The Shakeout Podcast

Canadian Running Magazine, David Stol
  • 4.6 (32)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

Stories, interviews and discussions about the running world, from the editors of Canadian Running magazine.

  1. 6d ago

    Chicago Marathon preview with Thomas Fafard & Coach Félix-Antoine Lapointe

    Sign up today for The Shakeout Podcast Shakeout Run: Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6:00 p.m. ET, at the Canadian Running offices, 75 Harbord St., Toronto, Ont. M5S 1G4. Over the course of a career on the track that included a spot in the 5,000m final at the Paris Olympics in 2024, Thomas Fafard established a reputation as one of the smoothest runners in the sport. Yet, despite his world-class pedigree at distances like the 5000m and 10,000m on the track, fans of road running couldn’t help but wonder whether his smooth style would translate to longer distances and, eventually, the marathon. Fortunately, after a breakout season on the track in 2024, Fafard wasted no time carrying his momentum up to the full 42.2-km distance. In December 2025 he made his marathon debut at The Marathon Project in Chandler, Ariz., with an eye on eclipsing Alain Bordeleau’s 41-year-old Quebec provincial record of 2:14:19. At that event, Fafard threw caution to the wind, quickly abandoning the pre-race pacing plan he’d set out with coach Felix-Antoine Lapointe in favour of a much quicker tempo. The gamble paid off, and what began as a conservative effort to get his feet wet at the distance became a signature performance, with his 2:10:29 finishing time making him the fourth-fastest Canadian debutant of all time.  Now, Fafard is once again toeing the marathon starting line, this time against one of the fastest fields ever assembled at The Bank of America Chicago Marathon this Sunday, Oct. 11. With a strong debut to his name already, and the Quebec provincial record now firmly in his grasp, he joins The Shakeout Podcast this week, alongside coach Felix, to take us inside his build-up to his second marathon–one where he’ll once again be looking to go full-send against the best in the world.  Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.  [This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports] Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code "shakeout2026" Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026 Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series

    Chicago Marathon preview with Thomas Fafard & Coach Félix-Antoine Lapointe

  2. Oct 1

    Durability: Why some athletes keep pushing when others crumble | Alex Hutchinson

    The Shakeout Podcast Shakeout Run: Thursday, October 15 @ 6:00pm EST, 75 Harbord St. Toronto The Shakeout Podcast LIVE from the Toronto Waterfront Marathon Expo: Friday, October 16 3:00-3:45pm EST For years, orthodox thinking on endurance training could be reduced to three central pillars: V02 max, lactate threshold and running economy. The higher scores an athlete produced in each of those three criteria, the more “talented” they were thought to be. The thinking went that if you took two athletes, tested their ability level in each of the three areas and set them off against one another in a race, the athlete with the higher overall score–that is, the more talented runner—would prevail. But this hypothesis stopped holding water pretty much as soon as the theory was transported from the lab to the real world, where less "talented" athletes continued to defy predicted outcomes based on the three endurance performance pillars alone. How athletes with measurably less talent at their disposal continued to pull off victories over more physiologically-gifted peers continued to stump sport scientists for years. Enter a factor that’s been intuitive knowledge to coaches and athletes forever, but is only now becoming quantifiable: durability. Research into durability (also known as fatigue resistance) aims to understand why two athletes with similar scores across the three standard pillars of performance prediction can end up miles apart on race day–a line of investigation that is leading many in the sports science world to suggest it may be the “fourth pillar” of endurance performance. This week on The Shakeout Podcast, science journalist Alex Hutchinson takes us inside the latest research on fatigue resistance to help us understand what durability means, what it looks like in practice and whether runners should be placing “increase durability” at the top of their training to-do list. Follow Alex on Instagram @Sweat_Science Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Push past the finish line with nutrition that fuels you. CanPrev is proudly Canadian and has been delivering supportive natural health supplements for over two decades. Whether you’re training for your next goal race or looking to maximize performance when the gun goes off, make CanPrev's top-quality products part of your well rounded nutrition plan. Discover more at canprev.ca Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series

    Durability: Why some athletes keep pushing when others crumble | Alex Hutchinson

  3. Sep 24

    Performance supplements: what's science and what's snake oil? Brady Holmer

    To hear the marketing team at one of any number of different sport supplement companies tell it, your next personal best is just one sip, slurp, or shot away. Whether it’s the latest super-food concentrate, the greatest powdered potion, or maybe even a new topical gel, the market for performance supplementation is a crowded one, with each new product promising some combination of performance buzzwords like optimal recovery, reduced blood lactate, greater muscular endurance or delayed onset fatigue. But with so many options out there, is there really one “silver bullet” when it comes to maximizing performance, and where does good old fashioned hard work fit into the mix in the age of “performance stacking” supplements? In the second instalment of The Shakeout Podcast's series on running buzzwords we’re joined by sports science writer Brady Holmer to help us cut through the hype and understand the science behind some of today’s most talked-about performance-hacking supplements. From beetroot and bi-carb to ketones and creatine, Brady has not only applied his background in human performance to understanding  the science behind the supplements but has put them to the test in the real world as a high level marathoner himself. Tune in this week as  we take a deep dive into the science of supplements to help you figure out how these supposed performance boosters work, how they measure up against their own claims, and what’s worth really your time and money when it comes to maximizing performance. Check out Brady on Substack: Physiologicallyspeaking.com X - @brady_h Instagram - @brady.j.holmer Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.  [This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports] Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code "shakeout2026" Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026 Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series

    Performance supplements: what's science and what's snake oil? Brady Holmer

  4. Sep 17

    Stafford sisters set their sights on the mile at the World Road Running Championships

    Between the two of them, there isn't much in the world of global running championships that sisters Gabriela DeBues-Stafford and Lucia Stafford haven't tackled. Both two-time Olympians and multi-time national champs, the Stafford sisters have come to define middle- and long-distance track for a generation of Canadian athletics fans. Between them, they hold Canadian records at 1,000m, 1,500m, 2,000m, 3,000m and 5,000m. But in careers that have ticked virtually every box, this weekend's World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, will present a novelty as they toe the line in the road mile, a first crack at the discipline for both Gabriela and Lucia. This week on The Shakeout Podcast, the sisters join the show together for a preview of the upcoming champs, talking training for the roads, managing track seasons that have endured into the fall, and what it's been like to train together in preparation for a new challenge on the roads of Denmark. Plus, they offer timely coaching advice to one another from the unique perspective of a sibling and fierce competitor. Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code "SHAKEOUT2026"Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026 Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series

    Stafford sisters set their sights on the mile at the World Road Running Championships

  5. Sep 10

    VO2maxxing: What it means, why it matters, and how much should you care? Mick Leahy Ph.D.

    We’ve all got one, but what does it actually mean, and does the number your smart watch gives you actually matter?  This week on The Shakeout Podcast we're setting out to understand the science of VO2 Max, a metric that seems to be everywhere in the saturated world of endurance training advice.  From its correlation to performance to its proven effects on longevity, VO2 Max might be one of the most all encompassing indicators of fitness available. But is a higher number always better? And if more is better how do we go about raising ours? Joining the show to lend his expertise is Dr. Mick Leahy, professor of cardiovascular exercise physiology at The University of British Columbia. As an expert on all things aerobic, Mick walks us through the science behind VO2 Max, shedding light on what the term actually means, what the hype around VO2 Max is all about, and how runners can use the metric to improve their performance on race day.  Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Mick's Google Scholar Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code "SHAKEOUT2026"Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026 Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series

    VO2maxxing: What it means, why it matters, and how much should you care? Mick Leahy Ph.D.

  6. Sep 3

    Find him at the top: Canada's fastest vertical runner Alex Ricard

    If you wanted to know which athlete was at the top of Canadian trail running, a safe bet, at least in the most literal sense, would be Alex Ricard.  The Squamish based athlete has established a reputation as the best vertical runner in the country, clocking off wins and KOMs on some of Canada’s most iconic climb trails and mixing it up with the very best in the world at past editions of the world mountain and trail running championships. More recently, he’s adding distance to vert and finding success in over longer race distances, claiming another Canadian national championship title over the 50km distance at this summer’s Quebec Mega Trail. With a long history in the sport that includes early success on the track and cross country course, Alex joins the show this week to talk about his journey in the world of trail racing, life in the trail-running hot spot of Squamish, and what makes him so fast when the terrain gets steep. Follow Alex @Alex._Ric Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code "SHAKEOUT2026" Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026 Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series

    Find him at the top: Canada's fastest vertical runner Alex Ricard

  7. Aug 27

    Newly-minted Canadian half-marathon champion Jadyn Keeler on her road to Worlds

    Jadyn Keeler will be the first to admit that the further the race distance, the happier she is.  That love for going long was on full display last weekend in Edmonton at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships, where even a measurement error that added nearly 700m to the stated race distance couldn’t dampen her professional, and half marathon, debut. In just her second-ever road race, Keeler ran away from an historically deep women’s elite field to claim her first national title. With the win, the 23 year old out of Barrie Ontario punched her ticket to next Month’s World Road running Championships, where she’ll look to keep the good times going against a world class field in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Fresh off a move to Flagstaff Arizona to join the adidas Golden Peaks Track Club and kick off her pro career, Jadyn joins the show to recap her breakout half debut, set the tone for next month’s World Championships, and share what she’s most looking forward to as she takes on the world of professional road racing. Follow Jadyn @jadynkeeler Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Push past the finish line with nutrition that fuels you. CanPrev is proudly Canadian and has been delivering supportive natural health supplements for over two decades. Whether you’re training for your next goal race or looking to maximize performance when the gun goes off, make CanPrev's top-quality products part of your well rounded nutrition plan. Discover more at canprev.ca Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series

    Newly-minted Canadian half-marathon champion Jadyn Keeler on her road to Worlds

  8. Aug 20

    Ultrarunner Stephanie Case previews UTMB, talks prep for Antarctic 100-Mile record attempt

    Based on running accomplishments alone, Stephanie Case’s career is nothing short of remarkable, boasting a raft of ultra victories and podiums across some of the globe’s most iconic and challenging courses in a career that spans the better part of two decades.  Yet while her accomplishments in the sport are enough to astound, it is her work on the sport of running that has made the most lasting impact.  Through a career as a lawyer in some of the most war-ravaged and crisis-stricken regions on the planet, Stephanie has experienced first-hand how much of a privilege the simple act of running freely can be, especially for women living through conflict and under repressive regimes. While training for her own lofty goals in the sport she has also worked towards creating opportunities for other women and girls to pursue big dreams and experience a more equitable sporting landscape through her organization Free to Run.  This week on The Shakeout Podcast, Stephanie joins the show to preview her return to the iconic UTMB festival and the TDS 100 miler, how the race factors in to her preparations for an assault on the Antarctic 100–mile speed record later this fall, and why going where no woman has gone before at the bottom of the world is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to forging a trail for all runners. Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Learn how you can support a more equitable sporting landscape for women and girls at freetorun.org  [This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports] Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code "SHAKEOUT2026" Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026 Shop The North Face Summit Series https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/collections/summit-series Follow Stephanie @theultrarunnergirl

    Ultrarunner Stephanie Case previews UTMB, talks prep for Antarctic 100-Mile record attempt
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4.6
out of 5
32 Ratings

About

Stories, interviews and discussions about the running world, from the editors of Canadian Running magazine.

Information

  • Creator
    Canadian Running Magazine, David Stol
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    438
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    The Shakeout Podcast

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