Paul's second conversation with JP King, an ex-army pilot turned serial entrepreneur, is every bit as wide-ranging as the first. JP's running story starts on a school cross-country course in the 1970s and runs straight through the British Army, where his first-ever marathon was run on tour in Bosnia — personal protection weapon stuffed down his trousers, no wicking fabric in sight, and a blister to prove it. He followed it up with London in 2002, and twenty-five years later he's got a place for London 2027, this time chasing sub-four rather than the 3:20 he ran in his prime.

The conversation moves through JP's life as an entrepreneur who's built companies worth millions and watched others collapse, and how that same appetite for risk shows up in his running. He talks candidly about depression, why he calls running the thing that "clears his mind" when nothing else can, and the real reason he wears a running vest on every run — not for gels or a GoPro, but to carry the memory of army friends who died young and can't run anymore. There's a properly moving thread here about mental health, consistency, and why missing a week (or a year) of running is never a reason to quit for good.

And then there's the rest of it: nostalgia for pump-up trainers and leather spikes with six-inch nails, a shared loathing of the London Marathon's new two-day split ("a cash grab," they agree), a rant against sports-nutrition marketing aimed at people running a casual 5K, and the return of PKS Runs' most infamous unit of measurement — miles per shit — which JP confirms has genuinely changed how he calculates a long run. It ends with JP marshaling the Frome Running Festival for the first time and Paul threatening to turn up in a vest with a fake gun for their next event together.

Funny, unfiltered, and unexpectedly tender in places — this episode is about fear, failure, army boots, and why the community around running matters more than the numbers on the watch.

The PKS Running Club Podcast is a running motivation podcast for everyday runners — real personal stories, honest conversations about health and fitness, and a growing community built around showing up, not chasing elite times. Hosted by Paul, it's a health & fitness podcast and community sports podcast for anyone running at their own pace, from first 5Ks to ultramarathons.

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