15 Canadian podcasts for runners
Find something new to listen to for your next long run
Hi -
There also wasn’t a ton of Canadian running news this week, and I am also feeling drained from the second-wave pandemic roller coaster Canada is going through right now.
So this week’s newsletter is a little different: I’m highlight 15 Canadian podcasts runners might like. Some are about running, some are about sports, and some are about more broad things but are hosted by runners. It’s a good mix, and hopefully you’ll find a new podcast to listen to on your next run.
If you know about a Canadian running or running-adjacent podcast I should look into, let me know!
Let’s get to it!
Women Run Canada
Women Run Canada is a podcast focused on Canadian women runners. It’s hosted by Kirsten Parker, who works in race operations at the Manitoba Marathon. Women Run Canada focuses on elite Canadian runners (such as Malindi Elmore, Natasha Wodak and Crystal Emmanuel) but has also interviewed community leaders (like Charlotte Brookes of Canada Running Series, Running Room manager Jellisa Westney and Project Love Run founder Filsan Abdiaman) and icons from the sport (like Lynn Kanuka-Williams).
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
The Terminal Mile
The Terminal Mile is a podcast hosted by Michael Rochus and focuses on Canadian athletics, from the sprint distances through to the marathon. Recent episodes have focused on the Canadian men’s road racing scene, including interviews with Cam Levins, Tristan Woodfine and Justin Kent.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
The Shakeout Podcast
The Shakeout Podcast is Canadian Running magazine’s podcast. It’s hosted by Canadian middle-distance runners Kate Van Buskirk and Madeleine Kelly. There are two kinds of episodes: The Rundown, which recaps the running news of the week, and feature episodes which can either explore a hot topic in running like doping or running while Black or be an interview with an athlete doing cool things, like Natasha Wodak planning her own race to reclaim her half-marathon record.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
People Behind the Performances
People Behind the Performances is Athletics Canada’s podcast. It is hosted by sprinter Micha Powell and had a six-episode run this summer. Episodes focused on impressive performances from Canadian athletics but situated them in larger contexts, like Pierce LePage breaking out in the decathlon thanks to his friendship and example Damian Warner, Moh Ahmed running the Canadian 5,000m record despite COVID and the focus on racial injustice in running this summer and Christabel Nettey becoming a long jump phenom while trying to use her position in sport to foster social change.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
Strides with Graywolf
Strides with Graywolf is a podcast hosted by Nathan “Graywolf” Reich, a Canadian Paralympic middle-distance runner. The podcast focuses on both Olympians and Paralympians looking to Tokyo 2020(1) and the challenges they face to get there. Recent guests include sprinter Aaron Brown, Paralympic shotputter Greg Stewart and Paralympic runner Marissa Papacontanstinou.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
Opening the Playbook
Opening the Playbook is a podcast hosted by sports journalist Christina Heydanus that focuses on Canadian women in sports. Recent episodes include figure skater Gabrielle Daleman talking about mental health and freestyle skiers and sisters Maxime, Chloe and Justine Dufour Lapointe talking about how they live, ski and compete together. There have been several running/athletics episodes as well: Natasha Wodak spoke about body image, Phylicia George spoke about finding motivation and transitioning from hurdles to bobsled and back again, pioneer Diane Clement talked about how far women in sport has come since she represented Canada at the 1956 Olympics and hurdler Sarah Wells talked about believing in yourself even when you’re up against adversity.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
Le Run Down
Le Run Down is a Montreal-based podcast hosted by runner and triathlete Justin Pugliese. It tells stories from across running with a Canadian focus, but also manages to score high profile international guests. Recent Canadian guests include Lanni Marchant, Dylan Wykes and. Recent international guests include Citius Mag’s Chris Chavez, the iconic Meb Keflezighi, elite runner turned announcer and podcaster Carrie Tollefson.
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
The Inner Olympian
The Inner Olympian is a podcast hosted by Olympic sprinter Segun Makinde. Segun talks to Olympians, and their conversations focus on the mental side of what it takes to perform at your best. Recent guests include sprinter turned CBC broadcaster and analyst Anson Henry, sprinter Aaron Brown and long jumper Divya Biswal.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
The Longest Stride
The Longest Stride is a podcast hosted by Toronto runners André Morgan and Jonathan Greenwald. It highlights runners and those building the running community in and around Toronto. Recent interviews include Ekua Cudjoe, who is working to build a community of Black women runners in Toronto through Soleful Runs, Marco Li, a local teacher who trains with Lyndsay Tessier, elite marathoner and engineering professor Sasha Gollish, and Saucony product line manager Chad Holt.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
Running Rivals
Running Rivals is a podcast hosted by three NAZ Elite teammates: Canadian Rory Linkletter, American Nick Hauger and New Zealander Maathew Baxter. On the podcast, the three shares the highs and lows of building a professional running career alongside interview teammates and other members of the professional running community. Recent episodes include former NAZ Elite member turned med school student Martin Hehir, legendary coach Kevin Hanson and new NAZ Elite team member Julia Kohnen.
Follow: Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
Burn it All Down
Burn it All Down is a feminist sports podcast. It has five hosts: Canadian Shireen Ahmed alongside Americans Amira Rose Davis, Brenda Elsey, Lindsay Gibbs and Jessica Luther. Burn It All Down is a mix of news, commentary and in-depth interviews, all at the intersection of sports, social justice and feminism. Recent topics include rise of social justice in sports, representation in sports and the impact of climate change on sports.
There’s also a lot of CanCon on this show: recently they featured Canadian hockey player Sami Jo Small and Indigenous sports historian Dr. Janice Forsyth.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
The AmpuTO Show
The AmpuTO Show is a podcsat hosted by Aristotle Domingo, who is a double leg amuptee and recreational runner in Toronto. The AmpuTO Show doesn’t focus on athletics, it instead focuses on limb loss across all industries. Recent episodes include Izzy Camilleri talking about adaptive fashion, Brad Warren on handball and wall ball and David Connolly on representation in theatre.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Player’s Own Voice
Player’s Own Voice is a podcast by CBC Sports. It’s hosted by Olympic speedskater Anastasia Bucsis and focuses on letting athletes from a wide variety of sports tell their own story on their own terms. Recent episodes have highlighted basketball star Kia Nurse living in the WNBA “wubble,” Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith and hockey player Georges Laraque talking about the rise of social justice in sports, figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond struggling with the fame that came with Olympic gold and a world championship and Malindi Elmore returning to the top of Canadian running after nearly 20 years away from the spotlight.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Google | CBC Listen
Hall of Shame
Hall of Shame is a podcast from Crooked Media (the podcast company from the folks behind Pod Save America) hosted by Canadian sports journalist Rachel Bonnetta and American comedian Rachna Fruchbom. The premise of the show is Rachel and Rachna tell each other the craziest stories in sports history. They cover everything from Tiger Woods to water polo scandals. Running stories they have covered include Rosie Ruiz cheating to win the Boston marathon, Caster Semenya’s fight against governing bodies that decide if she should be allowed to race or not due to her naturally night volume of testosterone and at Suzy Favor Hamilton’s journey from Olympian to working as an escort in Vegas.
Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
Le monde de la course
Le monde de la course is a French podcast hosted by runner and physical education teacher François Jarry that focuses on the Quebecois running community, from the track to the trails. Recent interviews have included Stephanie Simpson, who was the top Canadian finisher at Big’s Backyard Ultra, Jean-Christophe Renaud, who ran across Canada in 2017, and François Hamelin, an Olympic speedskater who recently transitioned to road racing.
Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google
That’s it for this week!
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Run the North comes out on Monday mornings.
Thanks for reading! Stay safe, run alone, and I’ll see you next week.