Mile 13: Relearning to Run You have run marathons. You have logged the miles. Trusted the form your body settled into years ago. But what if that form isn’t fixed? What if it’s just… familiar?

This episode opens Part 4 of The Runner’s Paradox with a quiet provocation: maybe you’re not running wrong, but maybe you’re not running as well as you could. We explore the idea that the body isn’t a machine to fine tune, but a living system that reorganises itself with the cues that we feed it. That running form isn’t destiny. It’s a journey that you co-author. This isn’t a call to chase textbook form. It’s an invitation to evolve through patience, curiosity, and the courage to be uncomfortable. Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Ying. Find out more at therunnersparadox.com. Best listened to mid-run: especially if something about your stride feels just slightly…off.

Mile 12: Hitting the Wall — and Breaking Through It

You are not only an agent of your body—but subject to your body.

This episode explores the paradox of pushing limits: when striving makes us stronger, and when it quietly breaks us. We unpack Chapter 12 of The Runner’s Paradox, where “hitting the wall” isn’t merely the loss of speed or strength — it’s the moment when everything you thought you could control begins to slip. And we’re forced to confront what we can and can’t command.

With new research on biomechanics, fatigue thresholds, injury risk, and physiological resilience, we explore the thin line between adaptation and overreach: How far is too far? What does it mean to listen without giving up? Can breakdowns be a form of feedback, not failure?

This chapter isn’t just a conversation about running. It’s about knowing the difference between pushing through and pushing past. Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Ying. Find out more at therunnersparadox.com. For anyone who’s ever hit the wall and wondered if it was telling you something—this one’s for you. New research discussed beyond the book

1. Miyazaki, Y., Takeda, K., & Tanaka, S. (2025). Early marathon running metrics from inertial measurement units predict “hitting the wall”. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7, Article 168144. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1681444/full
2. Jones, A. M. (2024). The fourth dimension: Physiological resilience as an emerging determinant of endurance performance. The Journal of Physiology, 602(17), 3627–3638. https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP284205
3. Frandsen, J. S. B., Hansen, M., & Sørensen, H. (2025). Training load spikes and injury risk in 5,200 recreational runners: A 12-month prospective cohort study. British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/07/07/bjsports-2024-109380.full.pdf
4. Roelands, B., & Hettinga, F. (2024). Optimizing performance through brain endurance training: Mental fatigue as a limiting factor in endurance sports. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 19(10), 973–981. https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/19/10/article-p973.xml
5. Palacín, F., Martínez-Navarro, I., & Sanchis-Sanchis, R. (2024). Brain, metabolic, and RPE responses during a free-pace marathon: Markers of hitting the wall. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(8), 1024. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/8/1024
6. Vijay, R., & Mehrotra, A. (2024). Lactate threshold and endurance: Revisiting its role in performance prediction. Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 13(1), 17–26. https://mjssm.me/clanci/MJSSM_March_2024_Vijay.pdf
7. de Souza, D., & Ortega, J. F. (2025). Effects of a 20-week concurrent strength and endurance training program on running performance and economy. Applied Sciences, 15(2), 903. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/2/903
8. Zhao, Y., & Liu, H. (2024). The pacing paradox: Split strategy and the incidence of hitting the wall in recreational marathoners. Heliyon, 10(4), e127910. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024127910
9. Sievers, C., & Koester, M. (2025). The long-term cardiovascular effects of high-volume endurance sport: A narrative review. Sports Medicine – Open, 11, Article 810. https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-025-00810-3

Mile 11: The Pursuit of Excellence

What does excellence mean when your best days are behind you—or just beginning?

In this episode, we unpack chapter 11 of The Runner’s Paradox, where excellence is less about crossing a finish line, and more about learning how to keep showing up.

This episode discusses how long-distance running shapes, challenges, and ultimately matures our idea of what it means to pursue something deeply, year after year.

We explore how excellence evolves with age, injury, and identity. Backed by new research on brain endurance, athlete cognition, and high-performance psychology, we ask: What if excellence isn’t about doing more, but knowing more? What if it’s not about reaching a standard, but learning to redefine it?

From mental fatigue training to the ethics of “enoughness,” this episode is about ambition that grows up—and still runs.

Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Ying. Get your copy of the book at therunnersparadox.com. Listen mid-run, especially when you’re questioning why you still care this much. You’re not chasing perfection. You’re practicing presence.

New references discussed (2023-2025)

​ Zentgraf, K., & Raab, M. (2023). Excellence and expert performance in sports: What do we know and where are we going? [Preprint]. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372039098_Excellence_and_expert_performance_in_sports_what_do_we_know_and_where_are_we_going

​ Roelands, B., Hettinga, F., & Meeusen, R. (2024). Optimizing athletic performance through brain endurance training. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 19(10), 973–981. Retrieved from https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/19/10/article-p973.xml

​ André, Q., Smith, J., & Dupont, A. (2025). Resistance to mental fatigue in endurance athletes: Cognitive effort and self‑regulation. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1616171. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1616171/full

​ Wang, T., Zhong, Y., & Wei, X. (2024). Early excellence and future performance advantage in endurance athletes. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6, Article 11198806. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11198806

​ Galily, Y., Bar‑Eli, M., & Wininger, S. (2024). Psychological complexity beneath high performance: Reframing athlete success. Current Opinion in Psychology, 66, 102344. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667239124000224

​ Schindler, M. (2023, July 7). The pursuit of enoughness in endurance: Reclaiming performance boundaries. Trail Runner Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.trailrunnermag.com/training/mental-training-training/enoughness

Mile 10: Running As Empowerment

Not all power is loud. Sometimes, it shows up mid-run—somewhere between fatigue and clarity.

In this episode, we explore the kind of empowerment that doesn’t come from pace or podiums. Chapter 10 of The Runner’s Paradox looks at how running can quietly rebuild a person—from the inside out.

We reflect on how long-distance running teaches emotional regulation, sharpens identity, and offers something rare in modern life: the ability to choose discomfort, and grow from it.

We bring in recent research on self-efficacy, resilience, and neuroplasticity to unpack how effort changes the brain, not just the body.

Whether it’s returning from injury or navigating life transitions, this is a conversation about agency: the kind you earn when no one’s clapping, and you keep going anyway.

Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Ying. More at therunnersparadox.com. Listen on your next run. This one is for anyone who’s ever grown stronger in the quiet.

Mile 9: The Need to Run

What if your most disciplined habit was also your quietest dependency?

In this episode, we unpack Chapter 9 of The Runner’s Paradox: an exploration of addiction not as drama, but as routine. We ask what happens when running becomes your only method of emotional regulation, your only story of success, your only form of control.

Drawing beyond the book’s research, exploring newer developments from 2023–2025, we examine the neurobiology of compulsive endurance behavior, the psychological scaffolding of identity collapse, and how the digitalization of running (through wearables and Strava) may be accelerating distress.

Addiction here isn’t a substance. It’s a structure.

Through the lens of phenomenology, affect theory, and sport psychology, we reflect on the moment when freedom becomes a form of exile and when high performance hides deep fragility. We look at the gendered dimensions of overtraining, the anxiety of rest, and the existential threat of injury when your only self is the runner-self.

But this isn’t just a critique. It’s an invitation. To recover not only balance, but plurality. To rebuild identity from multiplicity, not metrics.

Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Mok Ying Rong. Learn more and purchase the book at therunnersparadox.com. Subscribe to this podcast series and listen mid-run. Especially when the silence feels loud.

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Evidence beyond the book (2023–2025) ​ Egorov, A. Y., & Szabo, A. (2023). Exercise addiction and its related factors in amateur runners: A critical review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 21, 1032–1050. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00647-0 ​ Oberle, C. D., & Murray, M. A. (2023). Psychological distress and overtraining in collegiate endurance runners: A gendered analysis. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 35(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2022.2109443 ​ Baek, H. J., & Choi, E. (2023). Technostress and motivation in recreational runners using fitness apps. Digital Health, 9, 20552076231187732. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231187732

Chapter 8: Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner

Part 3 of The Runner’s Paradox quietly dims the spotlight: this time we’re not chasing paces, we’re chasing presence.

In a conversation that’s equal parts wit and wonder, we invite you into the lonely miles where silence becomes your most honest running partner.

We explore the “missing witness” that haunts every long-distance runner, unpacking how thousands of Strava likes can still leave you feeling invisible, and how social media’s applause can ring hollow.

We reflect on solitude as both sanctuary and rupture, drawing on cutting-edge research into loneliness in sport, psychological rest in athletes, and the hard-won difference between being alone and being lonely.

By the end, we’re not just running through Chapter 8 of The Runner’s Paradox—we’re reinhabiting it.

Based on The Runner’s Paradox by Mok Ying Rong, available now for purchase at therunnersparadox.com.

Subscribe and press play—best experienced mid-run. Let’s embrace the echo together.

New research explored beyond the book (2023-2025)

​Jackman, P. C., Hawkins, R. M., Bird, M. D., Williamson, O., Vella, S. A., & Lazuras, L. (2024). Loneliness in sport: A systematic mixed‑studies review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. ​Owen, K. B., Manera, K. E., Clare, P. J., Lim, M. H., Smith, B. J., Phongsavan, P., … Eime, R. (2024). Sport participation trajectories and loneliness: Evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 21(12), 1341–1350. Ahn, J., Falk, E. B., & Kang, Y. (2024). Relationships between physical activity and loneliness: A systematic review of intervention studies. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 6, Article 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2023.100141

Eccles, D. W., Caviedes, G., Balk, Y. A., Harris, N., & Gretton, T. W. (2021). How to help athletes get the mental rest needed to perform well and stay healthy. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 12(4), 259–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2021.187320

Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 40, 218–227. ​Tubed, T., Đorđević, V., Đorđević, D., & Đorđević, M. (2023). Loneliness and physical activity in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Children, 10(2), 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10020276

Zhou, F., Liu, Y., Huang, X., Zhang, M., & Chen, H. (2025). Body image, loneliness, and physical activity: A bidirectional relationship. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 12124. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16307-8

Eagleton, S., Alford, J., & Patel, M. (2025). The role of sport in tackling loneliness: More complex than it seems. Tackling Loneliness Hub. https://tacklinglonelinesshub.org/the-role-of-sport-in-tackling-loneliness-more-complex-than-it-seems/