Run Now, Cry Later

RunNowCryLater

Run Now Cry Later is a weekly running podcast hosted by two mates chasing sub-2:50 marathons and figuring it out as they go. Zac (Melbourne architect, marathon runner, gets emotional about running fast and trying really hard) and Rin (Brisbane accountant, gifted hybrid athlete but cursed by injury and pushing his body to the limit) cover real training weeks, honest race recaps, and the kind of running conversation you'd have on a long run with a friend who actually knows what they're talking about. New episodes every week covering marathon training, half marathon racing, injury management, running gear reviews, and the psychological side of endurance sport — from taper crazies to race day nerves to what happens when your foot gives out four weeks before your A-race. No elite credentials. No fluff. Just two runners who love the sport, do the kilometres, and aren't afraid to cry about it. Follow so you don't miss the Gold Coast and Brighton Beach race reports — and everything in between. Follow ig @runnowcrylaterpod

  1. 1 day ago

    #022 - Dawg of the Week is Born | Melbourne 5km + GC50 10km Preview | Running in the Wind

    Tigist Assefa felt her calf and Achilles tighten at kilometre 31 of the Berlin Marathon. She was on pace for a world record. She ran the next 11 kilometres anyway — including the last two on a fully ruptured Achilles — averaged 4:02 pace and finished in 2:11:04. The Run Now Cry Later inaugural segment, the Assefa Dog of the Week, is born. Also this week: Boston Marathon cutoff times are announced and the dream gets harder. The 2026 qualifying window saw a 5:17 subtraction applied across all age groups — meaning the 18-34 men’s category required a 2:49:43 just to get in. Zac’s current PB is 2:59. The maths are sobering. Race previews for the double-header weekend: Zac lines up at the Melbourne 5K on Saturday — starting on Batman Avenue, finishing half a lap of the MCG, aiming somewhere between sub-17:59 and sub-19:00. Rin and Tarran head to Coolangatta for GC50 — Rin running the Physiocrem 10K for his first race back since the stress fracture, Tarran running the half as a scenic comeback run. Both keeping expectations measured, both quietly ready to push. Plus: Rin attends the inaugural Endeavour Parkrun with 826 people and spends most of it running on grass. Zac turns 31 in a leaking tent near Ballarat, chatting with kangaroos in the fog. Jack Rayner accidentally refuses to endorse his own sponsor. Boston is getting harder. Mitch finished Berlin. And Rin is teasing a season 2 qualifying goal he won’t reveal yet. Next week: season 1 finale. Race results from both. Ben Parkes Berlin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qja-pFgtFmw

  2. 29 Sept

    #021 - Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy

    Study on carb intake - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13197943/ What should you actually eat before a run — and does it change depending on whether it's an easy run, a workout, or a long run? Zac researched it so you don't have to. The short answer: easy runs, largely irrelevant; workouts, fuel properly or turn a quality session into a survival exercise; long runs, treat the nutrition like race day prep. Plus the three energy systems your body is drawing from during hard efforts, why eating less during a training block is usually the wrong call, and whether a gel before a parkrun is actually worth it. Training wise: Rin runs his first continuous 25-minute block since the stress fracture, keeps it at 6:00 pace, and quietly nails it. The IC 5.0 indoor bike arrives and instantly makes the $90 Kmart version look like what it was. GC50 10K is one week away. Zac posts 3:31 in his second fastest kilometre ever, averages 3:38 across five reps, and sets his Melbourne 5K target at sub-19. Also: Two new Brisbane parkruns are coming — one at Scarborough waterfront, one at Mount Coot-tha with 256 metres of elevation over 5 kilometres. And in the final minutes: Rin's pre-injury 1K splits versus now, why comparison to your past self hits differently to comparing yourself to others, and why it's easier to get back to where you were than it was to get there the first time. Follow along: @runnowcrylater on Instagram Zac Strava: ⁠⁠https://www.strava.com/athletes/zacharybradford⁠⁠  Ryan YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Rinfitgym⁠⁠  Ryan Strava: ⁠⁠https://www.strava.com/athletes/ryan_lindwall⁠⁠  Ryan Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/rinfitwall⁠⁠  Ryan TikTok: ⁠⁠http://tiktok.com/@rinfit62⁠

  3. 27 Sept

    #020 - What is your Dream Parkrun?

    Episode 20 of Run Now Cry Later is here. This week: the Tokyo Marathon ballot result lands (it's not good), so we pivot to mapping out the fastest marathon options for early 2027 — Rotterdam, Seoul, Kyoto, Port Fairy and Ballarat all get a full breakdown. Rin makes a compelling case for Kyoto followed by Gold Coast as a two marathon BQ attempt strategy. Then we design our dream parkrun courses. Rin builds Raiwai Parkrun on a perfect oval island with sea views, hot springs, waterfalls, quokkas and a shrine finish line. Zac builds The Remarkables — Queenstown scenery, Grand Canyon, ocean, canyon hot springs, and a strict no-fours-allowed pace policy. Both agree the cafe is non-negotiable. We also get into post- run food (espresso in smoothies — yes or no?), the New Jersey marathon that ran through waist-deep floodwater, caffeine withdrawal, and whether you can eat your pancakes before everyone at the table gets theirs. Training weeks are back in full, Rin graduates to continuous easy runs post stress fracture, Zac posts 3:49 intervals three weeks after Brighton Beach and sets his sights on a sub 18:00 5K at Melbourne. Follow along: @runnowcrylater on Instagram Zac Strava: ⁠⁠https://www.strava.com/athletes/zacharybradford⁠⁠  Ryan YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Rinfitgym⁠⁠  Ryan Strava: ⁠⁠https://www.strava.com/athletes/ryan_lindwall⁠⁠  Ryan Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/rinfitwall⁠⁠  Ryan TikTok: ⁠⁠http://tiktok.com/@rinfit62⁠

  4. 15 Sept

    #019 - Diesel vs NOS | Aerobic vs Anaerobic | New Brisbane Marathon Course

    Run Now Cry Later is now a video podcast. Find us on Spotify or YouTube if you want to put some faces to the voices. This week, Connor sends Rin down a research rabbit hole on aerobic vs anaerobic training. How much of a 5K is actually anaerobic compared with a marathon? When does the anaerobic system really start doing some work? And what are the phosphagen and glycolytic systems actually doing while you run? More importantly, does any of this matter if you're just trying to run a faster half marathon? Rin digs into the research and looks back at his own Gold Coast training with a slightly different view. We also get stuck into the newly announced Brisbane Marathon course. One lap, four out and backs, 233m of elevation and a finish through Howard Smith Wharves. Not a bad way to finish a marathon. Plus Bridge to Brisbane results, including Dave's 10K PB and listener Jason Kelly somehow finding enough in the tank for a last 500m of pure "tempo to fin" energy. There's also a Strava Premium discount code floating around somewhere on the internet. Seriously, just Google "Strava discount". Zac is back running after the marathon and ends up in Epping, where an innocent run takes a turn involving someone's backyard and an athletics club that wasn't particularly interested in sharing. And finally, Rin's $90 Kmart exercise bike dies halfway through the Dolphins game. Naturally, it is replaced with a $600 Horizon IC 5.0. Follow along: @runnowcrylater on Instagram Zac on Strava: ⁠⁠https://www.strava.com/athletes/zacharybradford⁠⁠  Ryan on YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Rinfitgym⁠⁠  Ryan on Strava: ⁠⁠https://www.strava.com/athletes/ryan_lindwall⁠⁠  Ryan on Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/rinfitwall⁠⁠  Ryan on TikTok: ⁠⁠http://tiktok.com/@rinfit62⁠

  5. 8 Sept

    #018 - Never Look Back | Rin's Return | 5km/10km Season?

    If Strava and running social media disappeared tomorrow, would your training change? Zac and Rin take on listener questions from Chris and Connor on run streaks, Strava kudos, and where healthy motivation tips into something more dangerous. Zac's own cautionary tale: the 2000km push at the end of 2024 that ended in a hobble and a sore back. Post-marathon immune suppression is apparently real — the science is surprisingly thin but the pattern is consistent. Zac unpacks what the research seems to say, why carbohydrate intake during and after a race matters beyond performance, and why the body seems to hold together under pressure and then fall apart the moment the deadline passes. The art of the rat gets its own segment this week. Cam Myers wins the Diamond League 1500m final in Brussels — first Australian man to win a Diamond League distance title — and does it the RNCL way: sitting in, waiting, and sprinting past Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the final straight. This leads to a full breakdown of ratting philosophy, the Tour de Parkrun 2024 final at Kingscliff, 29.6km/h sprint finishes, and why looking back is always a mistake. Also: Rin's suit fitting reveals quad-to-waist proportions that require double tailoring, black socks with white shoes, T-rex arms, the Ryasic era of the Rinfit home gym, and three upper body exercises for runners who've let things slide. Rin runs for the first time in 10 weeks. Zac starts his Melbourne 5K build. The comeback is officially on.

  6. 23 Aug

    #016 - Sydney Marathon Preview: 4:40 to 3:30? with Justin

    Sydney Marathon week is here — and Justin is attempting to knock 60 minutes off his marathon PB. Justin joins the podcast for his guest debut ahead of Sydney Marathon, having gone from a 4:40 marathon at Brisbane last year to targeting 3:30 after a 20-week training block combining around 50km of running per week with plenty of cycling. We break down his training, his 32km confidence-building long run, 8 x 1km intervals, race strategy, fuelling and whether a three-and-a-half-hour marathon is actually within reach. There's also a little discussion about whether Zac is really qualified to be his coach. Then it's time for the full Sydney Marathon race preview: getting to the start line, the new expo location, the coloured start zones, whether you should wear carbon shoes while walking to the start, the hills, the infamous Mrs Macquarie's Chair and the final 500m into the Opera House. We also preview the elite field, including Peres Jepchirchir, Alphonce Simbu, Timothy Kiplagat, Andy Buchanan and the battle for Australian women's honours between Ellie Pashley, Caitlin Scott and Rebecca Lowe.Meanwhile, Zac prepares for the much smaller Brighton Beach Marathon, revealing a 3:10 goal and a race plan based around heart rate, wind and four laps of the same hills. And, naturally, his confidence remains extremely high: "I suck at running." Plus: the Sydney Marathon medal accidentally featuring a German stadium, Adidas Hyper Boost first impressions, marathon medal etiquette, the classic ego run, and Justin's ambitious plan to attend Sydney shakeout runs primarily for the free croissants. Sydney Marathon. Brighton Beach. Two runners. Very different races. Sydney Marathon Weekend Events - https://www.timeout.com/sydney/news/your-ultimate-2026-sydney-marathon-guide-the-best-shakeout-runs-and-after-parties-081926

  7. 18 Aug

    #015 - That Lawnmow Pattern. So Inefficient. In Complete Contrast to Lachie Kennedy's Cadence...

    What should and shouldn't go on Strava? Rin has opinions, and a list. Walks, indoor cycling, futsal, stride only sessions, and the one mowing activity Zac posted in 2021 that he's never going to live down. Hey you go live your life how you want to, but Zac wants excitement on his Strava feed. The cadence deep dive this week starts with Lachie Kennedy's 292 steps per minute at the Commonwealth Games — versus Usain Bolt's 256 — and what that gap tells us about different body types optimising differently. Practical takeaways for marathon runners on what cadence is, whether you should try to change it, and how posterior chain engagement affects leg turnover. Blake Lindwall wins the Brighton Queensland 5K Running Festival outright, taking the last Lindwall family distance record Rin had left in the mid-to-long range. The scoreboard now reads Blake: everything, Rin: the 400m and the mile. Rin responds by doing 2.5 hours on the bike watching the cricket. Zac's big pre-Brighton marathon long run goes sideways — 340 metres of elevation, a walk break at kilometre 22, and protein shakes in both hands for the final stretch. Lower back tightens up for the week. Two weeks out from Brighton Beach and now to decide whether to run for a time or run to feel? Also: the moon boot is finally off, Rin walks for 3000m! Plus underrated training moments, the stretching tolerance conspiracy theory, and why Zac will never throw a baby out with the bathwater. Coach Robert Graham - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DblvbJTomIM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Run Now Cry Later is a weekly running podcast hosted by two mates chasing sub-2:50 marathons and figuring it out as they go. Zac (Melbourne architect, marathon runner, gets emotional about running fast and trying really hard) and Rin (Brisbane accountant, gifted hybrid athlete but cursed by injury and pushing his body to the limit) cover real training weeks, honest race recaps, and the kind of running conversation you'd have on a long run with a friend who actually knows what they're talking about. New episodes every week covering marathon training, half marathon racing, injury management, running gear reviews, and the psychological side of endurance sport — from taper crazies to race day nerves to what happens when your foot gives out four weeks before your A-race. No elite credentials. No fluff. Just two runners who love the sport, do the kilometres, and aren't afraid to cry about it. Follow so you don't miss the Gold Coast and Brighton Beach race reports — and everything in between. Follow ig @runnowcrylaterpod