Just Keep Running with Evan Blakeney

Evan Blakeney

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Running

A podcast for beginner and intermediate runners. We dive into all the topics and ask the questions "experts" gloss over because I'm new too.

21h ago

Nita Sweeney: Sixty Seconds of Jogging Changed Everything

Nita Sweeney started running at 49, and it started with sixty seconds of jogging in a hidden ravine with her dog. She was severely depressed, out of shape, and convinced her neighbors would laugh at her. She's now a marathoner, an ultra runner, and the author of Depression Hates a Moving Target. We go all the way back: an Ohio farm childhood, a father who measured everything, a law career that eventually broke her, and the year she couldn't work at all. Then the Facebook post from a high school friend that got her off the couch, and everything that came after it. Nita talks about why she needs a race on the calendar to keep moving, the three things she checks whenever she feels off, and why the running community turned out to be nothing like she expected. If you're at the beginning and wondering whether it's too late, start here. Nita's website: https://nitasweeney.com Her books: Depression Hates a Moving Target · Memorial: The Year My Dad and I Stopped Keeping Score · Make Every Move a Meditation Everything from the show: https://linktr.ee/evanblakeney Instagram: @evan_blakeney Follow the show so you don't miss the next one, and come say hi on Instagram @evan_blakeney. This episode includes discussion of depression, suicidal thoughts, and psychiatric hospitalization. If you're struggling, you can call or text 988 in the US to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time. Just Keep Running is hosted by Evan Blakeney, a runner figuring this out alongside you. Nothing here is medical or coaching advice. Episode Tags running, beginner runner, marathon, ultra running, mental health, depression, couch to 5k, running community, Nita Sweeney, running coach, meditation, starting running later in life Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
Aug 7

The Loudest Voice in Running: Fitz Koehler on Weak Hips, Wild Finish Lines, and 400 Schools That Run Before Class

Heads up before you listen: Fitz shares a specific calorie formula in this episode that's worked for a lot of her clients. It's a simplification — it doesn't account for height, age, sex, or how much you're training. If you're training for a distance event, talk to a sports dietitian before cutting calories. Under-fueling is genuinely common in endurance runners and it'll wreck your training before it does anything for your waistline. I'm not a coach, a doctor, or a nutritionist — I'm a guy who started running and wanted better answers than the ones I was getting. This is a conversation, not medical advice. Fitz Koehler has yelled "GO!" at more starting lines than most people alive. She's the voice of the Los Angeles Marathon, the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic, the OC Marathon, the DONNA National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer, and about thirty other events a year. She's also a breast cancer survivor, has a master's in exercise science, and built a before-school running program called the Morning Mile that's now in more than 400 schools across America, Canada, and Japan. This one runs long because I kept stopping her to ask follow-ups. No apologies. We get into: Why she taught her first fitness class at 14 years old — after quitting a job at CinnabonThe one sentence in a research journal that changed how she thinks about weight managementWhy she thinks your Garmin is overestimating your calorie burn, and what I started doing about itHer claim that roughly 60% of marathoners could still lose 20+ pounds — and why that's not a discipline problemHow a conversation with a friend about her kid's school turned into the Morning Mile, now in 400+ schoolsWhat actually happens when you ask a school to let kids run before class (the pushback is weirder than you'd think)Why kids stop loving running somewhere between age 3 and age 12Her hard line on kids and marathons — and the growth-plate reasoning behind itThe four pillars of fitness most runners are only doing one ofWhy your knees hurt when you run — and why the problem is usually your hipsThe glute medius test she says 97% of runners failWhy you should never strength train the same muscles two days in a rowWhy she told me to stop running seven days a week immediatelyHow race announcing became a full-time career, and the 40 minutes she had to improvise when a car broke onto the courseHer three favorite races to announce, and why the back of the pack has the best energyIf this one was useful, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It's the single biggest thing that helps other beginner runners find the show. Come say hi on Instagram: @evan_blakeney FIND FITZ: Website: https://www.fitzness.com Morning Mile: https://www.morningmile.com Instagram: @fitzness Podcast: The Fitzness Show Books: You Supercharged: The Exact Formula for Fitness, Weight Loss and Longevity · My Noisy Cancer Comeback · the Healthy Cancer Comeback series FIND ME: Everything: https://linktr.ee/evanblakeney Instagram: @evan_blakeney Facebook: facebook.com/evan.blakeney.9 Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
Jul 24

The Hardest Sport You've Never Heard Of: Tower Running & Time Under Tension with PJ Glassey

PJ Glassey has spent almost 40 years testing what actually works in strength training, and it led him somewhere weird: racing up skyscraper stairwells. In this episode, the founder of XGYM breaks down fast twitch vs. slow twitch muscle fibers, the exact exercise protocol he used to increase a triathlete's stride power, why tower running might be the best cross-training a runner can do, and how to tell a legit study from a bogus one. We cover: • PJ's path from teenage bodybuilder to founder of XGYM's time-under-tension training method • How to actually evaluate a scientific study — and how to use AI to fact-check one • Fast twitch vs. slow twitch muscle fibers, explained for runners • The suspension lunge protocol PJ used to increase a triathlete's stride power • Tower running: what it is, why it's low-impact, and how it builds hill-running strength • Ways to replicate tower-running training without a stairwell (Jacob's ladder, stairmaster technique, versa climber) • Anti-aging: why quad strength predicts your mortality better than grip strength • Red light therapy: what's real, what's marketing, and how to vet a device Note: PJ shares a personal VO2 max result from his own training log. It's a compelling anecdote, not a controlled study — worth keeping in mind as you listen. Connect with XGYM Timestamps00:00 Welcome & guest intro 00:38 How PJ got into fitness (skinny kid → bodybuilder → trainer) 07:58 Why he founded XGYM in 1998 (less time, less injury, less bulk) 11:21 How to evaluate a scientific study (and use AI to fact-check it) 21:06 Pivoting to running: what PJ has learned training runners 23:16 Stride frequency vs. stride length — the only two ways to get faster 24:20 The suspension lunge protocol (built a triathlete's stride power) 31:24 Fast twitch vs. slow twitch, explained simply 38:22 What is tower running, and why is it the best sport you've never heard of 41:07 Why tower running builds hill strength without the joint damage 47:53 PJ's VO2 max results from anaerobic training (his own data — not a study) 49:24 Suffering as a trainable skill (“best at suffering,” not best-conditioned) 51:50 Replicating tower-run training: Jacob's ladder, stairmaster, versa climber 55:47 Tower running stories: stairwell hacking, team records, the community 1:01:12 Anti-aging: comfort zone expansion, quad strength vs. grip strength 1:04:00 Practical steps for people starting from pain or sedentary life 1:05:12 Red light therapy: what matters, what's marketing 1:09:34 Where to find XGYM, the brain type test 1:11:20 Wrap up Follow on apple, youtube and Instagram @evan_blakeney on Instagram Links: Buzzsprout Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Instagram Facebook Guest — XGYM Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
Jul 10

The Epoxy Contractor Who Runs 300-Mile Races — Jason Geroux

Jason Geroux — known online as The Maine Viking — has run dozens of ultramarathons including 19 100-milers, and this spring he ran 300 miles solo through the Arizona desert using his own house as an aid station. In this episode, recorded in person in Orono, Maine, Jason walks through how a torturous 2-mile honeymoon run turned into a decade of daily training, why 100 miles became his favorite distance, what actually goes through your head at mile 200 of a race with no crew, and how he fits all of it around running his own flooring business. This isn’t coaching advice — Jason isn’t a certified coach and neither is Evan. It’s one runner’s actual experience, shared so you can take what’s useful and leave the rest. In this episode: • How a scared-to-run-alone honeymoon jog turned into 10 years of daily training • Why Jason picked 100 miles as his favorite distance over 50s or 200s • The first 100-mile attempt he didn’t finish — and what changed the second time • Planning and training for the Arizona Monster 300 (300 miles, no support crew) • What happens mentally once you’re past your previous longest distance • Running an epoxy flooring business on 4 AM training and zero days off Find Jason: Instagram @themaineviking | Facebook: Jason Geroux All links, socials, and past episodes: linktr.ee/evanblakeney Until next time, Just Keep Running. Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
Jun 26

When Life Gets in the Way: Sick, Sleepless & Behind on Training

Can one bad week of missed runs ruin your marathon training? I got sick partway through a training block — a chest cold, three nights of awful sleep, and a week where everything that could go wrong did — and in this solo episode I think out loud about what it actually costs. I'm building toward an October marathon with a goal of breaking 4:30, and right when my training was finally clicking, it all came apart. So I get honest about training through sickness, the fear of losing fitness, and the all-or-nothing mindset that makes me skip a run completely instead of just doing a shorter one. No tidy answers here — just a runner working through a rough stretch in real time. If you've ever felt behind or gotten sick at the worst possible moment, you'll relate to this one. In this episode: • Why I traded base-building for a strength block • Whether to run with a cold — and when to rest • Do you really lose fitness after a week off? • The all-or-nothing trap and the small fix I'm trying New episodes every other Friday. If this one resonated, follow or subscribe so you don't miss the next. Find everything here: https://linktr.ee/evanblakeney Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
Jun 12

Am I Doing Zone 2 Wrong

Zone 2 training is low-intensity, aerobic-base running — but the hardest part isn't the science, it's one simple question: how do you actually know when you're in Zone 2? Most runners rely on the heart rate zones their watch hands them. The problem is those zones are built on an estimate of your max heart rate that can be off by 40 beats per minute, which throws the whole calculation off. In this solo episode, Evan breaks down what Zone 2 actually does for your body, why your watch is probably getting your zones wrong, and the no-gadget “talk test” that's more reliable than the numbers on your wrist. He also shares what nine weeks of real Zone 2 training did to his pace — and the injury that taught him to build smarter, not just faster. What you'll learn: • What Zone 2 is doing inside your body (mitochondria, capillaries, and the aerobic base) • Why “220 minus your age” makes your watch's zones unreliable • The talk test: how to find Zone 2 with no watch at all • How much Zone 2 you actually need at your weekly volume (and why 80/20 isn't a universal rule) • Why your heart rate spikes on hills — and why that's fine • How long Zone 2 takes to work, with real before-and-after pace numbers • The cardiovascular-vs-structural trap that led to an Achilles injury — and how to avoid it Evan isn't a doctor or a coach — just a runner who reads the research and shares what he finds. Nothing here is medical or training advice. Studies referenced: Storoschuk et al., “Much Ado About Zone 2,” Sports Medicine (2025): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-025-02261-y Persinger & Foster et al., the talk test and ventilatory threshold, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2004): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15354048/ Nes et al., max heart rate accuracy, The HUNT Fitness Study, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports (2013): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2012.01445.x Mølmen et al., mitochondria and capillary growth, Sports Medicine (2025): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39390310/ Follow Just Keep Running: https://linktr.ee/evanblakeney Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
May 29

Ice Baths for Runners: What I Got Wrong (and What the Science Actually Says)

Ice bath for runners — does cold water immersion actually help recovery, or is it just marketing hype? In this episode, I dig into the peer-reviewed research to find out and answer the questions every runner has but nobody seems to address. For about 15 years, I thought I had ice baths figured out. Then in the span of a few months, I heard I might be doing them at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons — and that they might even be working against my own training. So I went looking for answers, and they were a lot harder to find than I expected. This episode is one of the questions that made me start this podcast in the first place. Everybody talks about cold plunging and ice baths — but nobody seems to stop and answer the basic questions a runner actually has. In this episode I cover: • Is there even a difference between an ice bath and a cold plunge? • Does cold water immersion really help with recovery? • Will it kill your gains? (Spoiler: not for runners — and I explain why) • When should you do it — in the morning, or after your run? • How cold should the water be, and how long should you stay in? • Do you need your whole body in, or are legs enough? • How does cold compare to heat, contrast therapy, and active recovery? I'm not a scientist or a doctor — I'm just a curious runner who can read and use the internet. I leaned on peer-reviewed studies for the facts and tried to translate what I found into something useful for runners of all levels, from beginner to marathoner. If this episode gave you some value, the biggest thing you can do to help the show is hit follow or subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes drop every other Friday. Until next time — Just Keep Running. — Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evan_blakeney Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@justkeeprunningwithevan Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-keep-running-with-evan-blakeney/id1884475740 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033hhjDEhHCUN076XH63Rc Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
May 15

All or Nothing: Training, Fueling, and HYROX with Joe Mello

What does it actually take to run 60 miles a week, lift heavy multiple times a week, and still show up for HYROX competitions — without falling apart? Joe Mello figured it out the hard way. He grew up playing baseball in the Bay Area, hated running his whole life (it was literally used as punishment at practice), and then one November day in Austin decided to sign up for a marathon happening in February — with zero race experience. That's just who he is: all or nothing. Now Joe runs high mileage, lifts heavy, competes in HYROX, and works at Heart and Soil Supplements — where nutrition isn't just a hobby, it's his job. In this conversation we get into all of it: how he structures his week, how he fuels that kind of training load, what his supplement stack actually looks like, and the mindset behind doing more than most people think is possible. We also get into: • What HYROX actually is and why it appeals to people who love both running and lifting • The running vs. lifting tension — and why Joe thinks most runners have it wrong • How to fuel early morning long runs when eating at 4am sounds impossible • The animal-based diet explained simply — and how it applies to endurance training • Organ meats: do you actually have to eat them, or do supplements cover it? • Why Joe thinks starting with shorter races is the advice he'd give his past self • The 50K he ran with nothing but a jar of honey — and what happened around mile 25 Joe is the kind of person who jumps in before he's ready and figures it out on the way. If that sounds familiar, this one's for you. Follow Joe on Instagram: @joe_mello Follow Evan on Instagram: @evan_blakeney Heart and Soil Supplements: heartandsoil.co If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it helps more runners find the show. And subscribe so you never miss an episode. Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
May 15

13.1 Miles of Lessons: What I Got Wrong Training for My First Half Marathon

13.1 miles. It’s not superhuman — millions of people do it every year. But for me, finishing my first half marathon was a genuinely big deal. And not because I crushed it. I didn’t. I finished well below the average time, my knee was a question mark the whole way, the weather was absolutely miserable, and I almost needed an emergency bathroom stop at mile nine. In this episode, I’m breaking down everything — the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. We talk training mistakes (I definitely violated the 10% rule), fueling experiments that almost went sideways, the mental war of the final three miles, and what I’d do differently if I could start over. This isn’t a story about being elite. It’s a story about being a regular person who signed up for something hard and showed up anyway. If you’re thinking about doing your first half — or any race — this one’s for you. In this episode: • Why I crammed my training into 8 weeks (and paid for it) • The honey and banana pre-run fueling strategy that actually worked • What happened when I almost didn’t make it to a bathroom at mile 6 • How race energy is completely different from solo training runs • The mental trick that got me through the final 5K • My official finish time and what I’m taking into the next race Key Takeaway: Give yourself more time than you think you need, train in conditions that match race day, practice your nutrition, and don’t skip the mental prep! Until Next Time: Just Keep Running
May 15

Do You Need a Running Watch? My Used Garmin 955 Solar Review

Do you need a running watch to be a “real” runner? In this first episode of Just Keep Running, Evan Blakeney shares his honest experience buying a used Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar on eBay for $250 — what works, what doesn’t, and whether a watch is actually worth it for beginner and intermediate runners. Evan walks through his two running journeys: the first one in college with no watch, no Strava, no goals — just running for the joy of it after reading Born to Run. And the second one now, training for the Jigger Johnson 20-mile ultra in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, where suddenly every pace, heart rate, and Strava notification can become a source of imposter syndrome. In this episode: • The trap of comparing your numbers to David Goggins, Cam Hanes, David Roche, and Ashley Paulson (who just broke the women’s 100-mile world record at 12:19:34) • Whether training readiness scores and suggested workouts actually help • Multi-band GPS accuracy vs. your phone • Battery life on the 955 Solar (he got almost 14 days) • Buying used on eBay: what to look for, what to avoid, and the rule he uses (it has to be at least half off new) • Why he probably didn’t need a flagship watch — and what he’d tell you to buy instead • Who actually benefits from a running watch, and who should just go run Whether you’re a beginner deciding on your first watch, eyeing a used deal, or talking yourself out of buying one — this episode lays out the real trade-offs from someone going through it right now. Connect with Evan: Instagram: @evan_blakeney Have a question or topic you want covered? DM or email. If this episode helped you, the best thing you can do is leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it’s the #1 thing that helps new listeners find the show. Until next time, Just Keep Running Until Next Time: Just Keep Running

10 Episodes

A podcast for beginner and intermediate runners. We dive into all the topics and ask the questions "experts" gloss over because I'm new too.

Creator

Evan Blakeney
Years Active

2026
Episodes

10
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2026 Just Keep Running with Evan Blakeney
Show Website

Just Keep Running with Evan Blakeney