes, but spends the rest of the week jogging easy while battling a head cold.
🎄 Thank you to all our listeners for the support this year — wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and happy running!

TFTV ft. Rene Collins

Sam and Katie sit down with Rene Collins, a familiar face in the Illawarra running scene who wears many hats — from coaching local ultra-marathon athletes, to pacing at major city marathons, and most recently leading the run sessions for SAVVY.
Rene’s running journey began with the Canberra Marathon, an initiation he describes as brutally tough, famously hitting the wall around 32km. From there, things escalated quickly. He tackled the Six Foot Track (45km) in the Blue Mountains, followed by the UTA 100km, a race Rene recalls as a comedy of errors — yet still an unforgettable and enjoyable experience.
Momentum carried him into the Southern Sydney 100km on the track, where he finished an incredible 2nd place, before stepping up again to the 100-mile distance. This progression ultimately led to his selection for Coast to Kosciuszko (C2K) in 2022.
Rene reflects fondly on completing C2K and walks us through the demanding selection process, including how he worked deliberately to earn selection again for C2K 2025. A key part of that journey was taking on the Alpine Challenge, a gruelling 100-mile race at Falls Creek, to ensure he made the cut.
🏃‍♂️ Training Weeks
Katie outlines a conservative training block, combining a strength-focused program with 6 × 800m reps working down conservatively, plenty of gym work, and cycling.
Sam continues with Yasso 800s (7 reps on Tuesday) alongside a long tempo session on Friday, keeping mileage steady in the 70–80km/week range.
Rene is easing back post-C2K, mixing cycling, Savvy sessions, parkruns, and Thursday track.
☕ Café Kit of the Week
3D-printed stand to air out soft flasks
Katie’s Day Planner
ASICS Kayano
🔁 Around the Club
Rene shouts out Bob Oganovski
Growing anticipation for the JT Running 5km Time Trial

TFTV ft. Edwin Smith

Sam & Katie sit down with Edwin Smith – a relatively new runner who’s dived deep into the world of trail running over the past few years. Edwin recently ran Mudgee Marathon in just over 4 hours, and he’s chasing that sub-4 early next year 👀
He also completed the Pilliga Grand Slam (10k, 50k, 20k spread across 3 days!) and is now building a running community through his social content. Edwin talks us through how he documents his journey and how his Pub Half Marathon concept ended up gaining huge traction online.
Check out Edwin here → @running_with_edwin
Upcoming for Edwin:
Six Foot Track
105k self-guided course early ‘26
Red’s Backyard Ultra on the radar
🏃 Training Weeks
Edwin
4 runs per week
Tempo work
2hr trail long run on weekends
Katie
3 day run-strength plan
12×400m, 3×8min
Zwift sesh + heavy gym work
Sam
Half-Yasso 800s
Tempo + Threshold + k-reps
Hilly long run with a spicy finish on Sunday 😮‍💨
☕ Café Kit of the Week
Toppo Trail Shoes
Injinji Toe Socks
“Warming up” before your run
Recovery Base Shellharbour
🏔️ Round the Clubs
Edwin shouts out The GOATs Trail Running Club
🔥 Valencia Results – huge congrats to the WTC crew!
Greg Frost – 2:28
Jacob Foster – 2:28
Stefan Deane-Smith – 2:36
Russ Dessaix-Chin – 2:38
Mitch Ryan – 2:46
Liam Henderson – 2:50

Ep 4 Down the Track - James Tunbridge (JT Running)

Sam catches up with James Tunbridge to celebrate the first birthday of JT Running

TFTV ft. Joe Mallat

Sam & Katie sit down with Joe Mallat, who’s had a breakout year on the roads. Joe’s dropped his 5 K to 16:43 at Sandon Point parkrun, clocked 34:55 at Sydney 10, and finished 2nd at Shellharbour Half in 1:21:54.
A former basketball and rugby player, Joe dabbled in cross-country through high school but only recently found structure after joining JT Running. He credits the group’s training environment and guidance from coach James Tunbridge—who just celebrated one year of JT Running—for his rapid progress. Joe now has his eyes set on a sub-33 10 K and a strong marathon debut.
We unpack training weeks from all three hosts:
Katie builds mileage, tackles a sharp VO₂ Max track set (400/300/200s), and rolls through 4 × 6-minute tempo efforts while exploring strength work for her knee.
Sam logs a fast 1 K + 300s session and a surprise set of 2 K reps on Saturday.
Joe mixes running with swimming and gym, plus some snappy 600 m and 300 m intervals on the track.
☕ Café Kit of the Week: Vomero Plus shoes, Shokz Over-Ear Headphones, and Way of the Hero Half Tights🏃‍♂️ Round the Club News: A look at the Kosciuszko Ultra Trail weekend and congratulations to Robby Jay, first winner of the Run Havoc voucher!