The Natural Running Network

You couldn’t make this up if you wanted to!  Aside from Hunter McIntyre being the reigning TMX Champ and crowd favorite for the upcoming TMX Championship on June 8th 2018. Hunter and his newly appointed wing man Beni Gifford are a couple of cartoon characters. Listen in to here Hunter explain why no one in the world is likely to beat him and how he and Beni have been training their asses off at altitude in Utah in preparation for what they predict is a podium sweep.  You’ll also learn about the post race lake side party they are planning that unfortunately, I (Richard Diaz) will miss.  You will also gain some insight into Hunters racing plans once the TMX series concludes and Beni’s pole dancing career begins… you have to listen to get the details!

You couldn’t make this up if you wanted to!  Aside from Hunter McIntyre being the reigning TMX Champ and crowd favorite for the upcoming TMX Championship on June 8th 2018. Hunter and his newly appointed wing man Beni Gifford are a couple of cartoon characters. Listen in to here Hunter explain why no one in the world is likely to beat him and how he and Beni have been training their asses off at altitude in Utah in preparation for what they predict is a podium sweep.  You’ll also learn about the post race lake side party they are planning that unfortunately, I (Richard Diaz) will miss.  You will also gain some insight into Hunters racing plans once the TMX series concludes and Beni’s pole dancing career begins… you have to listen to get the details!

Its been awhile since last I posted an episode and whenever we are short on content, we put it out to the followers to provide some stimulating questions regarding OCR training and racing. In this episode, I asked one of my East Coast friends and colleagues Kristen Swan Kurtz to give me a hand with the heavy lifting and she graciously stepped up!  We’ll discuss what to do with up and down hill running,  getting a proper warm up, dealing with injuries and my favorite; what to do when the doctor tells you to give up running!  Special shout out to the Spartan 4.0 community for providing the questions we covered and our apologies if we didn’t get to your questions, time is limited and we took most of these questions at random.  

Its been awhile since last I posted an episode and whenever we are short on content, we put it out to the followers to provide some stimulating questions regarding OCR training and racing. In this episode, I asked one of my East Coast friends and colleagues Kristen Swan Kurtz to give me a hand with the heavy lifting and she graciously stepped up!  We’ll discuss what to do with up and down hill running,  getting a proper warm up, dealing with injuries and my favorite; what to do when the doctor tells you to give up running!  Special shout out to the Spartan 4.0 community for providing the questions we covered and our apologies if we didn’t get to your questions, time is limited and we took most of these questions at random.  

Not everyone has a chance to visit Coach Diaz at his “Infamous Secret Lab” those who do generally end up performing beyond expectation.  I thought it might be fun to have one of my clients share his experience and allow you to not only hear his thoughts on the visit but see what went down with the associated video clip that accompanies this episode.  Of course, the only way you’ll see it is if you visit the home site of this podcast: www.naturalrunningnetwork.com

Not everyone has a chance to visit Coach Diaz at his “Infamous Secret Lab” those who do generally end up performing beyond expectation.  I thought it might be fun to have one of my clients share his experience and allow you to not only hear his thoughts on the visit but see what went down with the associated video clip that accompanies this episode.  Of course, the only way you’ll see it is if you visit the home site of this podcast: www.naturalrunningnetwork.com

It’s a pretty well known fact in most running circles that heel striking and over striding leads to injury. Many runners have made the shift to forefoot running and in doing so have migrated to zero drop shoes.  Unfortunately for many, this transition has not come easy and has lead to a variety of new problems such as debilitating calf and achilles soreness. Coach Richard Diaz addresses these concerns, and offers some advice on how best to approach this transition and sheds light on the likely culprits that lead to these problems, what to do when these problems arise along with an opinion on the decision regarding zeros drop as a shoe selection.  Is zero drop right for you? How long should this transition in running style take?  When obstacle course racing, should you train in one style of shoe and race in another? These answers and more in this episode.

It’s a pretty well known fact in most running circles that heel striking and over striding leads to injury. Many runners have made the shift to forefoot running and in doing so have migrated to zero drop shoes.  Unfortunately for many, this transition has not come easy and has lead to a variety of new problems such as debilitating calf and achilles soreness. Coach Richard Diaz addresses these concerns, and offers some advice on how best to approach this transition and sheds light on the likely culprits that lead to these problems, what to do when these problems arise along with an opinion on the decision regarding zeros drop as a shoe selection.  Is zero drop right for you? How long should this transition in running style take?  When obstacle course racing, should you train in one style of shoe and race in another? These answers and more in this episode.

We decided to take more questions on training was we often do, our favorite this time relates to our children in sports.  Are we doing the right things to encourage their enjoyment, desire to compete? Are we trying to live through our kids and causing more harm than good?  Coach Diaz has had years of experience in this arena and shares his insights. He also touches on his preferred shoe selection for racing OCR, heart rate training and how to fit it all in if you have a life and a 40 hour work week.  As a bonus, we share what it will take to get you a date with Zoe!

We decided to take more questions on training was we often do, our favorite this time relates to our children in sports.  Are we doing the right things to encourage their enjoyment, desire to compete? Are we trying to live through our kids and causing more harm than good?  Coach Diaz has had years of experience in this arena and shares his insights. He also touches on his preferred shoe selection for racing OCR, heart rate training and how to fit it all in if you have a life and a 40 hour work week.  As a bonus, we share what it will take to get you a date with Zoe!

The Bone Frog Challenge Race series aere obstacle course races designed and directed by Navy Seals.  These obstacle course races are gaining widespread popularity on the eastern seaboard due to their quality and unique challenges many drawn from Navy Seal Training.  Richard Diaz has invited Brian Carney, former Navy Seal and founder of the Bone Frog Organization to share what makes these events so unique.

The Bone Frog Challenge Race series aere obstacle course races designed and directed by Navy Seals.  These obstacle course races are gaining widespread popularity on the eastern seaboard due to their quality and unique challenges many drawn from Navy Seal Training.  Richard Diaz has invited Brian Carney, former Navy Seal and founder of the Bone Frog Organization to share what makes these events so unique.

Stride frequency seems to be the most controversial and perplexing component of running mechanics. There are those that resist the theory of 180 spm being an ideal cadence and its the cause of many arguments.  I however feel that most people that struggle with this approach have pieces of the puzzle missing.  In this podcast Coach Richard Diaz attempts to shed some light on why he feels so strongly that finding this cadence is the key in correcting so many running related injuries.  If you are participating in Spartan Races, Tough Mudder, Bone Frog or Savage Race,  I think this podcast may provide some food for thought.

Stride frequency seems to be the most controversial and perplexing component of running mechanics. There are those that resist the theory of 180 spm being an ideal cadence and its the cause of many arguments.  I however feel that most people that struggle with this approach have pieces of the puzzle missing.  In this podcast Coach Richard Diaz attempts to shed some light on why he feels so strongly that finding this cadence is the key in correcting so many running related injuries.  If you are participating in Spartan Races, Tough Mudder, Bone Frog or Savage Race,  I think this podcast may provide some food for thought.

Back to back OCR events 100 miles apart and I hit them both to show support for a few of my athletes in Veejay Jones and Hunter McIntyre. I invited a few talented athletes in Mike Ferguson and Race course expert Steve Hammond on the show to share their views on the weekends competition. The Rock Stars this weekend were Rea Kobal, Ryan Woods and Hunter McIntyre.  Tune in to get our views on two distinctly different challenges.