Tales from the Valley Podcast

In this episode, Sam and Katie catch up with Mel Jeferris. Mel, based in Narooma, has been in impressive form lately, recently running a marathon personal best of 3:08:06 at Ballarat. Mel began running in 2015, completing her first marathon that same year in Melbourne. After taking a break to have two kids, she returned to running with structured training from her brother, Greg Frost, in 2020. Since then, Mel's progress has been co...

Sam & Katie catch up with Stefan Deane-Smith. Stefan boasts PBs ranging from 1:53 for 800m through to a 70 minutes flat for the half marathon on a hilly Auckland course to come 3rd in the NZ Half Marathon Champs. Growing up in New Zealand, he ran competitively after starting out in a variety of sports through school. At his peak, he logged 160–200 km per week before stepping away from the sport for a time. After moving to Austr...

Sam and Katie chat with Sinead MacCana. Sinead is the founder of RISE&RUN Bali, a thriving community running group based in Canggu, Bali. Her running journey began alongside her career in Personal Training in Australia, where she also completed her first marathon.

Presented with a unique opportunity, Sinead took on the Bali Hope Ultra — an 84km charity ultramarathon. To prepare, she made the bold decision to move to Ba...

Sam and Katie catch up with Sarah Reiter, Tracksmith athlete and longtime friend of Katie’s from college. Sarah’s resume is stacked with personal bests ranging from 16:21 for 5,000m to 2:31 for the marathon. Most recently, she placed 24th at the Boston Marathon, clocking a solid 2:33 on a course that chewed up many.

Sarah gives us an inside look at her peak training week, logging 85 miles (~137km) with plenty of hills and a mix of ...

With Katie back in the US, she and Sam are taking the next few weeks to catch up with some of our amazing international listeners. This week, they’re joined by Adam Brill, a passionate runner based in Boston, former colleague of Sam’s, and long-time listener of the show.

Adam shares his unique running journey, which began after his professional golf career didn’t quite hit the heights he had aimed for. Determined to keep chasing go...

Sam and Katie chat with Pat Miller, a core member of JT Running. Pat got into running a couple of years ago, initially as a lighthearted challenge to beat his business partner in a race. What started as a gag quickly became a valuable routine for his mental well-being, so he committed to it seriously. He later joined Savvy with a friend and hasn’t looked back since—quickly improving from a 21-minute 5K to 19 minutes. Pat now boasts...

This week, Sam, Mitch, and Katie catch up with Harm Schaap, who boasts some blistering PBs, including 3:51 for 1500m, 8:38 for 3000m, 14:58 for 5000m, and 31:12 for 10K. These times were set a few years ago, and Harm shares his long training journey with Hince’s Horses, moving from Mollymook to Wollongong for university. He recently ran a very minor PB for 1500m—less than a second faster—but it was a confidence booster, and he feel...

Sam and Mitch catch up with Matt Johnsen, an impressive runner who grew up in Broulee. After winning numerous national medals in the steeplechase, Matt made the choice to move down to Melbourne to pursue running. Once in Melbourne, Matt's teammates began going to college, and he felt he had the potential to do the same. He achieved remarkable personal bests, including 14:14 for the 5000m and 29:25 for the 10,000m.

After college, Ma...

Sam, Katie, and Mitch chat with Paul Gallina and Andrew Kyrie. Paul is currently training for his first marathon in Wollongong at the end of April, while Andrew is an accomplished runner with a personal best of 19:01 in the 5k. Together, Paul and Andrew are the founders and owner-operators of Traak Hats, which offers a unique running hat designed to meet the needs of runners. This hat features a zipper, allowing for a pocket to h...

Laura had a stellar 2023, setting impressive PBs, including 18:15 for 5K, 38:50 for 10K, and a 1:26 half marathon—winning the Wollongong Running Festival in the process.

She ran her first half marathon in 2016 but didn’t fully commit to running at the time. It wasn’t until recently, after having her two boys, Thomas and William, that she found the consistency to train seriously. Past guest and friend Renae Placek played a key role ...

Episode Summary

Sam, Mitch, and Katie sit down with Morgan Clarke, the driving force behind Your Local Run Club in Shellharbour. What started as a small group of friends meeting for a weekly run has grown into a thriving community, with 50-70 runners hitting the Marina every Wednesday morning. The club welcomes runners of all levels, kicking off from the Shellharbour Ocean Pool, looping around the Marina, and wrapping up with a swi...

Sam, Mitch, and Katie catch up with NSW 5000m Champion Luke Hince. Luke shares insights into his past nine months of training since breaking 30 minutes for 10K at Sydney10 last year. Despite dealing with minor niggles and work stress, he has maintained consistent training.

He recaps his thrilling victory at the NSW State 5000m Championships, clocking 14:11. After making a bold move to the front at 3K, he was caught with 400m to go ...

Sam, Katie, and Mitch catch up with Jack Ratz. Jack resides in Canberra and runs with the Deagony of Defeat Run Club. However, his partner's family is from Pambula, so he often visits the Sapphire Coast. Jack started running during COVID. He used to play AFL and coaches gymnastics, so he has an impressive power base. He has run some blistering times in a short period, including a 16:10 for 5k and 2:39 for the marathon. Jack trains ...

Sam and Mitch sit down with Rede Carney, who has some impressive personal bests—all achieved after breaking the three-hour mark at the Sydney Marathon last year. He has run 17:11 at the GONG5000 and placed second at the recent SMC Road Series Half Marathon with a time of 1:19:32.

Rede took up running in his 30s but has prioritized health and fitness since he was 17. Coming from a triathlon background, he considers himself to have a...

Sam, Mitch, and Katie chat with Holli Betts, the founder of the Narooma Run Club. Despite being relatively new to running, Holli has made remarkable progress. Inspired by Mel Jefferis, she started running regularly and has already completed two half marathons, improving her personal bests (PBs) for the 5k and 10k, including a fresh PB at Wagga Wagga Parkrun last week.

The Narooma Run Club began with just seven women m...

Sam and Katie chat with Maddi Costanzo. Maddi has played soccer at an elite level since the beginning of high school, competing across Europe and the U.S. She was on track to go pro but suffered an ACL injury during a game, requiring extensive rehab. A few years later, after returning to the field and performing well, Maddi experienced another ACL injury. However, she turned this setback into a positive by completing several course...