Tales from the Valley Podcast
Behind every runner there is a story, and we think our local communities deserve to have theirs’ told. The Tales from the Valley Podcast aims to uncover running stories from the South Coast of NSW. Passionate runners Sam Hodges & Katie Mahoney will be catching up on a weekly basis to unravel the running stories from the South Coast and take you on their own personal running journeys.
Episodes
Michael Rixon joins Sam and James Tunbridge after smashing the sub-2:50 barrier with a 2:48:42 at the Sydney Marathon.
Michael breaks down how he progressed from 2:57, despite beginning his marathon build with zero mileage after an Achilles injury. He shares the conservative pacing strategy that allowed him to negative split Sydney, run his fastest 5K between 30K and 35K, and finish...
Fresh from a huge weekend of racing, Sam is joined by Luke Hince and Pat Miller to recap their performances at Sutherland to Surf and the Harbour 10.
Luke breaks down his commanding Sutherland to Surf victory before backing up with a brilliant 28:51 for second place at Harbour 10. He discusses his race selection, pre-race primer sessions, competing against one of the strongest fields in the country and what comes next—includi...
Sam is joined by returning co-host Karen Blay to chat with one of the Illawarra's fastest middle-distance runners, Tom March.
Tom opens up about his running journey—from discovering the sport as a nine-year-old through to becoming the 2024 NSW 1500m State Champion and running personal bests of 1:51 for 800m, 3:45 for 1500m, and 14:29 for 5km.
The conve...
🏃♀️ NEW EPISODE – Lauren Percival ⚡
This week Sam & Katie catch up with NSW representative sprinter and Australian Under-23 international Lauren Percival.
Lauren takes us through her rapid rise from training on grass in Ulladulla to running 23.51 for 200m, representing Australia in Taiwan, and setting her sights on the World Championships and ult...
Sam & Katie catch up with William Wei 🎙️
William’s had a huge few months on the roads and track, highlighted by a breakthrough 16:27 for 5K at the WRF 5K, where he finished 3rd overall, before backing it up with a 34:13 at the Sydney 10 — a race he describes as the best performance of his career so far. We chat about balancing big performances with a frustrating metatarsal injury, why his coach pulled the handbrake...
Sam catches up with Max Gordon 🎙️
Max's running has come a long way in a short time. After only starting structured training in 2023, he's already run 2:43:07 at the Boston Marathon after first clocking 2:44 at Sydney. Now the focus shifts to chasing a 2:38 at this year's Sydney Marathon. 💥
His training has evolved too. Long runs have moved to Saturdays wi...
Jess recently took out the Wollongong Running Festival 10K and joined the podcast to talk through her journey from country NSW to NCAA competition and back to running after years of injury setbacks.
Growing up in Forbes, Jess played just about every sport before eventually focusing on running. That decision led her to the University of Florida, where she built an impressive résumé...
Sam and Katie catch up with Sam Sprowles 🎙️
Sam's only been running since early 2024 after taking on the March Charge fundraiser for Cancer Council following the loss of his father to cancer. What started as a goal of running 200km in a month quickly turned into something much bigger.
Since then he's run 18:21 for 5k at Husky Parkrun, 1:24:41 for the half marathon (including a 39:49 10k split), and is now building towards the Sydn...
Sam catches up with Jordan Miles from the Good Good Running podcast 🎙️
Jordan has become one of the familiar voices in Australian recreational running through Good Good Running, but his own running journey has been anything but straightforward. A self-coached runner balancing life as a paramedic, husband and dad, Jordan joins the podcast to discuss his progression from struggling through 2.5km fitness runs after footy to running 1...
Sam catches up with Chris Littlejohn from the Good Good Running podcast 🎙️
Chris has quietly become one of the most recognisable voices in Australian recreational running. A 2:44 marathoner, running store manager and co-host of Good Good Running, he joins the podcast to chat about his progression from an injured hockey player to a consistent 100km-per-week marathoner, the evolution of one of Australia's fastest-growing running pod...
Sam & Katie catch up with Matt McKenzie from the Good Good Running Instagram podcast 🎙️
Matt’s progression has been rapid — from a COVID runner in the Netherlands to running 2:38:14 at Gold Coast and building into one of the stronger recreational marathoners in the country. After starting out with a 3:30 fundraiser marathon in 2021, he dropped a huge PB to 2:57 at Gold Coast before linking up with Dave McNeill in 2...
Sam catches up with Katie and breaks down the final week before Shellharbour Marathon 🎙️
Sam’s six days out from Shellharbour after a huge marathon block averaging 95K/week post-baby, but taper week took a turn after rolling his ankle during an easy run.
Thankfully, the signs are positive — walking normally, hopping pain-free, full mobility still there — so the focus now is staying calm, recovering properly, and ...
Sam catches up with Angela Jebb and Liam Mahoney 🎙️
Angela’s been building quietly into something serious — 17:14 (5k), 37:43 (10k) — and at Ballarat she stepped up for her half marathon debut, running 1:22:12. Despite getting caught behind the staggered start and losing her group early, she ran solo for most of the day and held strong when the legs started to go around 14–15k. No specific half marathon blo...
Sam catches up with Harm Schaap and Jessica Burke 🎙️
Jess has made the move from Sydney to Wollongong (and picked up a fiancé along the way 💍). After getting her start at Pace Athletic surrounded by names like Ben St Lawrence, Katie St Lawrence and Sam Hopper, she’s built into a serious runner — 10:28 (3k), 18:10 (5k), 38:09 (10k). Fresh off Ballarat Marathon, Jess ran 41 minutes in tough conditions, soaking up the ra...
Sam catches up with Sam Jones & Stefan Deane-Smith ahead of the Ballarat Marathon weekend, where both are lining up in the Half Marathon with similar goals — and likely to push each other all the way.
Sam Jones is coming in hot off a strong start to the season, clocking two big PBs: dropping his 1500m from 4:03 to 3:56, and running 14:44 for 5000m at State Champs. His preparation for Ballarat has been very targeted, with ...
Riley joins us back on the podcast and gives us an update on his training, then reviews:
- Asics Megablast
- Precision Carb Mix
- On Zero Half Tights
Sam catches up with Dane Ottesen and Liam Manton just two weeks out from the Ballarat Marathon.
The last time we spoke with Dane was after his 2:46 marathon debut at Ballarat last year. Since then, he’s settled into a new routine with JT Running and built into this block while balancing a new job and fresh Sydney Park routes. Dane talks us through his latest week, featuring a session of 6 minutes, 7 x 600m, 6 minutes, and a b...
Ballarat is getting closer and the marathon builds are starting to peak 🏃♂️
Sam catches up with Mitch Ryan & Josh Engel to break down their training ahead of Ballarat.
Mitch Ryan Mitch reflects on his Valencia Marathon build from last year where Achilles issues made things challenging. Since then he’s been patiently building back up and getting c...
TFTV Rat Race – Ballarat Build (5 Weeks Out) 🎙️
Sam catches up with past guests Mel Jefferis & Pete Naseby as the Ballarat Marathon edges closer.
Mel is gearing up for the Half Marathon and building strong after overcoming hamstring issues. She takes us through her recent block, including an 86km week featuring sessions like 6 x 1k + 4 x 400, 3 x 10 mins, and a 2-hour long run. She’s lining up with confidence and c...
Sam chats with Jarrod Boyd and Greg ‘Frosty’ Frost as both line up for Ballarat in five weeks.
Jarrod makes his first appearance on the podcast, bringing some serious credentials with PBs of 16:44 (5k), 33:38 (10k) and 1:16 (half). Coming from a high-level rugby background, Jarrod transitioned into triathlon and reached peak fitness around 2017. After stepping away from running during COVID while starting a family, he r...
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