In this episode of Sole Sisters, Alice and Elise start off with some “pits and peaks” of the last two weeks, including an ill-fated train journey and Alice’s aqua aerobics debut. The topic of the day is how to choose your next race. The duo go through all the key considerations including, bucket list marathons, weather conditions, and how to incorporate a holiday into a marathon trip without pissing off your partner (actually, they don’t solve that one). There’s also a preview of Valencia Marathon, including some insights into Izzi Batt-Doyle’s exquisite preparation, plus the usual listener questions and recommendations. Saddle up.

Matt Fox has been chasing a sub-2:20 marathon for the past few years, and after about eight attempts, he finally did it this year in Chicago, running 2:19:31. And after toiling so long to hit that mark, he managed to do it again four weeks later in Indianapolis where he ran another PB of 2:18:41!

In this conversation, we talk about some of the factors that led to these results, including speed work, nutrition, weight training and improved sleep. We also cover the recent women’s marathon world record which went down in Chicago, as well as doping and changes to the running media landscape since he started Sweat Elite. TW: We talk about diet and weight loss between 40-45 minutes so skip that part if that’s triggering for you.

Matt Fox founded media company Sweat Elite in late 2016 and has since interviewed and filmed training sessions of more than 250 professional athletes. You can check out those videos on the Sweat Elite YouTube channel.

Matt has a background in middle-distance running, having competed at an international level in the 800m and 1500m in 2006-2013 before transitioning to the half marathon and marathon. He placed 5th in the Australian National Championships in the 800m on two occasions and 2nd at the Australian National Junior Championships. Matt debuted in the half marathon and marathon in late 2017- running 1:22 and 2:59 before gradually lowering his personal bests over the following years to 1:06 and 2:18. Matt continues has raced in 20+ marathons and has a goal of breaking 2:16 in the coming years.

Matt’s Instagram: @mattinglisfox

Sweat Elite Instagram: @sweatelite

Sweat Elite videos: YouTube

Matt’s gift for the listeners: Make it count video by Casey Neistat

Run With It Instagram: @runwithit.pod

Elise Beacom Instagram: @elisebeacom

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Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer

Alice and Elise are back for another edition of Sole Sisters. This week the focus is the “offseason”, which is the wedge of time for recovery, relaxation and fun (non-running) activities after a key race.

Not going to lie, this episode is slightly manic – the duo go from talking about Alice’s experience with ritualistic burnings under a full Costa Rican moon, to that time Elise ended up in Costa Rica after being deported from a neighbouring country.

In other words, it’s flush with travel stories and off-piste anecdotes, with some good running-focused chats in between, including why it’s so important mentally and physically to give your body a break after a marathon (even if the super shoes trick you into thinking you’re fully recovered).

Alice’s Instagram: @alicebaquie

Elise’s Instagram: @elisebeacom

Run With It: @runwithit.pod

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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer