Paul sits down for the first time with Simon, better known online as Egbert — a nickname born from a running joke about newborns being basically eggs, not (as suspected) a Narnia reference. What follows is a wide-ranging, genuinely funny conversation that somehow moves from Herodotus and the Roman legions to crème brûlée for six people to running seven miles home at 2am after missing a train stop.

Simon opens up about being "five stone heavier" as a teenager and the decades-long process of losing weight through weights, trial-and-error dieting, and eventually running — which he only picked up during COVID, running his first 5K past age 30. He and Paul dig into what actually makes weight loss sustainable (spoiler: rigid restriction isn't it), why consistency matters more than perfection, and how both of them frame training and eating around being present for their families rather than chasing extremes.

The conversation turns to the mechanics of the sport too: Simon's goal of a sub-3 marathon, the dangers of jumping into a marathon too soon, zone 2 training fads, the Maffetone method, and an honest debate about club running versus solo miles. Paul shares a story he's never told publicly — seven marathon-distance training runs in a single year, chasing a since-abandoned goal — and the two trade shoe opinions (Altra, New Balance, Nike) before agreeing to team up for a half marathon PB attempt.

Funny, candid, and unexpectedly reflective — this one covers running, food, family, and the occasional Roman Empire tangent.