Tales from the Valley Podcast

Sam and Katie sit down with Rene Collins, a familiar face in the Illawarra running scene who wears many hats — from coaching local ultra-marathon athletes, to pacing at major city marathons, and most recently leading the run sessions for SAVVY.

Rene’s running journey began with the Canberra Marathon, an initiation he describes as brutally tough, famously hitting the wall around 32km. From there, things escalated quickly. He tackled...

Sam & Katie sit down with Edwin Smith – a relatively new runner who’s dived deep into the world of trail running over the past few years. Edwin recently ran Mudgee Marathon in just over 4 hours, and he’s chasing that sub-4 early next year 👀

He also completed the Pilliga Grand Slam (10k, 50k, 20k spread across 3 days!) and is now building a running community through his social content. Edwin talks us through how he documents hi...

Sam & Katie sit down with Joe Mallat, who’s had a breakout year on the roads. Joe’s dropped his 5 K to 16:43 at Sandon Point parkrun, clocked 34:55 at Sydney 10, and finished 2nd at Shellharbour Half in 1:21:54.

A former basketball and rugby player, Joe dabbled in cross-country through high school but only recently found structure after joining JT Running. He credits the group’s training environment and guidance from coach Jame...

Sam & Katie sit down with Brad Milosevic — the podcast’s fastest marathoner yet. Brad lives in Canberra and in 2015 pulled off something wild: winning both of Australia’s biggest fun runs, taking out City2Surf in 42:12 and the Melbourne Marathon in 2:16:00. Over the next few years he chased the Olympic qualifier, ran another 2:16, and represented Australia at the 2017 World Championships.

Across 2017–2018 he rewrote PBs from 30...

Sam & Katie sit down with rising talent Cate Giason, who works at Run Havoc and has just wrapped up school with plans to study something in the sports world. Cate already owns some incredible PBs — 4:53 (1500m), 10:16 (3000m) and 7:08 (2000m steeple) — and she’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Cate shares how she first got into running through her family and Kembla Joggers at age eight, her first ever track race in Year 8, and h...

Inspired by the vulnerability of our past guests, Sam, Stefan Deane-Smith, and Rohan Laurendet sit down for a raw and honest conversation about their own mental health challenges — and how running has both supported and complicated those experiences.

Rohan also hosts The 11th Hurdle podcast, where he explores mental health and performance with incredible depth and empathy. You can check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3P...

Sam and Katie catch up on the podcast and dive into fresh ideas for the new year — including the expanding partnership with Run Havoc. It’s shaping up to be a big 2026 with more episodes, more collaborations, and some new concepts brewing behind the scenes.

Katie drops a huge training update with an 83km week, highlighted by a brutal 12 × 200m on / 200m float session and some smooth, controlled tempo work on Friday.

Sam checks in w...

Sam sits down with Riley Kilham for the first instalment of our new monthly segment. Riley has generously thrown in a $100 Run Havoc voucher for one TFTV listener each month — absolute legend 🙌

This month we dive into Riley’s training week — including some spicy continuous track work and pacing his mate to a 1:25 half at Husky. 

Shoe of the Month: Nike Vomero Plus (early contender for shoe of the year 👀)

Nutrition of the Month: P...

Sam catches up with Hamish “Kerns” Simpson, fresh off 30 loops at Reds Backyard Ultra (203.7km).

Hamish has lined up at Reds three years in a row, but this year looked different — after linking up with super coach Barry Keem, he’s built consistency, structure and serious momentum. The results speak for themselves with PBs across the board this year, including 17:58 for 5k and 3:08 for the marathon.

Hamish breaks down the physical, ...

This week, Sam & Katie chat with up-and-coming triathlete Jack Caldwell. Hailing from Eden on the Far South Coast of NSW, Jack has been training from a young age. A naturally strong swimmer who also shone in school cross country, Jack eventually combined both strengths—adding cycling into the mix—to discover his talent in triathlon.

After playing a range of sports growing up, Jack began racing Sprint Triathlons throughout high ...

This week, Sam & Katie sit down with the incredibly inspiring Taya Mae. Fresh off a huge PB streak — 42:51 for 10K at Shellharbour and a 3:20 marathon in Melbourne just last weekend — Taya shares her unique journey through running, bodybuilding, and powerlifting.

Having dabbled in running during high school and more consistently in 2023, Taya spent much of 2024 focused on bodybuilding, backing her running with serious gym stren...

Sam catches up with past guest Rede Carney, who’s turned 2025 into a PB-fest: 16:55 at a KJ track night, 34:42 through 10k at Sutho2Surf, 1:18 for the half — then a surprise 2:46 at Sydney Marathon (9-minute out-performance on the day) and a 2:51 for 2nd at Shellharbour on tired legs. We talk training density, racing with family, and rebuilding with a conservative approach that still totals 16–18 hours between swimming and gym.

Tra...

Sam & Katie sit down with Karla Maganto, co-founder of the DK Society Run Club alongside Toby Upton. Karla shares how running has completely transformed her lifestyle — from thinking she’d never run a half or full marathon to now balancing Hyrox workouts, strength training, and swimming. She’s passionate about movement, recovery, and building community in Canberra, investing serious time in compression, sauna, and structured tr...

Sam & Katie welcome their first official guest from Canberra — Dan Dreher. Dan has some seriously fast PBs, including 14:33 for 5k and 29:53 for 10k, all achieved off relatively low mileage and a relaxed, body-aware approach. He sees himself as a 5k/10k specialist, rarely running further than 21km, but with a strong emphasis on speed across his career. Dan shares his journey through Canberra’s running groups — from training und...

Sam & Katie chat with Mark Langley, who moved to Wollongong late last year and quickly made his mark by winning the Run Wollongong Marathon in 2:36 earlier this year. Mark’s road PBs include 15:57 for 5K and 2:32 for the marathon, but his range stretches further — he also claimed victory in the Manly to Bondi Ultra.

Mark only began running in 2019, debuting with a 3:27 marathon. When Covid hit, he used the lockd...

Sam and Katie sit down with Ben Bell, a versatile athlete with an incredible story. After years of rowing, Ben moved into triathlon at age 35 — and what followed is nothing short of remarkable.

Ben has run a 70-minute half marathon (2019) and a 2:36 debut marathon. He recorded strong showings at the M7 half marathon and marathon, often finishing just outside the prize money. He is also a Hawaiian Ironman finisher, with 1st and 3rd ...

Episode Description Sam and Katie sit down with Jeff Cheso to dive into his impressive running journey. Jeff shares his standout personal bests—8:56 for 3k, 15:17 for 5k, 69:39 for the half marathon, and 2:29 for 3rd place at the Canberra Marathon—while reflecting on how his sporting career began with rugby league before shifting to competitive running. He credits consistency and a touch of healthy rivalry with fellow runners like ...