Tales from the Valley Podcast

This week, Sam & Katie sit down with the incredibly inspiring Taya Mae. Fresh off a huge PB streak — 42:51 for 10K at Shellharbour and a 3:20 marathon in Melbourne just last weekend — Taya shares her unique journey through running, bodybuilding, and powerlifting.

Having dabbled in running during high school and more consistently in 2023, Taya spent much of 2024 focused on bodybuilding, backing her running with serious gym stren...

Sam catches up with past guest Rede Carney, who’s turned 2025 into a PB-fest: 16:55 at a KJ track night, 34:42 through 10k at Sutho2Surf, 1:18 for the half — then a surprise 2:46 at Sydney Marathon (9-minute out-performance on the day) and a 2:51 for 2nd at Shellharbour on tired legs. We talk training density, racing with family, and rebuilding with a conservative approach that still totals 16–18 hours between swimming and gym.

Tra...

Sam & Katie sit down with Karla Maganto, co-founder of the DK Society Run Club alongside Toby Upton. Karla shares how running has completely transformed her lifestyle — from thinking she’d never run a half or full marathon to now balancing Hyrox workouts, strength training, and swimming. She’s passionate about movement, recovery, and building community in Canberra, investing serious time in compression, sauna, and structured tr...

Sam & Katie welcome their first official guest from Canberra — Dan Dreher. Dan has some seriously fast PBs, including 14:33 for 5k and 29:53 for 10k, all achieved off relatively low mileage and a relaxed, body-aware approach. He sees himself as a 5k/10k specialist, rarely running further than 21km, but with a strong emphasis on speed across his career. Dan shares his journey through Canberra’s running groups — from training und...

Sam & Katie chat with Mark Langley, who moved to Wollongong late last year and quickly made his mark by winning the Run Wollongong Marathon in 2:36 earlier this year. Mark’s road PBs include 15:57 for 5K and 2:32 for the marathon, but his range stretches further — he also claimed victory in the Manly to Bondi Ultra.

Mark only began running in 2019, debuting with a 3:27 marathon. When Covid hit, he used the lockd...

Sam and Katie sit down with Ben Bell, a versatile athlete with an incredible story. After years of rowing, Ben moved into triathlon at age 35 — and what followed is nothing short of remarkable.

Ben has run a 70-minute half marathon (2019) and a 2:36 debut marathon. He recorded strong showings at the M7 half marathon and marathon, often finishing just outside the prize money. He is also a Hawaiian Ironman finisher, with 1st and 3rd ...

Episode Description Sam and Katie sit down with Jeff Cheso to dive into his impressive running journey. Jeff shares his standout personal bests—8:56 for 3k, 15:17 for 5k, 69:39 for the half marathon, and 2:29 for 3rd place at the Canberra Marathon—while reflecting on how his sporting career began with rugby league before shifting to competitive running. He credits consistency and a touch of healthy rivalry with fellow runners like ...

In this episode, Sam shares exciting updates for Tales from the Valley — from setting up merchandise (including new crewneck jumpers and a launch discount) to expanding podcast coverage into the Canberra/ACT region and refreshing the club shout-out segment with race updates from past guests. He also talks about continuing the Down-the-Track Feed mini-series to follow up on guests’ progress.

Katie ran 40 km this week while resting h...

James Alexander’s Triathlon Journey

In this episode, Sam sits down with James Alexander to unpack his impressive endurance sports career. James first joined the Savvy Running community around 2012 before making the leap into triathlon in 2013–2014, inspired by watching top athletes train locally. Since then, he’s built a strong résumé that includes a 9:12 personal best at his debut Ironman in 2019, a World Championship finish over ...

Bravehearts Marathon Challenge – Glenn’s 7 Marathons in 7 Days

In this episode, we celebrate Glenn’s incredible achievement in the Bravehearts Marathon Challenge, where he completed seven marathons in seven days across seven states – raising an impressive $47,000 for child protection.

We dive into the story behind the fundraising, from the community-driven “Glenathon” hosted by Sapphire Coast Runners that contributed over $4,000, t...

Sam & Katie sit down with Phil & Ady, the founders of Parola Run Club. Since summer 2023, the crew has been meeting at the North Gong Kiosk every Tuesday at 6 am – rain, hail or shine. What started as a way to keep their uni friend group connected and accountable has grown into a thriving community, with 30 runners turning up to the very first session. Phil shares how the club boosted his basketball fitness and led to a hal...

Down the Track – Episode 1: Lucy Holman

We're kicking off the very first episode of Down the Track with none other than Lucy Holman — a powerhouse on the local distance running scene.

Lucy stamped her authority in 2024 by winning both Shellharbour Marathons — in April and September — and clocking a rapid 2:56 marathon in the process. But she didn’t stop there. Just recently, she took on the Huskisson Ultra, running an incredible 11...

This week, Sam & Katie chat with James Constantine — a well-known face in the running scene as the Digital Marketing Manager for Pont3, the team behind Sydney Marathon’s push for World Major status. James shares insights into the campaign, his personal running journey, and how he’s now balancing training with family life. With standout PBs including 16:06 for 5K (solo lockdown TT) and 2:52 for the marathon, James is setting his...

Katie and Sam chat with Liam Henderson, a talented runner with standout PBs including 3:56 for 1500m and 15:11 for 5000m. After a 4-year hiatus, Liam returned to racing with a 32:00 at the Sydney 10 and a 74-minute half at Gold Coast. He shares proud moments from his junior career, including a 3rd place at National XC, and reflects on his time training alongside Olympian Jess Hull in Europe.

Liam also breaks down his best training ...

In this episode of Tales from the Valley, Sam and Katie catch up with Darwin-based distance runner Darcy Hennessy, who recently clocked an impressive 1:10:39 at the Gold Coast Half Marathon.

Darcy shares his journey from growing up with the Kembla Joggers and being coached by his grandfather Jim Hennessy, to stepping away from running to pursue AFL — and eventually finding his stride again in the Top End. Now self-coached and train...

This week, Sam & Katie catch up with Mel Hodges — founder of the Bermagui Run Club and a passionate community builder on the South Coast. Mel first laced up while working a desk job in Canberra, and since then has completed four half marathons and is now deep into training for her debut Sydney Marathon.

We dive into:

• Her 28km long run from Narooma to Dalmeny

• How she's balancing strength work, run programming, and nutrit...

Sam & Katie chat with Bridie Temple — a rising star in the trail running scene. Bridie’s already stacked an incredible resume: she won her trail debut at just 17 at the Alpine Summit in Victoria, claimed victory at the Kiama Coastal Classic 21km, set the women’s course record at the 2024 Jabulani Challenge 45km, and finished 2nd in both the UTA22k and Buffalo Stampede 100km. Bridie first found trail running exploring her family...

Sam & Katie chat with Riley Kilham Riley boasts some impressive PBs including a 16:33 5k at a Christmas Eve parkrun, 34:48 for 10k, and a 1:17:33 half marathon time trial. He got into endurance sports in his late teens after using CrossFit to get healthy and quickly realised he excelled at the running portion. From there, Riley began working with a coaching group via Peter Clifford in the Sutherland Shire to fully embrace triat...