This week on Tales from the Valley, Sam is joined by Harm Schaap to talk fast running, big training weeks and QK Running’s growing presence in Australia.

Harm takes us behind the scenes of the Sydney Marathon Expo, from the popular “I hate running” wall to the logistics of building the stand—and how his partner Jess’s engineering expertise came in handy. We also chat through QK’s expanding range, including quick-drying MasterWick singlets, sunglasses and marathon editions.

We give an honest review of the Elastic Monster Men’s Max Pocket Running Half Tights, covering fit, comfort and how the pockets handle gels, a phone, keys and other essentials on the run. We discuss getting the sizing right, whether everything stays secure without bouncing, and how they stack up on value.

On the running front, Harm reflects on his recent 10km PBs, including a sharp 30:32 at Lorne, and talks us through a 119km week despite illness and four missed runs. We unpack his training with Coach Hints, balancing speed, threshold, hills and doubles as he builds towards a summer racing block.

There’s also a clear target for the GONG5000: break 15 minutes—and get the better of Nathaniel.

We round things out with a Melbourne Marathon weekend recap, covering the marathon, half marathon and shorter races, including Jimmy Whelan’s aggressive start and some big breakthrough performances.

Check out QK Running and use Harm’s discount code SCHAAP10 at checkout.

🛍️ Shop QK Running: qkrunning.com 📸 Follow QK on Instagram: @qk_running

🎧 Tune in for training talk, race rivalries and an honest look at the gear making its way onto Australian start lines.

This week on Tales from the Valley, Sam and Russ are joined by Georgia Weir, founder of Deadly Runners.

Georgia takes us through her own running journey, with PBs ranging from 19 minutes for 5km to a 3:23 marathon on the Gold Coast. She shares how Deadly Runners began and its growth across Australia, along with her experience as head coach for Sydney Marathon and helping one of her athletes through this year’s race. We also hear about her long-distance trail adventure in Canada earlier in the year.

With Russ and Georgia coming off illness and surgery, Sam runs us through his 95km training week, including a very solid Tuesday track session with all reps well under 3:30/km pace.

In Café Kit, ASICS dominates the conversation. Russ is looking forward to trying the Superblast 3 on his first run back, while Georgia is stockpiling as many GT-1000s as she can before they become unavailable. Sam also shares his carb-loading hack: pretzels!

We round out the episode with a chat about Reboot Bermagui, which hosted its first 10km and half-marathon events with great success.

Find out more about Deadly Runners: deadlyrunners.com.au

This week on Tales from the Valley, Sam welcomes back co-founder and familiar voice Russ for a catch-up covering surgery, recovery and the local running scene.

Russ opens up about the sciatica that disrupted his running for more than a year, including a painful 2:38 marathon in Valencia, and the spinal fusion surgery that followed. With the nerve pain now gone, he shares the challenges of taking recovery slowly, swapping big training weeks for daily walks and working towards an eventual return to running.

Sam recaps an unconventional 5K inside the Canberra Outlet Centre, where hot, stuffy conditions and slippery corners made for a memorable race. There’s also a nostalgic long run around Canberra, training updates, shoe chat and a look ahead to GONG5000.

The pair round up the Run Shellharbour results across the marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K, celebrate local performances, and finish with shout-outs to the Marathon Time Integrity Unit and Athletics NSW.

An honest catch-up about setbacks, patience and staying connected to running—even when you’re watching from the sidelines.